Tribes must waive sovereign immunity to seek Alaska bulk fuel disaster grants

Tribes and villages seeking a new state grant to retire bulk fuel loan debt must first adopt a resolution waiving sovereign immunity and consenting to suit in Alaska state courts, a waiver that stays in effect until the statute of limitations, the filing deadline for related claims, runs out. The Alaska Division of Community and Regional Affairs set out that condition Tuesday in its Utility Disaster Relief Grant notice. Applications open Thursday, Oct. 1, and close Dec. 5.

The program has $800,000 for communities of fewer than 2,000 people. It repays bulk fuel loan debt, state loans for fuel purchases, for fuel lost in a local, state or federally declared disaster within the last two calendar years, or replaces the lost fuel; requests must be for emergency community bulk fuel assistance. Awards start at $5,000, may be prorated, need no match and must be spent by June 30, 2027. Every applicant attaches the same core documents: a disaster declaration, a notice of denied funding from other emergency relief sources and verification of the loan debt. The fourth depends on the applicant. Municipalities submit a resolution to participate. Nonprofits show authority to apply for the community. Tribes and villages submit the waiver.

Sovereign immunity here is a tribe's legal protection from being sued without its consent. The Waiver of Sovereign Immunity for Tribal Entities cites AS 29.60.865(a) and 3 AAC 180.130 as requiring it. The resolution lets the state pursue claims in state courts or state administrative proceedings, including interest, costs and attorney fees, while capping execution of any judgment at the program payment.

The template DCRA linked is written for State Fiscal Year 2025 Community Assistance Program payments rather than this grant, and the notice does not say whether a program-specific version will replace it.

The state's bulk fuel loan program requires a similar waiver from Native village councils for loan-related claims, its program page says.

Applicants must register in DCRAGrants, the state's grants system. DCRA scheduled seven Zoom assistance sessions; its program page lists the first on Oct. 14, its notice on Oct. 15. Questions go to Lindsay Reese at [email protected]. No tribal, village or DCRA official is quoted.