Federal infrastructure bill promises to bring $550 billion to Alaska

Senator Lisa Murkowski, in conjunction with a bipartisan committee of her colleagues, released the first draft of a massive $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill on Sunday. The bill, formally titled the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, will target public transit, highways, clean drinking water, high speed internet and the ongoing climate crisis across rural communities, including in Alaska’s native villages.

Murkowski called the plan a “big win” for Alaskan infrastructure and says more than $550 billion will go towards national roads, bridges, rail, transit, ports, airports, energy, water systems and broadband.

The bill is over 2,700 pages in length and is currently going through review in the Senate.

According to a statement from the White House, the bill will “ensure every American has access to reliable, high-speed internet,” and will “invest in water infrastructure across America, including in Tribal Nations and disadvantaged communities that need it most.”

These goals are lofty, particularly so in areas of rural areas of the state where the infrastructure doesn’t yet exist, including in parts of the Nome, Norton Sound and Bering Strait region.

Across the state, 32 of the 190 rural Alaska Native communities do not have access to in-home running water, according to a press release from Murkowski’s office. Of the 32, five communities are in the Bering Strait region: Little Diomede, Wales, Teller, Shishmaref and Stebbins completely lack water and sewer infrastructure. Only Nome, Unalakleet, Elim, and Shaktoolik have complete water and sewer systems, according to Kawerak’s 2019 Bering Strait Community Needs Assessment.

Eleven communities have inadequate, unsafe, or no water supply disposal system, according to the Indian Health Service Sanitation Deficiency System scoring criteria.

Murkowski did not specify whether funding would be directed towards rural villages around Nome, Norton Sound and the Bering Strait, but indicated that almost $200 million over five years would be dedicated to water and wastewater projects in Alaska.

High-speed internet, too, is historically inaccessible across the region, though several internet providers and satellite companies are working to change that. According to Kawerak’s 2019 Bering Strait Community Needs Assessment report, internet service is available in all communities in the region, but is often disrupted, slow and expensive.

“Whether it’s rebuilding existing infrastructure, driving innovative technology, or addressing the lack of basic infrastructure in rural communities, this bill will create economic opportunities and improve the lives of Alaskans across the state,” Murkowski said in a statement. “I worked hard to stand up for Alaska’s unique infrastructure needs—taking into account that when we think of infrastructure, it’s not just roads and bridges. This bill … invests in critical water infrastructure to bring clean water to families.”

Murkowski hopes to use funds from the bill to support critical mineral projects, including the development of a graphite mine near Teller.

Despite numerous attempts to find out specifics relating to Nome and the Bering Strait region, Sen. Murkowski’s staff did not respond in time to comment.