08.19.22

Murkowski, Sullivan Welcome over $45 Million DOT Grant to the Native Village of Eyak to Benefit Oil Spill Response Facility

Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both R-AK) today announced $45.7 million in a U.S. Department of Transportation grant has been awarded to the Native Village of Eyak. This funding will allow for a 4.2 mile highway extension to connect to Cordova’s existing road system at Orca Creek to the Shepard Point Oil Spill Response Facility.

“The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill resulted in the release of roughly eleven million gallons of crude oil into the open ocean, impacting more than 1,300 miles of coastline. Over three decades later, communities throughout Prince William Sound are still feeling the impacts. It was a tragic event which served as a catalyst for shaping America’s oil spill response methods,” said Senator Murkowski. “The construction of the Shepard Point Marine Tribal Transportation & Oil Spill Response Facility is a long-standing, top priority for the Native Village of Eyak for years. I’m proud to have helped ensure they have the dedicated infrastructure in place to protect the environment.” 

“The DOT highway funding announced this week for an extended road to the Shepard Point Marine Tribal Transportation (MTT) & Oil Spill Response (OSR) Facility, coupled with the $40 million grant announced last year for the facility itself, will help the Eyak people protect their way of life and provide economic opportunities,” Senator Sullivan said. “I am pleased to see key provisions of the bipartisan infrastructure legislation I negotiated in the Environmental and Public Works (EPW) Committee finally come to fruition. By helping prevent any future spill from becoming an ecological disaster, the fishing, tourism and resource development industries in the Prince William Sound and Copper River Delta region stand to benefit.”

“All of us at the Native Village of Eyak would like to thank Senator Murkowski, Senator Sullivan, and their staff for their hard work and commitment to the Shepard Point project. Their support through the grant process has been critical to ensuring our community, state and nation are never again unprepared for a catastrophe like the Exxon-Valdez oil spill in 1989. We are honored to receive this award and promise to be good stewards in its use,” said Bert Adams, Executive Director of the Native Village of Eyak.

The NSFLTP Program was reauthorized and funded through H.R. 3684, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Senator Murkowski played a lead role in writing and negotiating. 

This funding announcement dovetails a January 2021 grant of $40.1 million awarded to the Native Village of Eyak from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

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