Testimony
My name is Stanley Tom, Tribal Liaison, for the Newtok Traditional Council.
I have been working with Newtok Traditional Council since 1997 as
President, before the Newtok Traditional Council became contracted to PL-93-638.
We’re fairly new with PL93-638, it’s our 4th year and we are in a learning process.
Newtok Traditional Council had a 3-year agreement with the Army Corps back in October 2001, and it was Planning Assistance to State (PAS) project with the agreement for cost-share study relocation improvement project.
Every since the agreement, I feel it’s a slow process and Native Village of Newtok needs to lay-out the new village site at Nelson Island, before the erosion hits the existing village.
The land exchange was finalized between the Newtok Native Corporation and Fish and Wildlife on April 28, 2004 by Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton.
The Army Corps of Engineers need to speed up the new village site. We had a previous meeting with agencies, and I had a concern with the FAA. They said they would not build the airport, only if we moved the village site, and it’s way too late to build an airport.
How will we ship the supplies to the new village site when we started to build the Township or the new village site such as: barge landing area, water infiltration gallery area, the proposed airport site, and the area of the proposed village infrastructure area roads and streets.
The ASCG, Inc made a proposed land use & transportation plan for Newtok village back in December of 2001 to Bureau of Indian Affairs. During the BIA Providers Workshop, I checked on our proposed transportation planning list. We are on the bottom list for FY2020. That’s way too late for the roads to be built for the New village site.
ASCG, INC also made a “Background for Relocation report “January of 2004, and the report was sent to various agencies. We had some replies from the background relocation report, the report covered the introduction, village characteristics, summary of Erosion problem, it contained the erosion problem, statistical analysis of the erosion rate, the average annual erosion rate is about 62 to 130 feet per year, the existing barge landing is being impacted by the erosion now and by 2006 it will be gone.
Under my observation the existing airport will be impacted in the year 2011 or less because there are small lakes in that area, and in that area our water resource will be impacted first.
Department of Commerce and Economic Development will be doing a community profile mapping of the existing and the new relocation site, and I need both to be conducted as soon as possible, especially the new village site so we can start working on the environmental review record for the new village site.
The Newtok Traditional Council needs to do a community comprehensive planning for the new village site, and I just finished a mini-grant for 30,000.00 from the State of Alaska and I’m hoping it will be approved, because the federal and the State will not appropriate any funds without the community comprehensive planning for any planning funds.
The Newtok Traditional Council has proved its village move by “Background for Relocation Report.” We need to start establishing the new village site this year and if the Army Corps of Engineers are not ready to start the new village site, then the Newtok Traditional Council should hire an architect and engineers to speed-up the new village site. The problem is that the Newtok Traditional Council does not have any funding.
I know we made a 100% federal partnership agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers to assist us on the development of our relocation effort.
There are three (3) funds available; first program is Planning Assistance to State Program (PAS), Alaska Villages Erosion Technical Assistance program (AVETA), and Energy and Water Development Appropriation Act (EWDA).
I would like the full Senate Committee to speed-up the Newtok relocation effort to start on the new village site, before the existing village is impacted by the erosion.
