No images? Click here
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 37, July 2020
Four Things You Should Know
- A family fled their home in Chefornak, Alaska due to permafrost degradation impacts to the foundation.
- Impacts from permafrost degradation threaten most community infrastructure in Point Lay, Alaska.
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency may play an increasing role in supporting environmentally threatened communities.
- Victor Tonuchuk, Jr. of Kotlik, Alaska is featured in a podcast describing how sea-level rise, thin ice, and late freeze-up have affected subsistence.
Permafrost Thaw Threatens Housing and Safety in Chefornak, Alaska
Permafrost--ground that is frozen for two or more years--is found beneath nearly 85% of Alaska and supports the structural stability of infrastructure across the state. Permafrost thaw, mainly driven by increasing air temperature, causes the land to sink or subside. Subsidence can destabilize critical infrastructure such as power plants, fuel tank farms, water
treatment plants, and homes. The
three stories below illustrate the impact on the community of Chefornak.
Delores Abraham (left) and her family fled their home in Chefornak, Alaska on May 23, 2020 due to the imminent risk of it collapsing due to permafrost degradation. The family is now split between two other homes, with eight people living in each. Credit: Delores Abraham.
- On May 23, 2020, Delores Abraham and her family fled their home because permafrost melt created a four to six-foot sinkhole beneath the home’s foundation. Two staff members from STG, a general contractor, inspected the house, determined the foundation cannot be re-leveled, and recommended the family move out due to its unsafe “condemned” condition. Delores and her family moved in with relatives, resulting in extreme overcrowding. Additionally, another home in Chefornak may have to be abandoned due to a growing sinkhole beneath it.
- In 2018, a young man was walking his child to school when he accidentally stepped into a sinkhole and was submerged to his chest. He put the child on his shoulders, shouted for help, and was assisted to safety by community members.
- “We are afraid that we will fall in [a sinkhole] and never come out,” said Anna Abraham, the City of Chefornak Mayor. In order to prevent similar incidents, dangerous areas have been marked. Community members are encouraged to avoid all swampy and boggy areas, which is a significant portion of the land surrounding the community.
Chefornak is currently completing a community-wide permafrost assessment to inform the development of long-term solutions.
Recent Events
FEMA May Play an Increasing Role in Supporting Environmentally Threatened Communities
Funding from the FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation program constructed gravel building pads for the construction of new homes in Mertarvik, Alaska, which can be seen in the photo above. Over $3.2 million in FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grants supported Newtok’s relocation to Mertarvik. Credit: Newtok Village Council.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released the Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Division 2019 Year in Review. In Fiscal Year 2019, the HMA Division granted more than $1.16 billion to reduce disaster risk. The document highlights the impact of HMA funding to advance the relocation of Newtok, Alaska to Mertarvik, Alaska. Over $3.2 million in HMA grants have supported gravel building pads for the construction of new houses in Mertarvik and the acquisition and demolition of 12 housing units in Newtok.
While Newtok was successful in accessing FEMA HMA resources, the majority of environmentally threatened communities in Alaska have struggled to apply for funding due to the agency’s 10% local cost-share requirement for small and impoverished communities. In May, at least seven Alaska-based organizations submitted comments to FEMA with recommendations for how to design a program that is effective for Alaska. Read the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium’s comments here. We are optimistic that FEMA will play an increasing role in supporting environmentally threatened communities.
Community Profile: Point Lay
Permafrost degradation threatens virtually all critical infrastructure in Point Lay, Alaska, including the underground water and sewer system. Thawing permafrost caused damage to a carrier line, as shown above. Credit: UMIAQ Environmental, LLC.
“The effects of warming temperatures, more rain, wetter snow, longer summers, erosion and subsidence have taken a toll on the community of Point Lay especially in the past ten years. We have lost our fresh water source due to erosion. Streets, gravel pads, foundations and pilings are failing and anything sitting directly on the ground is sinking and tilting such as fuel tanks, water tanks, sewage holding tanks, stairways and ramps into our homes.”
- Bill Tracey Sr. from Point Lay, Alaska.
Point Lay, located on the Chukchi Sea coast in northern Alaska, is experiencing some of the most severe permafrost related impacts in Alaska. Critically, the water and sewer piping beneath homes has been damaged. Bill Tracey Sr. said, “The longer we do nothing to correct, slow down and/or stop these conditions, the problem only gets worse.” It is likely that all of the piping will fail, and all homes will need to utilize water and sewer holding tanks instead of piped water and sewer.
Point Lay is seeking materials, supplies, and equipment to prevent permafrost impacts. Gravel and silt are needed to complete emergency projects to slow the damage caused by subsidence. Community efforts to extract gravel from sand bars in the winter do not provide enough to meet the need. Currently, researchers from the University of Alaska are working with the Cold Climate Housing Research Center, the community, the Regional Housing Authority, and the North Slope Borough on a project to address permafrost issues. The project will use ground observations and remote sensing to monitor permafrost changes and work to develop best practices for road and house construction to address permafrost impacts.
Upcoming Events
2020 Virtual National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference
All Tribal members in the United States are invited to attend the first National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference (NTICC) hosted virtually by the Institute of Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) with support from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Tribal Resilience Program.
Resources
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
Braving Thin Ice: Listen to a podcast featuring Victor Tonuchuk, Jr. speaking with his friend and collaborator Ryan Toohey about how sea level rise, thin ice, and late freeze-up have affected subsistence and potlaches in Kotlik, Alaska.
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
If you enjoyed this issue, please forward this email to a friend.
