Governor to clarify stance in EPA letter - UPROAR: Tribal leaders thought grants jeopardized.
In 2004, Gov. Frank Murkowski angered Alaska tribal leaders with a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency last month that appeared aimed at cutting off $13.5 million in grants to 150 Alaska tribes.
Glenn Fredericks was one of the tribal leaders incensed by the letter. The grants help tribes run cleanup and recycling programs and plan solid waste dump sites, he said.
"These are working, and Murkowski wants to cut that out, and what has the state ever done out there in rural Alaska to help?" said Fredericks, president of the Native Village of Georgetown, which is working to re-establish its largely abandoned village on the Kuskokwim River.
His tribe of 107 members receives $110,000 from the EPA and $120,000 from a federal grant for small and needy tribes. It has paid some of its money to the state in recording fees and to review well specifications, he said.
"How much money does the state get from EPA? We don't see none of it," Frederick said. "I don't know what's wrong with (Murkowski). He's been our senator and he knows our problems out there and yet he attacks everything we do."
Citation
RUSKIN, L. (2004, February 7). Governor to clarify stance in EPA letter - UPROAR: Tribal leaders thought grants jeopardized. Anchorage Daily News (AK), p. B1.
