In Tuesday’s published interview with Gov. Bill Walker, the governor said that the state has allowed the proposed Ambler Road in the Interior to continue through the permitting process because it’s hard to shelve “things that are tied to federal funding.”
It should be noted that the state is not planning to use federal funds for this boondoggle project. It is fiscally irresponsible for the state to proceed with an environmental impact statement — begun in December — for a 200-plus mile road project it cannot afford to build.
Page 4 of the state’s request for proposals for an EIS consultant clearly states that “The proposed contract will not be a Federally Assisted Program.”
At a time when Walker has frozen hiring and is searching for ways to fund the operation of our state government, Alaskans should demand that the governor cease wasteful spending on an unnecessary and unaffordable road project.
Lois Epstein
Arctic program director
The Wilderness Society