Alaska will receive up to $80 million of coastal impact assistance authorized by the 2005 Energy Policy Act, the US Minerals Management Service said on Oct. 16. The state and eight eligible boroughs will share the money, it said.
The Coastal Impact Assistance Program was established under Section 384 of the law, which authorizes the US Interior Secretary to distribute $250 million annually to six Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas producing states in fiscal 2007 through 2010, MMS said. Alabama, California, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are the other five states, it indicated.
Alaska is the second of the six eligible states to receive funding under the program, MMS Director Randall B. Luthi said during a ceremony at Kincaid Park in Anchorage.
CIAP funding must be used for coastal area and wetlands conservation, preservation or restoration projects; fish, wildlife or natural resources damage mitigation; planning assistance and costs associated with CIAP legislative compliance; implementation of a federally-approved marine, coastal or comprehensive management plan; or mitigation of the impact of OCS activities through funding of onshore infrastructure projects and public service needs, according to the US Department of the Interior agency.
Annual payouts to rise
It said that Alaska will receive $2.5 million annually for fiscal 2007 and 2008. The yearly payout will climb to $30-40 million in fiscal 2009 and 2010 as a result of federal OCS Lease Sale No. 193 in the Chukchi Sea, which was held this past February. Funding revenue was determined by OCS revenue, with the first two years based on the fiscal 2006 total and the last two years based on the fiscal 2008 figure, MMS said.
It said that Alaska will receive 65% of the funding and the balance will be shared by the Anchorage, Bristol Bay, Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak Island, Lake & Peninsula, Matanuska-Susitna, North Slope and Northwest Arctic boroughs. Borough shares, which range from 0.08% for Bristol Bay to 35.27% for North Slope, are determined by a formula in EPACT, it said.
Alaska's plan currently contains 51 projects covering all four years of the program but was developed before the Chukchi Sea lease sale results were known, MMS said. Consequently, the state is amending its plan to consider a broader array of projects, it noted.
In a separate announcement, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's office said on Oct. 15 that the state would solicit additional projects soon through the Governor's Office Policy Cabinet for implementation by the state's Department of Natural Resources.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected]