ATHENS, Ga., Feb. 15, 2023 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small today announced that USDA is providing $262 million to improve access to jobs, health care and infrastructure for people in historically underserved communities across the Rural Partners Network (RPN). This total includes $155,144,000 for Electric Infrastructure throughout rural Georgia plus $1.7 million invested in other projects.
“The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA are committed to ensuring that people in rural areas have every opportunity to succeed – and that they can find those opportunities right at home in rural America,” Under Secretary Torres Small said. “From renewable energy and new jobs to clean water and quality health care, the Rural Partners Network is connecting rural people to resources that will help them create new and lasting prosperity on their own terms.”
The Biden-Harris Administration established RPN to transform the way federal agencies partner with and serve rural people and places, including Native American communities. Led by USDA with support from more than 20 federal agencies and commissions, RPN is central to President Biden’s commitment to ensure all rural people can benefit from federal resources. This includes historic funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Torres Small announced the $262 million in funding while visiting with people and organizations in North Carolina participating in RPN. While there, she unveiled an annual report documenting RPN’s accomplishments in its first year and how the network is helping to shape investment strategies for rural communities.
The funding announced today will support 68 projects in Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Puerto Rico.
The funding will create jobs for rural people and help them expand their businesses. It will provide affordable, well-built homes for seniors and low-income families in rural areas. It will help farmers and ranchers transition to clean energy and find new and better markets for their products. And it will give people in remote areas access to modern water and wastewater systems, and quality education and health care services.
In Georgia:
|
State and County |
Program |
Recipient |
Loan |
Grant |
Project Description |
|
GA BEN HILL COUNTY |
Community Facilities Grant |
Ben Hill County Board of Education |
|
$25,000 |
This Rural Development investment will be used to purchase 33 new 36-bay pre-wired USB-C charging carts for use in the Ben Hill County middle school classrooms in Fitzgerald, Georgia. The use of these charging carts will increase classroom management and reduce the damage to student devices currently occurring when students transport their devices between home and school. The city of Fitzgerald has a population of 8,943 with a county median household income of $30,134 based on the 2010 Census Data and 2006-2010 American Community Survey Data. |
|
GA BEN HILL COUNTY |
Community Facilities Grant |
Ben Hill County Board of Education |
|
$50,000 |
This Rural Development investment will be used to purchase a new galvanized steel frame greenhouse for the Fitzgerald High School College and Career Academy students. This project will enable students to receive nutrition, agriculture, science and environmental instruction. |
|
State and County |
Program |
Recipient |
Loan |
Grant |
Project Description |
|
GA BEN HILL COUNTY |
Community Facilities Grant |
Ben Hill County Board of Education |
|
$25,000 |
This Rural Development investment will be used to purchase STEM software for Ben Hill Middle School students called SuccessMaker Tier3 intervention with enVisionMath. This science, technology, engineering and math software will help the children increase their math skills and includes an interactive learning game that develops memory, teamwork, creativity, and social skills of young students. |
|
GA THOMAS COUNTY |
Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Loans and Grants |
Georgia Crate & Basket Co Inc. |
|
$193,766 |
This Rural Development investment will be used to help Georgia Crate & Basket Co Inc., a wooden container producer in Thomas County, Georgia, purchase and install a 264 kW solar array. This project will realize $48,494 per year in savings and replace 424,200 kWh per year, enough to power 39 homes. |
|
GA EARLY COUNTY |
Community Facilities Direct Loans and Grants |
City of Blakely |
$146,800 |
$50,000 |
This Rural Development investment will be used to purchase a garbage truck for the sanitation department. City of Blakely is a small rural community in Early County, Georgia with a population of 4,993. |
|
State and County |
Program |
Recipient |
Loan |
Grant |
Project Description |
|
GA EARLY COUNTY |
Community Facilities Direct Loans and Grants |
City of Blakely |
$129,700 |
$50,000 |
This Rural Development investment will be used to purchase a grapple truck for the Sanitation Department. The service is currently being provided but the Sanitation Department is using a truck that is beyond its useful life which requires high maintenance costs, exceeding the cost to operate it. The city of Blakely is a small rural community in Early County, Georgia with a population of 4,993. |
|
GA EARLY COUNTY |
Rural Decentralized Water Systems Grant |
Golden Triangle Resource Conservation and Development Area Inc. |
|
$222,081 |
This Rural Development investment will be used to create a statewide Household Water Well Revolving Loan Fund to provide direct loan financing for eligible individual households in rural communities. |
|
GA MULTIPLE COUNTIES |
Electric Infrastructure Loan and Loan Guarantee Program |
Georgia Transmission Corp |
$155,144,000 |
|
This Rural Development investment will be used to finance transmission system improvements by providing adequate transmission capacity and by ensuring greater reliability of service to its member loads in rural communities. Georgia Transmission Corp is a transmission cooperative headquartered in Tucker, Georgia; and serves 38 Electric Cooperatives that provide power to residential and commercial consumers throughout Georgia. |
|
State and County |
Program |
Recipient |
Loan |
Grant |
Project Description |
|
GA WORTH COUNTY |
Community Facilities Grant |
Worth County Board of Commissioners |
|
$50,000 |
This Rural Development investment will be used to purchase four vehicles for the county's law enforcement department. Worth County Board of Commissioners meet in Sylvester, Georgia. |
|
GA WORTH COUNTY |
Community Facilities Grant |
Worth County Board of Commissioners |
|
$50,000 |
This Rural Development investment will be used to purchase four consoles for the county's E-911 system. These consoles will replace the current equipment which is outdated and provide the citizens of Worth County dependable 911 service for emergency situations. |
Background: Rural Partners Network
Launched in April 2022 and expanded in November 2022, the Rural Partners Network is now active in 36 community networks in 10 states and Puerto Rico.
Community networks receive on-the-ground support from full-time federal staff who live and work locally. These staff members provide technical assistance based on each community’s needs, helping them navigate federal programs, build relationships and prepare successful applications for funding.
RPN communities also benefit from coordination through other federal efforts such as the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization and President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative. The Rural Prosperity Interagency Policy Council, co-led by the White House Domestic Policy Council and USDA, advises the RPN program and shares lessons learned through RPN for policy consideration. A team of Rural Desk Officers representing each participating federal agency or regional commission supports the RPN program and community networks.
For more information on RPN, visit Rural.gov.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, 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.
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 GovDelivery subscriber page.
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