TESTIMONY OF THE VILLAGE OF UNALAKLEET BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES SENTATE JUNE 30, 2004
HEARING ON ALASKA NATIVE VILLAGE AFFECTED BY FLOODING AND EROSION
PRESENTED BY STEVE IVANOFF PRESIDENT, UNALAKLEET NATIVE CORPORATION P.O. BOX 266 UNALAKLEET, AK. 99684
Welcome to our great State of Alaska. We hope this is a very pleasant experience for you, in the hope that you will come back again. I am Steve Ivanoff from Unalakleet and will be speaking to you today as the President of Unalakleet Native Corporation
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the flooding and erosion problems we have, and have had in our community of Unalakleet. Unfortunately, we are experienced on both of these issues.
Introduction - Background
Unalakleet is 393 air miles west of Anchorage on the easternmost part of Norton Sound. This location was selected to provide quick and easy access to the many subsistence activities that this area has to offer. It sits on a sand-spit between the Unalakleet River and the Norton Sound. This settlement has been estimated to be in existence for over 2000 years. The population is approaching 800 with an Alaska Native population of approximately 85%, Inupiat and Yupik Eskimos, and Athabascan Indians. It is classified as a regional sub-hub, serving mail and freighting services for itself and four other villages. The Bering Straits School District central offices are located in Unalakleet serving 15 villages in the Norton Sound region, and a sub-regional clinic that provides medical services for Unalakleet residents and four other villages. Commercial fishing was the driving force of economics for decades but with the decline of the salmon stock and the crash of the herring market, Unalakleet has become a service providing community. A 6,000 foot runway was constructed in the 60’s as our village was a host to hundreds of Air Force service men for a couple of decades having an Air Force base 5 miles northeast of the village. A White Alice site was also stationed 10 miles to the east, along with a Federal Aviation Administration facility, housing a number of workers and their families. These facilities were all shut down with the end of the cold war and modern technology. As a result of these services we still have contaminated soils being extracted from our subsistence grounds as I speak.
As a child I remember staying at the Air Force base for a few days during the floods of 1964, and 1974 along with the other youth, women, and elders from our village. Some homes, including ours, were removed from their foundations and many others filled with water halfway up the walls during these floods. For 29 years we were fortunate to experience milder fall storms and did not have another surge of this magnitude until the flood of 2003. However, within those 29 years we did experience the normal fall storms and saw buildings moved to escape disaster and some structures consumed by the ocean. With their own resources the community tried to combat the storms with crude means but saw all of these temporary fixes overwhelmed by the ocean. The village agencies were successful in having Unalakleet declared a disaster from the flood of 2003. The funds have yet to be allocated that will cover the cost of the clean up and repair to the gabion wall. In addition, areas that had protective rock need to be restored. This flood filled yards and basements with seawater that made it over the wall. I had to have rock hauled in by a local contractor to divert the water surge around my home. The first load he hauled in was sand and dissipated in seconds but fortunately the rock quickly diverted the water.
My comments are not intended to be critical of the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) or any agency involved in assisting us. We appreciate any and all of the services they have graciously provided.
FLOODING - The month of November is when we have the storms that have threatened our community with water surges from the ocean. In the late 70’s a road was constructed on the ocean side of the village serving two purposes. It provided an access route between the airport and the business section of the village, and more importantly, a barrier between the community structures and the ocean. This road is .9 of a mile long and had water surging over it only on the lower section on the southern end. This lower section of the road is roughly 2 feet below the high point of this road and would be more effective if the whole road were to be raised at or above this level. Another road was constructed in the 80’s on the north-eastern part of the village providing an access road to the hillside and a barrier from the water surge. These two locations are different with the western side providing a relief from the pounding ocean waves,
EROSION –The greatest erosion occurs at the mouth of the river, additional erosion occurs along the beach. This takes place during the spring thaw and the fall storms. In the year 2000, a gabion wall erosion protection project was constructed beginning at the mouth of the river and running along the beach. This 1400-foot project was funded by NRCS in the amount of $1 million. The gabion wall is shown in the attached photos. This wall protected structures within the community during the November flood of 2003. The gabion wall is good, but has room for improvement, as we all know hindsight is 20/20. As a former site supervisor for this project I feel these improvements can be applied:
The ends of a gabion wall needs to start and end at a solid base, this project should have been pulled in at the end to the existing road. Any structure should be back filled to eliminate the backwash that causes the loss of rock as observed. The plans did not call for backfill but we asked the site inspectors to have this done, fortunately they approved this otherwise a lot more damage would have occurred.
The ocean side of the project should have had a toe constructed below the low-tide line on the beach. This would eliminate the undercutting we are now observing.
A stronger wire mesh or alternate material should be used for the gabion baskets as we are seeing a high level of wear and tear from driftwood. We are concerned about the longevity of the wire mesh, as much of the coating on the wire has worn off, exposing the wire to the corrosive saltwater and accelerating rust.
We were not allowed to elevate the structure, leaving us to follow the contour of the surrounding grounds. Elevating the wall would have eliminated the need for a declaration providing disaster assistance. The Native Village of Unalakleet and funding from a Kawerak heavy equipment training program, provided for the haul of additional rock for the top of the gabions. This additional material acted as a splash rail that saved some buildings from structural damage. These are considerations for future improvements. They were left out of the original project due to funding constraints. We feel the life of this project has been diminished due to stringent funding guidelines.
We are in desperate need of immediate protection from flooding and erosion. Based on current cost benefit analysis guidelines of the federal programs that address flooding and erosion we do not qualify for projects. The State of Alaska has provided local match for studies by the Army Corps of Engineers in the amount of over $50 million, and has yet to see construction projects of any significance from these studies. Our village has been, and currently is active, in trying to make a change to these policies. We are frustrated with the hurdles that we face. Until there are changes in federal policies, or an exemption is made for underdeveloped states such as Alaska, we will remain vulnerable.
While most of the revenue generated in Alaska is extracted from the rural areas, we still struggle for simple things such as safety. In rural Alaska, subsistence in the biggest driving force of existence and has not been accounted for in the benefit side of the policies, however, I understand that it is now being considered.
We have seen some successes with the construction of the roads mentioned above and the gabion wall but we need to eliminate the hardships that come with each disaster. Unfortunately there are funds available for reactive measures but little for proactive safeguards.
We are one of the youngest and the most underdeveloped states in the Union. This makes the job of our Alaska Congressional delegation, and you, our Senate Appropriations Committee, a monumental task given Alaska’s immediate needs, especially when compared to the existing infrastructure of the other states. Our wonderful State has a lot to offer, but we do need to make it a safe place for all, residents and visitors alike. We sympathize with the other communities facing their own flooding and erosion problems and realize there is no one size fits all solution. In conclusion, I invite you to visit Unalakleet, and see the threats we face. The federal programs are not functioning the way they should, and the way we think you intended. We appreciate the study done by the General Accounting Office, released last December, and urge Congress to implement its recommendations.
