In rural Alaska, the state has promised to match federal funds for improving water and sewage infrastructure – but Bethel City Attorney Libby Bakalar says the state funds are buried in a “bureaucratic maze.”
In a letter, Bethel City Attorney Libby Bakalar says those funds are buried in a “bureaucratic maze.”
Unlike the vast majority of the U.S., many communities in rural Alaska have few or no piped water and sewage facilities, primarily because of the cost. Bethel has some of the most expensive utility costs in the country. But the city points out, the state’s scoring system punishes communities that don’t already have piped infrastructure. Communities without pipes scored on average 22 points lower than piped communities.
This year, Bethel didn’t qualify to apply for grant money because it didn’t pass one of the two metrics for the Rural Utility Business Program by one point. That single point meant the city couldn’t apply for a $19 million grant. This score was surprising in part because, according to the letter, the city submitted nearly identical documentation last year and scored 28 points higher. The city contends this is a flaw with the scoring system.
The letter also points out the metrics don’t account for local factors like the financial impact of subsistence living, the subsidies communities already benefit from, and the willingness of customers to pay. In any case, the cost of construction has been high, and these grants only pay for new projects, which Bethel has a hard time affording.Managing water and sewage effectively isn’t a problem that’s going to go away.
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