Environmental conditions such as housing quality, employment and income, education, access to clean water, contamination, and the availability of subsistence resources are central to the health and well-being of Alaska Native communities. Policy decisions often affect these conditions, yet rarely include consideration of potential health effects in the decision-making process. The ANTHC Health Impact Assessment (HIA) Program aims to ensure health is considered in decisions that affect our community.

The central focus of ANTHC's HIA Program is the planning and regulation of natural resource development projects, such as oil and gas projects, logging and large mines. Large-scale natural resource development has been undertaken on or near Alaska Native lands for many decades, with oil and gas exploration and development in the Arctic and South-central region, hard rock mining in the Northwest, West and Interior, coal mining and production in the Interior and timber and mining in the Southeast. These projects can affect local economy and employment, culture, infrastructure, air and water quality and access to subsistence resources, all of which influence community health. ANTHC's HIA Program is actively working to promote the inclusion of health in decision-making for these projects. To date, through collaboration with rural communities, regional health consortia and state and federal health and regulatory agencies, we have made significant progress, including:

The first HIAs incorporated in Federal Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) in the U.S.:

• The Program has completed several HIAs that have been integrated into Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), part of an environmental planning process mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA requires public information sharing for any Federal action "significantly affecting the human environment," yet the EIS process has not typically included a systematic or detailed analysis of potential health effects. The efforts of ANTHC and our partners in Alaska have pioneered the use of HIA in the EIS process.

Tribal participation in the EIS process:

• This Program has collaborated with local tribal governments and organizations to undertake early and active participation in the EIS process. The has often included: tribal governments acting as "cooperating agencies" in the process, the utilization of local health data and traditional knowledge for more effective HIAs and introducing recommendations for mitigation strategies to best protect health. These actions have effectively strengthened tribal and community voices in the EIS process.

Education and training on HIAs:

• This Program has directed HIA training sessions for public and private stakeholders and has led a multi-agency working group that is writing HIA guidelines for natural resource development projects. As the field continues to evolve both nationally and internationally, ANTHC will continue to offer trainings and play a leadership role in the development of the field.

Please follow the program links to learn more about the program.

For more information please contact us by phone at (907) 729-4493 or by e-mail at akhiap@anthc.org