Obama’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act committed billions of dollars to build and plan more efficient waste and water systems. In the rural areas of Alaska communities, which have some of the poorest pipes for sewage and water across the nation The state has promised to match the money.
However, in a letter addressed in a letter to the government, Bethel’s city council questioned the method used by the state to determine the community’s eligibility.
Bethel officials are asking if it is the case that Alaska has made a sincere effort to finance sustainable sewer and water services for rural Alaska. They are asking if the only thing that the state is paying for is lip service.
In an email, Bethel City Attorney Libby Bakalar claims that those funds are hidden within an “bureaucratic maze.”
“So the money that goes into these water projects is provided by the EPA and goes to the state. The state is responsible for managing the money,” said Bethel City Manager Pete Williams. “And that’s why the state has to come up with a way to make someone eligible for money. We’re basically suggesting that it’s more an obstacle to obtaining the money rather than a way to get it.”
Contrary to the majority of U.S., many communities located in rural Alaska have a few or no pipes for sewage and water in part due to price. Bethel is among the highest utility bills across the country. But, as the city explains the scoring system of the state penalizes communities that do not have pipes. Communities that don’t have pipes averaged 22 points less than those with piped infrastructure.
“You know, I’m saying I think there ought been a better way. You can’t think that someone in Timbuktu to behave exact same thing as someone (in) the city of Seattle. That’s why I say there needs to be some kind of give and take in this,” Williams said.
In the year that was in question, Bethel didn’t qualify to apply for grants since it failed either of two criteria to be considered for Rural Utility Business Program by one point. This one point meant that Bethel couldn’t submit a request for a grant of $19 million. The score was a bit surprising due to the fact that, as per the official letter it was submitted by the city with nearly identical paperwork last year and was awarded 28 points more. The city claims that this is due to a flaw in its scoring procedure.
“What’s needed has been considered to be the subject of a moving goal.” Williams said.
Although Bethel presented the huge amount of data needed, the company was criticized for not submitting some of the data in the budget properly. Williams expressed his displeasure since city officials weren’t informed that there was a problem until a few months later. Moreover, the entire budget documents are accessible online. Williams said that many communities don’t pass through the system, too.
“There’s 11 communities which did not achieve this standard,” Williams said. “So at the end of the day the money was intended to be utilized is not being used. You know, the federal government will give you the money, they tell you”Hey, we’re going to install certain pipes for water or sewer infrastructure’ but it doesn’t flow down to the people who require it. It’s as simple as that.”
The letter also notes that the statistics don’t take into account local elements such as the financial effects of subsistence lifestyles and the subsidy that communities already receive as well as the ability of customers to contribute. In any event the construction cost is high, and the grants are only for new construction projects, which Bethel is having trouble paying for.
“These projects are put out for bid and, when they are returned at three times more than the estimates,” Williams said.
The management of sewage and water effectively isn’t going to disappear. Piped infrastructure is the most vital tool to improve the quality of life in rural Alaska and also to comply with the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
“To be fit, it’s been established that it’s extremely crucial,” He said. “You are aware that about this area because when I first arrived in the 80s, there was a massive outbreak of Hepatitis B which had a an immediate correlation with honey buckets.”
The letter from the city asks the state to change its policy and make the infrastructure improvements they’ve pledged. The city’s letter requests for Bethel be able to apply for funds immediately and for the state to eliminate eligibility criteria gatekeeping grants which, they argue perpetuate health disparities that have been present for decades in Bethel and in the region around it.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation say they’re working on a reply in response to this letter.
