Just five months before catastrophic floods ravaged the Alaska Native village of Kipnuk, ripping homes from their foundations, the Trump administration had controversially rescinded a $20 million grant specifically allocated to safeguard the community from such severe inundation.
This vital grant from the Environmental Protection Agency was earmarked for stabilizing the riverbanks of Kipnuk, a crucial project designed to shield the village from relentless erosion and devastating floods.
However, in May, the EPA abruptly canceled the grant, originally approved during the Biden administration, citing its incompatibility with the agency’s current objectives. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin publicly declared on social media his intention to eliminate what he termed ‘wasteful DEI and Environmental Justice grants,’ referring to initiatives focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and support for communities disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards.
While it remains uncertain if the planned work could have entirely averted Sunday’s disaster, which tragically claimed one life and left two missing in the nearby village of Kwigillingok, the event starkly highlighted the region’s extreme susceptibility to flooding and the severe repercussions of the Trump administration’s environmental program cutbacks.
Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, emphasized that the recent flooding painfully underscored the urgent need for robust funding in the state’s underserved communities. Earlier this year, Murkowski had implored the Trump administration to protect funding for Alaska Native communities from being negatively affected by the president’s stance against DEI initiatives.
“This administration focuses on reducing costs, but proactive disaster mitigation is significantly more economical than post-disaster rebuilding, not to mention the immense human cost,” Senator Murkowski stated. “Regardless of whether one attributes these events to climate change or ‘once-in-a-generation’ extreme weather, no community in our prosperous nation should be without the fundamental infrastructure required for its people’s safety.”
Brigit Hirsch, the EPA press secretary, confirmed via email that the agency continues to allocate approximately $140 million to Alaska for various rural infrastructure projects. However, she offered no comment regarding inquiries about the specifically terminated grant for Kipnuk.
Rayna Paul, Kipnuk’s environmental director, was unreachable for comment due to widespread cellphone outages following the disaster. Nevertheless, in legal documents concerning the grant’s cancellation, Ms. Paul had previously asserted that the funds were ‘essential to prevent environmental and cultural catastrophe’ in the village.
Kipnuk, home to roughly 970 residents along the Bering Sea, is uniquely situated on permafrost—ground that has remained frozen for centuries, or even millennia. Due to climate change, the Arctic is warming at an accelerated rate, causing this ancient permafrost to rapidly thaw.
“Permafrost behaves like concrete; you could strike it with an axe,” explained Tom Ravens, a civil engineering professor at the University of Alaska-Anchorage specializing in Arctic studies. “However, once that permafrost thaws, it transforms into an unstable, muddy consistency.”
The melting permafrost leaves Kipnuk’s critical infrastructure highly vulnerable, risking collapse into the river during major storm floods. Ms. Paul expressed particular concern that disused fuel tanks and batteries might leak hazardous materials, polluting the water and surrounding areas. Investigations were underway on Monday into potential fuel spills from local boat and airplane fueling stations.
According to a report from Alaska’s Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, Kipnuk experienced at least 30 floods between 1979 and 2022, primarily triggered by significant storms.
“In recent years, we’ve observed an unsettling trend of stronger, more frequent storms and consistently broken records, which is deeply alarming,” commented Nora Nieminski, a coastal hazards program manager and co-author of the report.
Citing agency policy against discussing federal funding decisions, Ms. Nieminski refrained from commenting directly on the canceled grant. However, she emphasized that “Kipnuk’s application for this grant unequivocally demonstrates their profound need for support and resources to relocate homes imperiled by rising waters.”
The powerful remnants of Typhoon Halong unleashed a record-breaking storm surge across Kipnuk over the weekend, Ms. Nieminski further noted. On Sunday, emergency crews successfully rescued at least 51 individuals in Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, with over 1,000 residents still sheltering in emergency facilities by Monday.
The EPA grant was allocated to support Kipnuk’s river stabilization project over a three-year period. Initial planning, design, and some construction work were scheduled for the June to September window, when river thaw would allow essential supplies to be transported by barge to the village.
Amanda Coyne, spokeswoman for Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan, confirmed on Tuesday that Senator Sullivan had personally contacted Administrator Zeldin this week, urging the reinstatement of the Kipnuk grant.
“The specific erosion-control grant for Kipnuk likely would not have been fully executed in time to prevent this particular disaster,” Ms. Coyne acknowledged. “However, as these storms grow more frequent and intense, Senator Sullivan firmly believes in establishing long-term protective measures for all of rural Alaska.”
Zealan Hoover, a former senior adviser to the EPA during the Biden administration, criticized Mr. Zeldin, accusing him of employing “inflammatory rhetoric” concerning DEI initiatives that distorted the true nature of projects in communities like Kipnuk.
“For decades, the EPA has functioned as a collaborative partner with local communities,” Mr. Hoover stated. “Under this administration, however, the agency has adopted an aggressively adversarial stance against the very people and communities that it is mandated to protect.”
The Biden administration had allocated these funds to Kipnuk through the Community Change Grants program, an initiative established by a 2022 climate law designed to support disadvantaged regions.
In January, then-President Trump issued an executive order mandating that federal agencies dismantle all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies, programs, and offices. The EPA complied by shutting down its environmental justice offices—which had previously overseen the Community Change Grants—and subsequently dismissing or reassigning hundreds of staff members.
Lacking federal assistance, Kipnuk’s residents and leaders would likely be unable to undertake the crucial riverbank stabilization project independently. The village, with an average annual income of $12,107 and a poverty rate exceeding 26 percent, struggles with basic amenities; homes lack running water, and flushable toilets are available only at the school and laundromat.
“The Native Village of Kipnuk possesses no taxing authority and is therefore unable to generate its own funds for essential projects like riverbank stabilization or any other local government initiatives,” Ms. Paul stated in the court filing, underscoring their reliance on external grants.