Arctic Commitment Act surprised region

By Peter Loewi
More than three weeks have passed since U.S.  Senator Lisa Murkowski introduced the Arctic Commitment Act to Congress, but the communities of the region, which feature prominently in the bill, are still in the dark.
“We learned about it by reading the newspaper,” Nome City Manager Glenn Steckman said, referring an Anchorage Daily News story from August 2, 2022.
The proposed Arctic Commitment Act aims to “enhance the United States’ standing as an Arctic nation by facilitating greater maritime accessibility, strong trading partners and reliable infrastructure.”
This takes many forms, like ensuring that the Port of Nome is usable for the implementation of the National Strategy for the Arctic Region. The Secretary of the Navy and Commandant of the Coast Guard are to report to Congress the requirements and feasibility of a persistent, year-round presence of the Navy and the Coast Guard at the Port of Nome and the former Coast Guard station at Port Clarence. Included in those reports is to be cost estimates for constructing onshore infrastructure that “will be required to support year-round maritime operations in the vicinity of the Bering Sea and Arctic region.
If the bill passes as written, the implications for the region are significant.
Sen. Murkowski’s deputy Communications Director Hannah Ray said in an email to the Nugget that the U.S. Military has long held a presence in Nome. “Interest in allowing them to have a greater access point has been a topic of discussion for years, including among the late Mayor Beneville and Senator Murkowski. Because of Senator Murkowski’s work, the Port of Nome was awarded $250 million from the bipartisan infrastructure law. Senator Murkowski strongly supports an all-hands-on-deck mentality when it comes to infrastructure development on Indigenous land and has been adamant that any Port construction be facilitate through consultation with Alaska Natives.”
However, none of the communities in the region were made aware of the drafting of the bill. Neither of the Traditional Councils in Brevig Mission or Teller had heard of it, and one area mayor even said that they “[didn’t] know squat.”
Nome City Manager Glenn Steckman said that he hadn’t been consulted on the bill, either.
Gail R. Schubert, President and CEO of BSNC, wrote in an email to The Nome Nugget that BSNC was not consulted on this specific bill. “Port Clarence and Nome have long been strategic locations and both locations will become more geopolitically important if current national security trends in the Arctic continue,” Schubert wrote. “BSNC has voiced concerns over whether existing Arctic ports, including Port Clarence, have the necessary infrastructure and resources to deal with maritime emergencies, such as oil spill response, that may occur in the future due to increased traffic through Bering Strait. “
Schubert explained that “Historically, our region has had a heavy military presence. The strategic, geographic location of the Bering Strait—which serves as the gateway to the Northern Sea Route (to the west) and the Northwest passage (to the east)—is something we cannot change. If there is a need for national security or military presence in our region, we need to be prepared to work with the appropriate entities and make sure Our People and our communities do not experience negative impacts as a result of these activities.”
Bering Straits Native Corporation received a final patent transferring more than 2,000 acres of ANCSA land at Point Spencer, adjacent to Port Clarence, in 2020. Port Clarence has been a port of refuge and the site holds important historic, ancestral and cultural significance, according to BSNC’s website.
Murkowski’s office denied an interview request with the Nugget and only responded to questions 26 days after they were originally submitted. The responses did not directly address the question of why local entities weren’t consulted in the process of drafting the bill or what opportunities there would be for further engagement.
 During the Senator’s visit to Nome in April, when asked about ensuring accountability of the federal government during an interview with the Nugget, she said “nothing in the Arctic without the people of the Arctic” and that “having the Native voices at the table … making sure that there is representation at different levels in different places is a significant part of what has to be done.”
Staff from both Senator Murkowski’s office and Arctic Commitment Act co-sponsor Senator Angus King, an Independent from Maine, were in Nome on Monday speaking with city officials about the Port of Nome Expansion Project. The staff also toured the Port, but the City didn’t know who else they met with.
“Whenever someone comes up, we encourage them to meet with the local community,” Steckman said, “but it’s up to them.”
The Arctic Commitment Act, called “comprehensive” in a press release from Murkowski’s office, addresses Arctic security, shipping and research, among other topics deemed national priorities. According to her staff, it is “one of numerous Arctic focused bills that Senator Murkowski is leading.”
Outside of Alaska, however it got very little press coverage. An opinion essay in The Hill, a news outlet focused on Congress, by a professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy and an affiliate faculty member at UAF’s Center for Arctic Security and Resilience refers to the bill as a “tall order that falls short,” and encourages integrating NOAA into its implementation.
Asked what she would include in the bill, Schubert said that “The bill is adequate as it stands now. Building knowledge and consensus about the Arctic, the Bering Strait region and the challenges and opportunities Our People face is a process, and no single piece of legislation or funding will be able to address all needs.”