Empowering Alaska Native Communities: Advocacy for Policy Priorities

The  goal of the Alaska Native Village Corporation Association (ANVCA) is  to change current federal policy on land clean up and  remediation.  There are over 1,000 contaminated sites on land conveyed  to Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) and additional sites on land  pending conveyance. These sites were contaminated under ownership and/or  responsibility of the federal government and then transferred to Native  ownership. 

In 1998 the Department of the Interior issued a report to Congress, entitled Report to Congress Hazardous Substance Contamination 1998. The report identified the need for a comprehensive fix and six action items to initiate the process. 

ANVCA became involved when this report was brought to our attention in 2012 by one of our member Alaska Native Village Corporations. Since 2012, ANVCA has worked to educate Alaska’s Federal delegation, the State Legislature, members of Congress, and others to keep the issue in the forefront. In 2014, Congress asked for an update to the 1998 report, to identify the status of each site, for example, if any remediation had been done, and recommendations going forward. In June of 2016 the update was released, 2016 Update Report to Congress_ Hazardous Substance Contamination of Alaska Native Claim Settlement Act Lands in Alaska .

Contaminated sites contain a variety of toxic materials including:

• Arsenic
• Solvents
• PCBs Asbestos
• Mining Waste Chemicals
• Mercury Toxic Metals
• Unexploded Ordinances
• Petroleum & Oil

One  of ANVCA’s objectives is to work with ANCs, state and federal agencies  and other stakeholders to develop criteria to prioritize remediation  ANCSA contaminated sites. Potential criteria could include impacts on  health and safety, severity of contamination, cultural significance of  the site, or economic development potential. Few studies have been  conducted on the health and safety impacts of the contamination on human  health, however anecdotally villages report higher rates of cancer and  other illnesses linked to hazardous substances. Many of the rural  contaminated sites are Villages which practice subsistence lifestyles  there has been only limited research on the contaminants impacts to  fish, berries and wildlife in these areas. 

ANCSA Resource Guide – Site Cleanup 

In  2016, ANVCA and a strategic task force including state, federal and  tribal representatives developed the ANCSA Resource Guide to Cleanup for  ANCSA Conveyed sites. This brochure is an overview of the current  process from suspected contamination to restoration, list of potential  resources, definitions and recommended practices. 

To download the brochure, Click Here

To visit the DEC online database of these sites Click Here 

Visit the ANTHC Website to learn more about the work group Click Here 

WATCH testimony from Afognak Board member Sarah Lukin to Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Click Here