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Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities Newsletter
Issue 26, July 2019
Four Things to Know from this Issue
- The 2020 Census wants you to get involved.
- In Kongiganak, Alaska, where the local Yup’ik word for ice override is venuq, solutions are considered for environmental threats.
- The Association of Alaska Housing Authorities (AAHA) is offering trainings to help Tribes set up sound financial management systems and prepare for audits.
The U.S. Senate wants to hear from Alaska Native leaders on policies and strategies, including traditional knowledge, to support mitigation and resilience efforts in tribal communities.
Recent Events
Celebrating Summer Subsistence Season
Flowers forming into blueberries. Credit: CETC
The Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities (CETC) wishes everyone a happy, healthy summer and an abundant harvest for all those across Alaska who are fishing the rivers and oceans, gathering berries galore, and much more!
The U.S. Census Bureau is Recruiting for 2020 Census Jobs in Alaska Communities
On January 21, 2020, the 2020 Census will begin its once-in-a-decade population count in Toksook Bay, Alaska. This population count is important as it contributes to the federal government’s allocation of funding – and funding levels – to all communities for local services, such as schools, hospitals, roads, and more. Through Alaska Counts, rural and tribal communities can recruit local census employees and mobilize community members to engage, encourage, and ensure self-response and participation in the census. Applications for temporary census jobs starting in January 2020 can be completed and submitted now. The pay rate in rural Alaska is $28 per hour. Call 1-844-801-8130 to learn more.
Community Profile: Kongiganak, Alaska
Aerial view of Kongiganak. Credit: State of Alaska DCRA
Problem:
Kongiganak, Alaska population 464, is located along the west shore of Kuskokwim Bay. The village was permanently settled in the late 1960s by former residents of Kwigillingok, Alaska who were seeking higher ground to escape periodic flooding. Today, the community is threatened by accelerating flooding, erosion, and thawing permafrost. When floods occur, most often from ice jams and venuq (Yup’ik for ice override), boardwalks become flooded, making travel throughout the community difficult. Erosion occurs at an average of four feet per year and may impact homes in the long term. Permafrost degradation is impacting the community’s cemetery, where graves are flooded with water, damaging the coffins. Further, melting permafrost has caused homes to slant as the land beneath them sinks.
Solution:
In order to mitigate erosion, a number of efforts have been undertaken in Kongiganak. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) funded a $4.2 million dollar project completed in 2008 to armor the banks with rock in order to protect teacher housing, boardwalks, electrical lines, and other community infrastructure from erosion. This has effectively secured the bank and eliminated the threat of erosion in the near term. Community members have also placed sandbags along the stretch of the riverbank not protected by rocks, but this has not protected the bank as effectively as the rock. Flooding impacts have been mitigated by elevating buildings, and the community intends to consider developing any new infrastructure at a higher elevation off the ground. In order to address permafrost impacts, one home was relocated away from the coast three to five years ago.
Funding Opportunities
Grant funds to develop, maintain, and operate affordable housing in safe and healthy environments in Indian areas, and carry out other affordable housing activities, are available from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) competitive Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) program. HUD will give priority to projects that spur construction and rehabilitation of housing. Eligible Indian tribes and tribally-designated housing entities can review the Notice of Funding Announcement here and apply by August 8, 2019.
Resources
DUNS Number Being Replaced with a SAMMI Number
Currently, when applying for Federal grants or cooperative agreements, all applicant organizations must have a Data Universal Numbering System, or DUNS number. The General Services Administration (GSA) recently announced that DUNS will be replaced by a new Government-owned unique identifier in all systems, including Grants.gov. The new government identifier will be incorporated into the System for Award Management (SAM) registration process, eliminating the need for applicants to seek external identifiers in order to register. The transition is currently in process and will impact organizations and communities in the coming months as DUNS is phased out and the new System for Award Management Managed Identifier (SAMMI) replaces it.
Alaska Tribal Administrators Association (ATAA) Tribal Accounting Services
Alaska Tribal Administrators Association (ATAA) offers shared accounting services for Tribes on a regular or as-needed basis with monthly, flat rate options. The organization can provide services in audit preparations, budget development, grant reporting and management, indirect rate negotiations, reporting, payroll services, and more. If interested, contact ATAA to learn more and/or to sign up.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Tribal Mitigation Planning Handbook
Is your community is interested in creating a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Tribal Mitigation Plan? FEMA has released the Tribal Mitigation Planning Handbook, which is a tool for Tribal governments to use in developing a mitigation plan that meets FEMA requirements. It provides information on how to develop a plan, and how Tribes can create plans that work within their governance and tradition. Developing a FEMA approved Tribal Mitigation Plan is a condition of receiving certain kinds of non-emergency disaster assistance grants, including the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and the Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) Grant Program.
Upcoming Events
Tribal Grant Writing Training
The Alaska Native Epidemiology Center (ANEC) is hosting a Tribal Grant Writing Training that will build participant’s knowledge and skills in grant writing. The training is geared specifically towards tribal professionals and will be beneficial for anyone involved in the writing or preparation of grant applications.
Location: Anchorage, Alaska.
Date: August 6-8, 2019.
Cost: $50 for registration; limited travel scholarships available up to $1,700; some meals provided.
Registration and waitlist here.
Trainings from the Association of Alaska Housing Authorities (AAHA)
To see the Association of Alaska Housing Authorities' (AAHA) complete training calendar, click here.
Basic Financial Management for Small Tribes: This training will focus on best practices to ensure that the management and accounting of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) funds are being observed, internal controls are in place, and written policies and procedures are in place to ensure that financial records are accurate and auditable.
Location: Anchorage, Alaska.
Date: August 6-7, 2019.
Audit Preparation: This training will provide attendees with the resources and tools to become “audit ready.” Participants will learn the requirements for a Single Audit, how to conduct audit preparation for grants, year-end closing processes, and an overview of auditor requirements.
Location: Anchorage, Alaska.
Date: August 8-9, 2019.
State of Alaska and FEMA Floodplains and Wetlands Management
The State of Alaska, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHS&EM) and FEMA Region X are offering a course based on Executive Orders 11988 and 11990 of Floodplain Management and Wetlands Protection that require federal agencies to avoid actions in or adversely affecting floodplains and wetlands unless there is no practicable alternative. Executive Order 11988 establishes an eight-step process that agencies should carry out as part of their decision making on projects that have the potential to impact floodplains.
Location: Anchorage, Alaska.
Date: August 27-29, 2019.
Cost: Free; no travel or salary stipends are offered.
Register by August 23, 2019 deadline:
Complete FEMA form 119-25-1 here including thorough explanation in #16, sign and date #21, and secure appropriate agency signature in #22.
Register for FEMA Student Identification number here.
Complete prerequisites here and here and attach to application package.
Submit application package to mva.dhsem.training@alaska.gov.
State of Alaska and FEMA Introduction to Environmental and Historic Preservation Compliance
The State of Alaska, DHS&EM and FEMA Region X are offering a course that provides an introduction to FEMA’s Environmental and Historic Preservation compliance responsibilities.
Location: Anchorage, Alaska.
Date: August 20-23, 2019.
Cost: Free; no travel or salary stipends are offered.
Register by August 16, 2019 deadline:
Complete FEMA form 119-25-1 here including thorough explanation in #16, sign and date #21, and secure appropriate agency signature in #22.
Register for FEMA Student Identification number here.
Complete prerequisite here and attach to application package.
Submit application package to mva.dhsem.training@alaska.gov.
Opportunity for Alaska Native Communities to Provide Feedback on Impacts of Environmental Threats to U.S. Senate
The U.S. Senate invites Alaska Native leaders to begin a dialogue on potential solutions and adaptive responses to the impacts of climate change at the community-level, and how they threaten a traditional way of life, economic opportunities, and overall wellbeing. Read the press release here. Thoughts and comments can be sent to Community_Leaders_Feedback@indian.senate.gov by September 13, 2019; participants are welcome to use the following prompts:
What policies, regulations, and programs have proven particularly useful in assisting your communities in mitigating and responding to climate change impacts?
Are there policies or strategies that your communities are using to address climate change that could scale for implementation at the federal level, including traditional knowledge?
What actions or policies could federal agencies take within existing authorities to improve climate change mitigation and resilience in your communities?
What new policies would you recommend Congress consider to improve climate change resilience in your communities, reduce emissions of heat-trapping pollutions, increase the development and availability of renewable resources, or capture or off-set emissions of heat-trapping pollution?
News Roundup
Newtok, Alaska Relocation Progresses to ‘Sprint’ Pace: Thirteen homes are being built in Mertarvik during summer 2019 as the new community continues to set tangible roots.
Native American Communities and the 2020 Census: The majority of Alaska is considered to be at a high risk of experiencing an undercount in the 2020 census. When our population isn’t accurately represented, communities might not receive their fair share of federal funding.
Arctic Waters are Warm and Sea Ice is at an All-time Low: Both Alaska’s 2018-2019 winter and 2019 summer seasons are switching places with the Lower 48. The Weather Network reports that water temperatures near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska are strikingly warm while at Lake Superior in the Great Lakes region of the U.S. they are lagging behind the norm.
Napakiak, Alaska Moves More Buildings as Kuskokwim River Gets Closer: With funding from NRCS, Napakiak moved its city garage and firehouse to protect them from advancing riverbank erosion – moving buildings is becoming a routine event.
About the Center for Environmentally Threatened Communities
The Center was established with a Denali Commission grant to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and supports rural Alaska communities experiencing infrastructure impacts associated with environmental threats such as flooding, erosion, and melting permafrost.
ETC@anthc.org | (907) 729-4521 | 4500 Diplomacy Drive, Suite 561, Anchorage, AK 99508
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