Sen. Grassley Praises $2.3 Million Grant to the City of Maquoketa to Improve Flooding Infrastructure

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 -- Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, issued the following news release on Sept. 8:

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today praised U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross's announcement that the Department's Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $2.3 million grant to the city of Maquoketa, Iowa, to make stormwater infrastructure improvements needed to protect the city's industrial parks and commercial areas from future floods. The EDA grant, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone, will be matched with $572,200 in local funds and is expected to create or retain nearly 100 jobs.

"I'm glad the Economic Development Administration has awarded a $2.3 million grant to the city of Maquoketa," Grassley said. "Flooding and other natural disasters have negatively impacted communities all across Iowa over the years. I applaud the city of Maquoketa for utilizing this grant to make infrastructure improvements to protect areas of the city from future floods."

"The Trump Administration is committed to helping disaster-impacted American communities obtain the modern infrastructure they need to build economic resiliency against future natural disasters," Ross said. "These stormwater improvements will help Maquoketa protect the local business community from flooding, and the project's location in an Opportunity Zone will drive additional public and private investment to the community."

"Maquoketa has been adversely impacted by past floods, including the floods of March 2019," Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, said. "This project will help the city become more resilient in the face of future natural disasters, and its location in an Opportunity Zone will attract the private investment Maquoketa needs to further diversify and grow their economy."

The funding announced today goes to one of Iowa's 62 Opportunity Zones. Created by President Donald J. Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity Zones are spurring economic development in economically-distressed communities nationwide. In June 2019, EDA added Opportunity Zones as an Investment Priority, which increases the number of catalytic Opportunity Zone-related projects that EDA can fund to fuel greater public investment in these areas.

This project is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-20), which provided EDA with $600 million in additional Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) Program funds for disaster relief and recovery for areas affected by wildfires, volcanic eruptions, and other major natural disasters occurring in calendar year 2018, and tornadoes and floods occurring in calendar year 2019, under the Robert T. Stafford Act.