The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' baseline assessment recommends that 26 communities be considered for immediate action, either by initiating an evaluation of potential solutions or continuing with ongoing efforts to manage erosion.

The communities include Akiak, Alakanuk, Barrow, Chefornak, Chevak, Clark's Point, Cordova/Eyak, Deering, Dillingham, Emmonak, Golovin, Huslia, Kivalina, Kotlik, Kwigillingok, Lime Village, McGrath, Napakiak, Newtok, Nunapitchuk, Port Heiden, Saint Michael, Selawik, Shaktoolik, Shishmaref and Unalakleet.

Another 69 communities were identified as having erosion problems that were not significant enough to require immediate action, but were recommended for monitoring. Another 83 other communities were noted to have minimal erosion damage.

The erosion assessment report was released April 15, just weeks after Congress modified the Corps' authority to construct solutions for erosion control in Alaska through the repeal in March of section 117 of the 2005 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act.

Section 117 had allowed projects constructed under that authority to be funded at full federal expense, and did not require such projects be justified by using the traditional benefit-cost ratio test.

Under section 117, the study noted, the Corps has been able to initiate construction at Kivalina, Newtok, Shishmaref and Unalakleet, but with the repeal of the section, it is unknown whether these projects can be completed as planned.

The Corps' Steve Boardman, chief of the civil project management branch in Alaska, said he is waiting for a ruling on implications of the repeal of section 117. Boardman said April 20 that his office "is still of the strong opinion that three contracts awarded for Shishmaref, Unalakleet and Kivalina are still valid contracts."

The contract for this summer's work for Shishmaref went to Bering Pacific Construction, a subsidiary of the Bering Straits Native Corp., for 750 linear feet of riprap, a revetment made of layers of rock of varying sizes, Boardman said.

Kiewit Pacific was awarded a contract for 671 linear feet for erosion protection at Unalakleet, plus an end cap to protect the revetment until further monies are available.

Brice Inc. was awarded the Kivalina revetment contract, which included 400 linear feet built last fall, with an option to build another 1,200 feet this summer, Boardman said. The last option was another 400 feet, but the contractor said they couldn't exercise another 400 feet until next summer.

In the wake of enactment of the 2005 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, Congress appropriated $2.4 million in 2006, $6 million in 2007 and $4.9 million in 2008, all for use in erosion projects in Koktovik, Barrow, Point Hope, Kivalina, Shishmaref, Koyukok, Unalakleet, Newtok and Bethel.

Some of that money is also going toward plans for an evacuation road and evacuation center for the village of Newtok, which is planning to move to a new site, in Mertarvik, located three miles inland.

The evacuation center would have water and sewage facilities, power and heat, a place for Newtok residents to get out of the elements in an emergency situation, Boardman said.

"We are hoping the system will allow us to finish the phase of work we are in," he said.

Boardman said he's not sure where more federal dollars will come from in the future. Meanwhile, he is working with Alaska's congressional delegation and others to get some more funding sources.

"If there is new legislation proposed, there would probably be some level of cost sharing," he said.

Other current available funding sources include the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which has programs that can provide erosion control assistance through the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954, section 14 of the U.S. Flood Control Act of 1946, and section 103 of the U.S. River and Harbor Act of 1962.

NRCS is authorized to cooperate with states and local agencies to carry out works of improvement, including projects to prevent erosion damage, using funds from the watershed protection and flood prevention legislation.

The U.S. Flood Control Act allows the Corps to plan, design and construct erosion control projects that protect public infrastructure, and section 103 of the U.S. River and Harbor Act is used for protection against storm waves and hurricanes.

Boardman said under section 14 legislation, his agency can spend a maximum of $1.5 million on Alaska projects, and under section 103 legislation, once federal funds hit a maximum of $3 million, local governments must begin to pick up a 35 percent cost share.

One of the ironies of the situation is the addition of permanent schools in rural communities has made it more difficult to just pick up and move, Boardman said.

Passage of the Molly Hootch legislation in the mid-1970s required construction of school facilities in many communities, so that students from grammar school through high school did not have to be flown away from their families for nine months of the year to attend boarding schools. With these new schools came power plants, airports and more infrastructure.

At this point, Boardman said, the Corps is still trying to determine the impact of the loss of section 117 funds, and the baseline erosion assessment has identified significant problems, opening up the obvious question of how federal and state governments will tackle the problem.

A combination of federal, state and local responses will ultimately determine how the Corps will address the needs of these communities, he said. On the Web: www.poa.usace.army.mil/en/cw/index.htm.