Investments are Part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda
Gainesville, Fla., September 5, 2023 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director for Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands Lakeisha Hood Moise today announced the availability of grants to help plan for the restoration of essential community facilities located in eligible rural areas that were damaged by by presidentially declared disasters, including the Adkins Avenue and Chipola Complex Fires, as well as Tropical Storms Nicole and Ian and Hurricanes Nicole and Ian in calendar year 2022.
“The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA stand ready to deploy every resource we have available to help families and individuals rebuild their lives and their communities,” Hood Moise said. “The assistance I'm announcing today will help rural communities across this state have the resources they need to repair essential community facilities that were damaged by natural disasters in 2022. Under the leadership of President Biden, Vice President Harris and Secretary Vilsack, USDA remains committed to helping America's rural communities build back better by making rural infrastructure – including vital community facilities – more resilient in the face of increasingly severe floods, wildfires, hurricanes and other risks.”
USDA is also making $2.5 million in grants available through the Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training (CF TAT) Disaster Repair Grant Program, which provides technical assistance and training with respect to essential community facilities programs. Eligible applicants include public bodies, federally recognized Indian Tribes and nonprofits.
Funds may be used to:
• Assist communities in identifying and planning for community facility needs,
• Identify resources to finance community facility needs,
• Prepare reports, surveys and applications.
The communities must be located in presidentially declared disaster areas in Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, Washington or West Virginia.
Applications for Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Disaster Repair Grants will be accepted until November 29, 2023. The maximum award amount is $50,000 for Ultimate Recipients and $250,000 for Technical Assistance Providers.
For more information, visit page 60176 of the August 31, 2023 Federal Register, or visit https://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/community-facilities/community-facilities-program-disaster-repair-grants.
Background
The Biden-Harris Administration made this funding possible through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023.
These funds are part of the series of disaster grant funds USDA is making available to help rural people in presidentially declared disaster areas who were impacted by natural disasters in 2022. Disaster grant funds will help rural communities repair water infrastructure and essential community facilities and help very-low- and low-income homeowners repair damaged homes.
Additional resources to support rural communities seeking disaster assistance are available at https://www.rd.usda.gov/page/rural-development-disaster-assistance.
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov. To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, promoting competition and fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov