The primary objective of the EPA's ancsa cooperative agreement grants program is to provide financial support to assist the alaska tribal entities with addressing contamination on lands conveyed…

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 10 awarded a $295,000 Cooperative Agreement to Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation (UIC) under the Contaminated Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) Lands Assistance Agreements Program (CFDA 66.965) on March 15, 2025, with performance concluding by December 31, 2026. This cooperative agreement supports UIC's efforts to address environmental contamination on ANCSA lands in Utqiagvik, Alaska, specifically focusing on asbestos abatement and remediation activities at a contaminated building.

Under this award, UIC will deliver comprehensive environmental remediation services including site characterization and assessment, preparation of quality assurance and health and safety planning documents, community involvement and public information activities, contractor procurement and oversight, asbestos abatement operations, hazardous waste disposal in accordance with federal and state regulations, and performance reporting to EPA. The primary objective is to remove asbestos contamination from Building 360, L Wing 200 to enable safe reoccupancy by college occupants. UIC will assemble a project management team, contract with qualified environmental professionals, and ensure full compliance with applicable environmental regulations and occupational safety requirements throughout all cleanup activities.

The primary objective of the EPA's ancsa cooperative agreement grants program is to provide financial support to assist the alaska tribal entities with addressing contamination on lands conveyed pursuant to the alaska native claims settlement act (ancsa) (43 U.S.C. 1601 ET SEQ.). The funds are available to eligible tribal applicant to: (1) to characterize, assess, and conduct planning and community involvement activities related to these lands; and (2) to carry out cleanup activities at ancsa contaminated sites. The alaska native village corporation (ANC) of ukpeagvik inupiat corporation (UIC) will assemble a project management team, select, and contract a qualified environmental professional (QEP), ensuring compliance with all environmental regulatory and for the safety of field operations to adequately address associated hazardous material (hazmat), safety, and human health requirements. The goal, and outcome, is to remove (or abate) the asbestos from the building 360, l wing 200 to be reinhabited by the college occupants at the end of this project.activities:ukpeagvik inupiat corporation (UIC) will perform the following activities: the grant recipient ukpeagvik inupiat corporation (UIC) will prepare and publish notices, prepare meeting materials and presentations, and prepare and distribute other public information materials. UIC will work with the contractor(s) to create a quality assurance project plan (qapp), environmental documents, health, and safety plans (hasps) and final remediation (cleanup) plans. To clean up the contaminants, UIC will create rfps for contractor procurement, conduct abatement and remaining contaminations of wing 200 and affected surrounding, ensure the recovered hazardous materials and associated waste products are disposed of in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Schedule performance reports including a final report are to be prepared by UIC and provided to the EPA. Subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:grant funding will allow ukpeagvik inupiat corporation (UIC) to select a qualitied remediation contractor to complete the remediation and cleanup of the contamination and to address associated hazardous material (hazmat), safety, and human health requirements, allowing the safety reuse of the property owned by the UIC native tribe. The direct beneficiaries of this program include the grantee, a native tribe, as well as the remote community of ukpeagvik residents through the cleanup and redevelopment of this site.