NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 20, 2023 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Tennessee State Director Arlisa Armstrong today announced the availability of grants to help repair essential community facilities that were damaged by severe winter storms in 2022. The facilities must be located in eligible rural areas and presidentially declared disaster areas.
“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,” Armstrong 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 making up to $50 million in grants available through the Community Facilities Disaster Repair Grants Program, which received supplemental disaster funding under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. Eligible entities may apply to receive up to 75% of total project costs to help repair community facilities that were damaged by natural disasters in 2022. Eligible organizations include public bodies, federally recognized Indian Tribes and community-based nonprofits.
Funds may be used to:
- Repair essential community facilities,
- Replace damaged equipment or vehicles,
- Purchase new equipment to undertake repairs.
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, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, Washington or West Virginia.
Funds may be used in the following Tennessee presidentially declared disaster areas:
Cocke County Greene County Maury County
Coffee County Haywood County Perry County
Crockett County Henderson County Putnam County
Davidson County Knox County Shelby County
Fayette County Lauderdale County Tipton County
Washington County Weakley County
Applications for Community Facilities Disaster Repair Grants will be accepted on a continual basis until all funds are exhausted. There is no minimum or maximum grant limit per project.
Additional information is also available on page 46736 of the July 20 Federal Register.
For more information on how to apply, contact Chris Hampton (Christopher.Hampton@usda.gov) or Allen Hawk (Allen.Hawk@usda.gov) or visit www.rd.usda.gov/tn.
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.
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