On December 17, 2021, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation files 548 Notices of Intent to Sue the U.S. Department of Interior over contamination on lands transferred to Alaska Native corporations. The lands were transferred to meet obligations under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA).
Contaminants on the sites include petroleum, heavy metals, PCBs, and solvents.
According to the State of Alaska, despite being asked to since 1990, the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management have not completed a site inventory, identified the types of contamination, measured how far the pollution ay have spread, or completed cleanup of the ANCSA properties.
More information on Alaska’s actions are available here.
