|
Coastal impact grant for Mat-Su borough
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has awarded a Coastal Impact Assistance Program grant of $976,176 to Alaska’s Matanuska-Susitna Borough for the production of very high resolution aerial imagery and elevation data for the borough’s coastal management zone.
The new imagery will allow the borough to assess the effects of climate change on glaciers, streams, landscapes and vegetation, as well as to better delineate watersheds and assess the potential environmental impacts of developments such as new transportation infrastructure, BOEMRE said.
Better understanding “The first step in protecting the environment is to learn more about it,” said BOEMRE Director Michael Bromwich on March 25. “With the funds granted through the CIAP program, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough will gain a better understanding of its coastal zone, the challenges it faces, and how best to allocate resources to meet those challenges.”
Under the Coastal Impact Assistance Program, established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Alaska and five other states with outer continental shelf oil and gas leasing programs can receive grants from federal OCS oil and gas revenues. Grant funds can only be used for projects that relate to the impacts of OCS activities, for certain types of environmental protection activities and for the operation of a federal coastal impact assistance program.
Each state is allocated CIAP grant funds based on the proportion of total federal oil and gas revenue generated from that state’s OCS, with the $2.7 billion raised from bonus bids in the 2008 Chukchi Sea lease sale considerably boosting Alaska’s fund entitlement.
—Alan Bailey
|
