Back In May, Trump's EPA Canceled $20 Million Grant To Prepare For AK Floods; October Floods Flattened AK Villages

[hatrack]

Five months before catastrophic floods swept through the Alaska Native village of Kipnuk on Sunday, tearing many houses off their foundations, the Trump administration canceled a $20 million grant intended to protect the community from such extreme flooding. The grant from the Environmental Protection Agency was designed to help stabilize the riverbank on which Kipnuk is built, protecting it from the twin threats of erosion and flooding.

But in May, the E.P.A. revoked the grant, which was issued at the end of the Biden administration, saying it was “no longer consistent” with the agency’s priorities. Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, boasted on social media that he was eliminating “wasteful DEI and Environmental Justice grants,” referring to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and programs to help communities facing a disproportionate level of environmental threats.

It is unclear whether the work funded by the grant would have prevented the tragedy on Sunday, which left one person dead and two missing in the neighboring village of Kwigillingok. But the disaster laid bare the area’s vulnerability to flooding and the consequences of the Trump administration’s cuts to environmental programs.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said the flooding underscored the need for funding for underserved communities in the state. Earlier this year, Ms. Murkowski called on the Trump administration to ensure that funding for Alaska Native communities did not get swept up in the president’s opposition to D.E.I. initiatives.

Ed. - Yeah, and how'd that work out, Lisa?

EDIT

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/climate/kupnik-alaska-typhoon-trump-epa-flood.html

[kerouac2]

1. Savings adds up to a couple golf weekends

Maybe Lisa will get invited to play golf.

Note to Lisa: the old guy likes to grab women by their... Oh nevermind.