Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, Friday announced big wins for Alaska within H.R. 4366, the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024. The measure combines six of Congress’ 12 funding bills for Fiscal Year (2024) and passed the Senate on Friday evening through a bipartisan vote of 75-22.

“After months of unnecessary delay, Congress has finally taken a big step by passing six of our 12 appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2024 on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis. Considering the vast size of our state and limited infrastructure, the significant investments I have included in these measures are well-justified and much-needed,” Murkowski said. “From programmatic wins to congressionally directed spending projects, the funding I have secured is the direct result of working together with Alaskans from across the state to address the needs of their communities. This package invests in our military while enabling us respond to workforce shortages, food insecurity, clean drinking water needs, the housing crunch, the high cost of energy, crises in our fisheries, and more.”

As the Ranking Member of the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Murkowski ensured direct investment for a number of projects vital to Alaska’s communities.

“Basic needs are non-negotiable, and this legislation directs funding to projects that will help Alaskans meet those needs, from clean public drinking water to wastewater collection,” Murkowski said. “I also worked hard to ensure that the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program is fully funded in this year’s Interior bill. PILT funds local government services, including firefighting and police protection, and the construction of public schools and roads. I’m proud that Alaska’s local governments can continue to depend on PILT as they make their plans for the upcoming year.”

Both she and Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) worked with partners across Alaska to secure CDS funding for a wide range of local, community-driven priorities, as highlighted below.

Highlights for Alaska

Investing in Infrastructure

Murkowski included significant funding for infrastructure projects that will help build out and modernize roads, bridges, ports, and airport projects across Alaska. This includes $345 million for transportation infrastructure through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program, $18 million for the Denali Commission’s waterfront and surface transportation program (Denali Access Program), and protecting funding for the Essential Air Service for essential air routes in the state from being cut.

Murkowski also secured­ the following CDS requests to strengthen infrastructure and provide investments to projects in rural communities in the bill:

• Hooper Bay: $5 million for the Native Village of Hooper Bay to construct a road and barge landing.
• Ketchikan: $1.8 million for the Ketchikan Gateway Borough to make airport improvements.
• Whittier: $3 million for the Alaska Department of Transportation to help construct the Shotgun Cove Road.
• Kodiak: $2.5 million for the Alaska Department of Transportation to fund the Anton Larsen Bay Road project.
• Anchorage: $2 million for the Alaska Railroad Corporation to fund avalanche mitigation activities.
• Anchorage: $5 million for the Port of Alaska, Anchorage to fund construction activities for an Intermodal Freight Transfer Facility.

• Anchorage: $1.75 million for the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility to replace failing private wells with reliable public water service.
• Anchorage: $5.3 million for the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility for public drinking water access.
• Anchorage: $1.197 million for the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility to construct a regional water pipeline to improve emergency and fire protection water transmission and supply. 
• Kake: $3.61 million for a project that will provide remediation for a highly contaminated former school building in Kake by removing building debris and contaminated soil.
• Angoon: $3 million to improve Angoon’s community landfill and waste management system, including the storage and transportation of solid waste.
• Gustavus: $3.02 million to construct a new main building for the Gustavus Disposal & Recycling Center.
• Pelican: $4 million to make improvements to Pelican’s septic tank and disposal system.
• Craig: $3 million to engineer and redesign the water system with targeted upgrades to improve capacity, efficiency, and resiliency of water treatment for the City of Craig.
• Wrangell: $2.5 million to replace the community’s aged and inefficient water treatment plant with a new facility to provide safer drinking water as well as better accommodate community changes in demand for water.
• Ketchikan: $1.5 million to eliminate failing sewer mains from throughout Forest Park Drive in order to reduce infiltration and inflow and eliminate mains with deformation and bellies that cause grease build-up and backup.
• Haines: $2 million for water and sewer upgrades for the Haines Borough’s new community facility.
• Whittier: $5 million to perform a partial building assessment and remediate the contamination in the Buckner Building of Whittier—where there is a significant concern regarding the building’s high level of asbestos, lead, PCBs, and petroleum contamination.
• Mat-Su Borough: $5.1 million to replace critical water lines in South Talkeetna.
• Girdwood: $300,000 to the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility to replace a failing private water service with safe and reliable public water service in Girdwood.
• Fairbanks: $1.5 million to protect public health and the environment by utilizing a biosolids treatment unit.
• Denali Borough: $640,000 for pedestrian pathways from Crabbies Crossing to the Denali Park Entrance to enhance safety for the residents adjacent to Denali National Park.
• Kiana: $500,000 to update 50-year-old lines, pumps, manholes, and other needed infrastructure in Kiana’s water and sewer system.
• Bethel: $5.01 million for a project to remove the numerous derelict vessels found at Steamboat Slough to prevent public and environmental health risks.
• Dillingham: $4.72 million to expand capacity and improve operations of Dillingham’s landfill.
• Aleutians East Borough: $6.71 million for the Denali Commission to address waste and contamination removal from small, isolated communities in Alaska, by outfitting a barge with waste removal, soil, and water treatment equipment.
• Hooper Bay: $1.5 million for the Native Village of Hooper Bay for waste collection and landfill improvements.
• Mekoryuk: $5.6 million to provide first time running water and wastewater collection.
• Chefornak: $6.4 million to provide first time running water and wastewater collection.

• St. George: $3.5 million for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work on the St. George Harbor Improvement project.
• Petersburg: $4.1 million for transportation improvements at Scow Bay Harbor.
• Prince William Sound and Southeast: $14.43 million for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hazards Program to support the ongoing landslide and tsunami warning work and landslide hazard assessments for the region.  
• Juneau: $500,000 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a General Investigation study to replace the Juneau Auke Bay Wave Attenuator.
• Statewide: $4 million for the Alaska Municipal League for heavy equipment to support rural maintenance needs.

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