Funding for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers construction will dip over the next two years but may bump up again from 2009 through 2012, the Corps' top official in Alaska told an Anchorage business group Feb. 1.
Col. Kevin Wilson, the Corps' district commander, told the Resource Development Council that the Corps had about $537 million in projects underway in 2006, but funding has dropped to about $500 million this year.
Wilson said he expects a dip in authorizations to about $250 million to $300 million in 2008, but for a return to funding levels around $500 million per year from 2009 through 2012.
Activity will be brisk at Fort Wainwright, in Fairbanks, with $1 billion in new military construction, mostly in housing and dormitory projects, planned over the next five years, Wilson told the RDC.
Over the past few years, Corps funding in Alaska has reached record highs, beginning with missile defense work. More recently, the U.S. Army has reorganized its operations, an effort that resulted in thousands of new troops and their families to be stationed at Alaska bases, which has greatly boosted the need for housing.
What is unclear is how — or if — Congress will fund Base Realignment and Closure, or BRAC. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 2005 recommended moving Kulis Air National Guard Base, located next to the Anchorage airport, to a newly combined Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base. The directive set a deadline for the move at 2011.
The Kulis move alone would cost about $160 million.
The bulk of the Corps' programs are in support of military bases in Alaska, but about $28 million is budgeted this year for civil projects, mostly on harbor improvements but also including coastal erosion protection. This is down from $39.9 million authorized last year for civil works.
Another $17 million is budgeted this year for a continuing cleanup program on deactivated military installations, Wilson said.
Many of the civil works projects are funded through “earmark” appropriations by the state's congressional delegation, and this has become a major area of concern, Wilson said.
“If Congress does away with earmarks, this will become a big issue for us in 2008,” for civil works funding, he said. While Alaska civil works spending is a small fraction of funds allocated to more populated parts of the nation, the programs must still be tested against a national benefits model. That can be a challenge in high-cost regions like Alaska and for communities that are small.
Wilson said the Corps tries to emphasize safety and environmental protection as well as the economic benefits of projects to overcome the disadvantage of the national benefits test.
A new area of concern for the Corps is the lack of deep-water ports of refuge for large ocean vessels in the Aleutians.
“We are seeing more and more shipping on the North Pacific route. On a clear day out there you can see almost an endless line of ships from the air,” Wilson told the RDC.
“Several recent events with vessels in distress have reminded us that we do not have ports of refuge in the Aleutians. There is also greater interest in the Bering and Chukchi seas by cruise ships.
“We're talking with people in Washington about this, trying to make people understand this problem. A real tragedy will occur if a cruise ship gets into trouble,” he said.
Tim Bradner can be reached at tim.bradner@alaskajournal.com.
