NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 28, 2023 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Tennessee State Director Arlisa Armstrong today announced the availability of grants to help rural and Tribal communities recover and increase resiliency of water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste infrastructure damaged by presidentially declared disasters severe winter storms in 2022.
“The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA stand ready to help people rebuild their lives and their communities,” Armstrong said. “The assistance I'm announcing today will help make sure rural communities across this state, who were impacted by natural disasters last year, have the resources they need to recover and increase the resiliency of their water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste infrastructure. This funding is critical because we know that rural America is home to millions of people who make up America’s spirit and character.”
President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is growing the American economy from the bottom up and middle-out – from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, to driving more than $470 billion in private-sector manufacturing and clean-energy investments in the United States, to creating good-paying jobs and building a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient.
USDA is making more than $8 million in grants available through the 2022 Disaster Circuit Rider Technical Assistance [AT1] (CY 2022 Disaster CRTA) Grants Program.
Funds may be used to provide on-site technical assistance to:
- Support post-disaster mitigation of eligible events.
- Identify and evaluate solutions to impacted water, wastewater, stormwater and solid waste challenges.
- Help communities develop and prepare applications for water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste loans and grants.
- Deliver training and other resources to operators, managers and other system personnel.
- Provide certain technical assistance efforts that support the resiliency and capacity of eligible systems.
- Pay certain expenses associated with the provision of such services.
Funds may be used in the following presidentially declared disaster areas:
Cocke County Haywood County Putnam County
Coffee County Henderson County Shelby County
Crockett County Knox County Tipton County
Davidson County Lauderdale County Washington County
Fayette County Maury County Weakley County
Greene County Perry County
Applications must be submitted between Sept. 28, 2023 and 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time and 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Oct. 30, 2023 via Grants.gov.
For more information on how to apply, see page 66797 of the Sept. 28, 2023, Federal Register.
Background
The Biden-Harris Administration made this funding possible through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.
USDA expects to announce additional funding for presidentially declared disaster areas in the coming weeks.
This additional funding will help eligible rural communities access technical assistance and training to identify and evaluate solutions to water, wastewater, stormwater and solid waste problems.
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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