The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, entered into an agreement with the City of Nome on February 2, 2018, to examine the feasibility of constructing navigation improvements at the Port of Nome.
On December 14, 2017, a memorandum from the Army Corps’ Director of Civil Works was issued recommending termination of the Alaska Regional Ports Feasibility Study and initiation of a follow-on investigation at the Port of Nome.
“ The Alaska Regional Ports study was terminated Jan. 3 ,” said Bruce Sexauer, chief of the Alaska District Civil Works Branch . “ The study previously identified Nome as a location where potential port improvements could be justified, but the study was paused in 2015 when Royal Dutch Shell announced it was suspending oil exploration activities in the Arctic. This brought into question the validity of the economic assumptions and overall justification for a federal project .”
The new investigation will examine a wider array of benefits than the previous study, including Nome’s role as a regional hub for surrounding communities that rely on fuel and goods. The budget, schedule and scope of the study will be refined at a planning charrette scheduled for late April in Nome.