West Coast states affected by debris from the 2011 tsunami in Japan are about to receive an initial quarter million dollars each from a $5 million gift from Japan for cleanup.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is distributing the money and will allocate the remainder on an as-needed basis.
The pool of funds has taken a hit, with NOAA using half a million dollars to remove a dock that washed ashore on a remote beach on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.
The state of Alaska is preparing to ask for up to $750,000 in additional funds to help with clean up this summer. Unlike in other states, many of the beaches targeted for cleanup in the state are remote or difficult to access and there is a narrow window in which to conduct cleanup operations.
