The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration announced the awarding of a $45.7 million grant to Alaska's Native Village of Eyak.
The grant, funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Joe Biden in August, will be used to construct a highway, dock support facilities and a boat ramp at the Marine Tribal Transportation and Shepard Point Oil Spill Response Facility, according to an Aug. 17 news release. The grant will improve transportation access to the facility, which is currently under construction and will be used as a multi-modal transportation and oil spill emergency response center for tribal members, as well as the general Cordova community and the surrounding area.
“The grant we’re providing will help the Native Village of Eyak and surrounding communities respond to oil spills and other emergencies more effectively,” FHWA Acting Adminstrator Stephanie Pollack said in the release. “We’re proud to partner with the Tribe on transportation improvements that will help protect the environment and prepare for events in the future by putting in place infrastructure that improves the safety and well-being of the Village and the Cordova community.”
“Through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re now modernizing more of the infrastructure that creates opportunity in Tribal communities,” DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the release. “Today, we’re proud to award more than $45 million to improve transportation access to the Marine Tribal Transportation and Shepard Point Oil Spill Response Facility in Alaska.”
The new award marks the second time the Village has received money for the Response Facility from the FHWA, and it builds upon a $40 million award given in 2020, the release reported. The Response Facility has been of great importance for the tribe following the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, and it will serve as a hub for the development of maritime support services.
