1.This Act may be cited as
the Arctic Climate Adaptation
Act
.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)The United States
is an Arctic Nation with—
(A)an approximately
700-mile border with the Arctic Ocean;
(B)more than
100,000,000 acres of land above the Arctic Circle; and
(C)a broader area
within the Arctic isotherm that encompasses most of the Bering Sea.
(2)The Arctic region
of the United States—
(A)is home to an
indigenous population which has subsisted for millennia on the abundance in
marine mammals, fish, and wildlife, many of which are unique to the
region;
(B)is known to the
indigenous population as Inuvikput or the place where we live
;
and
(C)has produced more
than 16,000,000,000 barrels of oil and, according to the United States
Geological Survey, may hold an additional 30,000,000,000 barrels of oil and
220,000,000,000,000 cubic feet of natural gas, making the region of fundamental
importance to the national interest of the United States.
(3)Temperatures in
the United States Arctic region have warmed by 3 to 4 degrees Celsius over the
past half-century, a rate of increase that is twice the global average.
(4)The Arctic ice
pack is rapidly diminishing and thinning, and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration estimates the Arctic Ocean may be ice free during
summer months in as few as 30 years.
(5)Such changes to
the Arctic region are having a significant impact on the indigenous people of
the Arctic, their communities and ecosystems, as well as the marine mammals,
fish, and wildlife upon which they depend.
(6)Such changes are
opening new portions of the United States Arctic continental shelf to possible
development for offshore oil and gas, commercial fishing, marine shipping, and
tourism.
(7)Unprecedented
storms over an area of Arctic waters that are now ice-free are eroding sections
of Alaska shoreline at rates of 45 feet or more annually. Thawing permafrost is
causing roads and the foundations of public buildings and homes to buckle.
Entire Alaskan Arctic villages are at risk of serious erosion or of being
washed into the sea.
(8)As many as 4 of
Alaska’s coastal villages are at immediate risk and will face overwhelming
relocation costs in the during the period from 2009 through 2014 as the lack of
winter ice pack allows increased wave energy to erode beachfronts that are no
longer held together by frozen soil. The Government Accountability Office
estimates that relocation costs for those 4 villages will be $450,000,000 and
that as many as 30 additional Alaskan coastal villages will face similar
threats during the period from 2009 through 2019.
(9)A study conducted
by the Government Accountability Office published in June 2009, states that
most of Alaska’s more than 200 Native villages were affected to some
degree by flooding and erosion,
and recommends that Congress may
wish to consider designating or creating a lead Federal entity that could work
in conjunction with the lead state agency to coordinate and oversee village
relocation efforts
.
(10)A 2009 study by
the University of Alaska’s Institute for Social and Economic Research concluded
that the added adaptation costs for Alaska’s public infrastructure resulting
from climate change impacts will range up to $6,000,000,000 by 2030.
(11)Coastal erosion
and thawing permafrost threaten the public infrastructure, including airports
which are often the only link to the outside world, roadways, and other basic
utilities, of many of Alaska’s 267 incorporated communities, with an estimated
adaptation cost in the tens of billions of dollars during the several decades
following the date of the enactment of this Act.
(12)Additionally,
rising ocean temperatures and increased ocean acidification result in changes
in fish habitats and invasive fish species jeopardizing both Alaska’s
commercial fisheries, which produce 60 percent of the United States commercial
catch, and the subsistence hunting, fishing, and gathering that supplies as
much as 90 percent of the protein supply for as many as 214 economically
disadvantaged Alaskan Native villages from Metlakatla in the south to Point
Barrow in the north.
3.In this Act:
(1)The term Denali Commission means the
Denali Commission established pursuant to section 303(a) of the Denali
Commission Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 3121 note).
(2)The
term Program means the American Arctic Adaptation Grant Program
established under section 4(a).
4.American Arctic
Adaptation Grant Program
(a)There
is a established in the Department of Commerce a program to be known as the
American Arctic Adaptation Grant Program
to award grants to
eligible entities to carry out eligible projects, as described in this
section.
(b)
(1)The Denali Commission shall—
(A)be the Alaska
Project Coordinator for the Program; and
(B)select,
administer, and coordinate projects awarded grants under the Program.
(2)In
carrying out its responsibilities as the Alaska Project Coordinator, the Denali
Commission shall consult with affected communities, the State of Alaska, the
United States Army Corps of Engineers, the University of Alaska, the Arctic
Research Commission established pursuant to section 103 of the Arctic Research
and Policy Act of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4102), and the Inuit Circumpolar Council and
the Northern Forum or successor organizations.
(3)Adaptation
Advisory Committee
(A)The
Denali Commission shall establish an Adaptation Advisory Committee composed of
public and private members to advise the Denali Commission on climate
adaptation needs and investments and on the award of grants under the
Program.
(B)The
Adaptation Advisory Committee shall include one representative of each of the
following:
(i)The
Alaska Federation of Natives.
(ii)The Inter-Tribal
Council.
(iii)The Alaska
Native Science and Engineering Program of the University of Alaska.
(iv)The Alaska
Associated General Contractors Association.
(v)The
Alaska Department of Transportation.
(vi)The Alaska
Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.
(vii)The United
States Army Corps of Engineers.
(viii)Organized
labor.
(C)The
Denali Commission shall meet with the Adaptation Advisory Commission not less
often than once every 6 months.
(c)Other funds for
grant awardsTo the extent practicable and appropriate, the
Denali Commission may combine funds from the Program with awards from other
appropriate Federal or State infrastructure development, construction, or
maintenance programs to provide funds to carry out an eligible project.
(d)In this section, the term eligible entity
means—
(1)the State of
Alaska; or
(2)a borough and
community organized under the Constitution of the State of Alaska.
(e)In this
section, the term eligible project means a project to repair,
replace, or maintain an element of public infrastructure in a coastal or remote
Alaskan village damaged or threatened by the effects of climate change,
including flooding, storm surge, coastal or riparian erosion, melting
permafrost, and land subsidence not associated with normal seasonal effects. An
eligible project—
(1)may be designed to address—
(A)damage to a public transportation system
and infrastructure or to a public or privately owned building;
(B)negative impacts to human health;
(C)interruption of natural migration cycles or
disruption of habitats; or
(D)disruption of economic activities,
including projects to develop new northern sea routes; and
(2)shall be of a
permanent nature, and designed, built, and maintained to maximize
sustainability and resiliency.
(f)An
eligible entity seeking a grant under the Program shall submit an application
to the Denali Commission at such time and in such manner as the Commission
shall require. Each such application shall, at a minimum, include a complete
description of—
(1)the eligible
project proposed to be carried out with such grant; and
(2)the extent to
which one or more effects of climate change have necessitated, or given ongoing
and cumulative effects could necessitate, such eligible project.
(g)In selecting an eligible project to be carried out with
a grant under the Program, the Denali Commission—
(1)may select the
eligible project only if the eligible entity agrees—
(A)to submit to a
directed process in which the staff of the Denali Commission provides technical
assistance and guidance through the planning phase, design phase, and
construction phase of the eligible project; and
(B)that not more
than 25 percent of the grant funds may be used for administrative expenses;
and
(2)shall give a
preference to an eligible project that will be carried out with non-Federal
funds to match the amount of the grant funds.
(h)The Denali Commission shall publish an annual work plan for
the Program. Each such plan shall include—
(1)a description of
each eligible project approved to receive a grant under the Program during the
previous year;
(2)updates on the
planning, design, and construction of each eligible project approved to receive
such a grant in a prior year; and
(3)guidance to
eligible entities seeking to obtain such a grant for the following year.
5.
(a)Requirement To
conduct researchDuring
fiscal year 2010, and in collaboration with the State of Alaska, the University
of Alaska, and relevant agencies of the United States, the Denali Commission
shall conduct research on the best practices for climate related adaption that
are being used or researched by other polar nations or foreign or domestic
research institutions or institutions of higher learning, and which could be
used by Arctic communities in Alaska. Such research shall focus on—
(1)environmentally sensitive design;
(2)clean energy alternatives; and
(3)innovative transportation,
telecommunications, and other infrastructure solutions.
(b)Not later than December 31, 2010, the
Denali Commission shall submit to Congress, the Secretary of Commerce, the
Secretary of the Treasury, the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works),
and the Governor of Alaska a report on the research carried out under
subsection (a).
6.Authorization of
appropriations
(a)American Arctic
Adaptation Grant ProgramThere is authorized to be appropriated to
the Secretary of Commerce such sums as may be necessary to carry out the
Program.
(b)There is authorized to be appropriated
$5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 to carry out section 5.