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Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities
We support communities to address environmental threats and achieve their vision for a safe, healthy, and sustainable future.
Newsletter Issue 39, September 2020
Four Things You Should Know
- A majority of the Tribal governments in Alaska’s most threatened communities cannot apply to the $500 million available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program this year.
- Jeremy Littell works to make climate science useful and accessible to Alaska communities and other stakeholders.
- The United States (U.S.) Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $3.1 million to threatened communities in Alaska to support coronavirus recovery efforts.
- The Native Village of Unalakleet will share how they used drones to collect local climate-related data in an upcoming webinar.
FEMA BRIC is Designed to Build Resilience, but a Majority of Alaska Native Tribes Facing Environmental Threats Cannot Apply
In order to protect existing infrastructure in Alaska’s threatened communities from erosion, flooding, and permafrost thaw, approximately $90 to $110 million is needed annually over the next ten years. The FEMA BRIC program has significant potential to support communities to meet this need. In the fiscal year 2020, $500 million is available nationwide and the program sets aside funding specifically for Tribes. However, the Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities (CETC) found that approximately 71% of the Tribal governments in the 65 threatened communities with the highest estimated hazard mitigation cost cannot apply to BRIC because they will not have an active FEMA-approved Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) at the time of application. The HMP requirement is a significant barrier for Alaska communities.
The purpose of an HMP is to demonstrate to FEMA that the proposed project aligns with the hazards in the community. In order to complete an HMP, communities must seek funding from FEMA or other sources. Based on CETC’s experience, it takes up to two years from the time of application to FEMA for HMP funding until a community’s HMP is approved by FEMA.
How can the HMP barrier be addressed? One option is to enable all of Alaska’s threatened communities to apply for projects that address erosion, flooding, and permafrost thaw without an HMP, using the Statewide Threat Assessment to demonstrate that the threats exist.
Solutions Spotlight: Jeremy Littell
Jeremy Littell works to make climate science useful and accessible for threatened communities and other stakeholders at AK CASC. Credit: Jeremy Littell.
Jeremy Littell believes that when science is useful for communities and decision-makers, it can make the world a better place. As a Research Ecologist with the Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center (AK CASC), Jeremy focuses on making climate science accessible for community adaptation planning and vulnerability assessments. This work is critical because the majority of climate science is difficult to access and thus, less useful for the adaptation efforts of Alaska’s environmentally threatened communities.
As a scientist, Jeremy enjoys the scientific process and pursuing his own research interests, but he finds his work most meaningful when it is valuable to others. This guiding philosophy was shaped during his graduate studies at the University of Washington, where a mentor encouraged him to focus on how he could use science to help others. According to Jeremy, it is not simply enough to do good science or to communicate it well, science must be done in partnership with the people it will serve. For example, when conducting climate research in Alaska, the communities that are impacted most by climate change must be meaningful partners in the scientific process.
Jeremy was drawn back to Alaska for his current position at AK CASC and his personal and professional love of wild places, snow, and mountains. In his position, he enjoys taking science out of the “ivory tower” and into the “real world.” Jeremy feels a sense of urgency in this work because the rate of environmental change is so fast in Alaska and communities are experiencing impacts now. To address this urgent problem, Jeremy thinks it is critical that funding goes to support staff positions to help rural Alaska communities overcome adaptation barriers.
Recent Events
HUD Awards $3.1 Million to Environmentally Threatened Alaska Native Tribes to Support Coronavirus Recovery Efforts
HUD has awarded a total of $100 million nationwide to Tribes as part of the Indian Community Development Block Grant Imminent Threat Program (ICDBG-CARES). The program has awarded $24.8 million total to Tribes in Alaska and $3.1 million to environmentally threatened communities. The funding will help address problems that pose an imminent threat to public health or safety of Tribal residents and will help Tribes prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19.
Funding Opportunities
FEMA Announces New BRIC Program
FEMA has announced the BRIC program, which replaces the Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant program. BRIC will provide $500 million for mitigation planning and projects nationwide. All Alaska Native Tribes with an active Hazard Mitigation Plan are eligible to apply.
- Due Date: Applications open September 30, 2020, and applications are due by January 29, 2021.
- For more information and to access applicant webinars, click here
AK CASC Funding Opportunity
AK CASC invites proposals for projects for the Federal Fiscal Year 2021. Scientists and scholars affiliated with the University of Alaska system or the United States Geological Survey (USGS) centers, field stations, and laboratories may submit proposals. Proposals should tie closely to natural and cultural resource management issues and focus on developing “actionable science.”
- Statement of interest due October 2, 2020.
- For more information, click here.
- Contact AK CASC Director Steve Gray with any questions.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Effects of Sea Level Rise (ESLR) Program
The NOAA ESLR program supports research to inform adaptation planning and coastal management decisions in response to sea-level rise and inundation. Proposals should evaluate and quantify the ability of natural and nature-based mitigation solutions. The program has two focus areas: coastal resilience and surface transportation resilience.
- A letter of intent is required to submit a full proposal and is due October 16, 2020.
- For more information, click here.
Upcoming Events
National Tribal Leadership Climate Change Virtual Session on Tribal Climate Change Policy
The National Tribal Leadership Climate Change Summit is hosting its first session on Tribal climate change policy. The goal of the session is to gather Tribal priorities and recommendations to help shape a proactive, Tribally-led national climate policy agenda for future administrations. The event is open to all Tribal citizens, staff, and partners.
- Date: October 13, 2020 at 9:00 am Alaska time
- For more information and to register, click here.
Improving Decision Making in Alaskan Communities with Drones and Online Climate Data Tools Webinar
Join this webinar to learn more about how to improve long-term planning and decision-making through the collection of localized climate-related data through the use of drones and online data tools. The webinar will share the results of a Native Village of Unalakleet project to collect climate-related data using drones and share lessons learned for other communities.
- Date: October 20, 2020 at 10:00 am Alaska time
- Register for free here.
Resources
Alaska Emergency and Disaster Homeowner’s Handbook
Alaska Sea Grant has published the Alaska Emergency and Disaster Homeowner’s Handbook to help Alaska residents develop best practices to prepare for potential disasters. The handbook provides an overview of natural hazards in Alaska and provides guidance to help homeowners better prepare and respond to potential disaster events.
COVID-19 Tribal Resource Center
The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) has created a Tribal Resource Center to support Tribes in responding to COVID-19. The site includes information on how to protect communities from COVID-19, Tribal response strategies, and how to request financial and technical assistance.
News Roundup
As the Arctic Thaws, Indigenous Alaskans Demand a Voice in Climate Change Research: According to a coalition of Alaska Native organizations, many climate change research projects funded by the National Science foundation lack meaningful partnership with Alaska Natives and do not benefit communities.
Climate Change Wears Away Alaska’s Permafrost: Watch this short video of Carl Smith, a resident of Akiak, Alaska, describe how erosion and permafrost thaw impacts infrastructure in his community.
U.S. Flood Strategy Shifts to ‘Unavoidable’ Relocation of Entire Neighborhoods: Across the United States and in Alaska, communities are increasingly considering relocation and managed retreat as strategies to protect from flooding and other natural hazards.
Four Y-K Delta Villages Lock Down to Protect Communities from Coronavirus: As the number of coronavirus cases across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta climbs, four Y-K Delta communities went into lockdown.
Alaska Natives and Pacific Islanders Are Hit Harder by COVID-19 in Alaska: A lack of adequate water and sanitation in rural Alaska communities has increased the risk of Alaska Native communities to the coronavirus pandemic.
About the Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities
The goal of the Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities (CETC) is to support rural Alaskan communities experiencing infrastructure impacts associated with flooding, erosion, and permafrost degradation. The team does this primarily through grant writing, technical assistance, and project coordination.
ETC@anthc.org | (907) 729-4521 | www.anthc.org/cetc | 4500 Diplomacy Drive, Suite 561, Anchorage, AK 99508
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