ANCSA Contaminated Lands Legislative Objectives

• Swap undesirable ANCSA lands with unencumbered federal property. See sample language.

• Complete ANCSA Contaminated site database - provide ANVCA, Alaska DEC, and ANTHC with needed resources

• Include ANC lands in EPA Tribal clean up superfund - or create $1 billion in Alaska specific clean-up 



• Prioritize the clean-up of ANCSA contaminated lands.

• Provide adequate funding for Brownfields program, NALEMP, FUDS, etc.

• Adopt mitigation clean-up credits and tax credits for clean-up activities on ANCSA lands. See sample language.

• Require a minimum of bi-annual agency reporting on the status of clean-up on ANCSA lands. 

• Provide Native contractor preference for clean-up on Native land. See sample language.

The goal of the Alaska Native Village Corporation Association (ANVCA) is to advocate for action, not reporting on contaminated sites that were transferred via ANCSA.  There are over 1,000 contaminated sites on land conveyed to Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) and additional sites on land pending conveyance. These sites were contaminated under the ownership and/or responsibility of the federal government and then transferred to Native ownership. 

Contaminated sites contain a variety of toxic materials including arsenic, solvents, PCBs, asbestos, mining waste chemicals, mercury, toxic metals, unexploded ordinances, petroleum, and oil. 

Additional Reading:

• 1998 Report to Congress
• 2016 Report to Congress
• Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Testimony August 2022
• Letter from Governor Dunleavy