ANTHC receives funding to complete environmental assessments for future sanitation projects
July 22, 2016Categories: Healthy Homes and Communities
ANTHC has been awarded grants to provide four communities with environmental assessments related to water and wastewater projects in Kasaan, Teller, Port Graham and Adak. The assessments will address environmental impacts associated with each community’s planned water and wastewater projects. Environmental assessments are necessary planning documents that evaluate any environmental impacts associated with construction and are required for submitting construction applications. In Kasaan, the existing ocean outfall pipe is discharging wastewater on the beach because it is perforated in several places due to corrosion. This environmental assessment will evaluate any impacts due to construction of a new ocean outfall system. Teller’s existing water treatment plant needs to be brought into compliance with current regulatory standards; the plant requires an upgrade in order to receive a new discharge permit. The environmental assessment will address environmental impacts associated with developing a new washeteria/water treatment plant, water storage tank and an onsite wastewater treatment system. Port Graham has five wastewater sewage outfalls that were installed almost 40 years ago. The community also has septic tanks that are exposed due to bank erosion. The tanks are experiencing frequent breaks that result in raw sewage being discharged on the beach near homes and subsistence areas of the community. The new project will provide a sewer lift station, force main and gravity collection main. The project will include a safe way of abandoning the five existing ocean outfall facilities and consolidate into one combined outfall facility. In Adak, the existing water treatment facilities need to be brought into compliance with current State of Alaska regulations. The project will ultimately provide residents with a direct filtration water treatment facility, water storage tank and transmission main to connect the new treatment system to the community. ANTHC will receive a total of $170,000 from the USDA-Rural Development Rural Alaska Village Grant Program and State of Alaska Village Safe Water Program to complete these assessments. The partnership between ANTHC, USDA-RD, State of Alaska and local representatives demonstrates the shared commitment to see sanitation projects into the future.