U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $1.1 Million to Protect Iowa Businesses From Future Floods

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration issued the following news release:

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department's Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.1 million grant to the M&P Missouri River Levee District of Glenwood, Iowa, to support resiliency planning to protect the region from future flooding disasters. The EDA grant will be matched with $279,149 in local investment.

"The Trump Administration continues to work diligently to rebuild and protect communities devastated by natural disasters," said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. "The study implemented with this funding will support the M&P Missouri River Levee District's strategic decision-making process to make the region's economy more resilient."

"This project will result in a Levee Certification Study that will be developed in coordination with FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers," said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. "The Levee Certification Study will support new flood prevention strategies to enhance local infrastructure, retain existing businesses, and attract new investment to the region."

"After severe flooding devastated communities across southwest Iowa, we began to leverage federal, local, and state resources to ensure a quick recovery," said Governor Kim Reynolds. "We also needed to take steps to prevent this kind of flooding in the future. I want to thank the Trump Administration and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce for securing this critical funding for flood recovery and prevention efforts."

"I'm glad the Economic Development Administration has awarded over $1 million to the M&P Missouri River Levee District to make this much needed levee study possible," said Senator Chuck Grassley. "The study will provide updated information and help protect communities in western Iowa from future flooding."

"I'm pleased to see more than $1 million coming back to Iowa to help protect our communities and businesses from future flooding," said Congresswoman Cindy Axne (IA-03). "We need investments like these to ensure we have accurate and up-to-date information to plan and protect our towns and region from floods and other disasters."

This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA). EDA funds the Omaha-Council Bluffs MAPA to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment, and create jobs.

This project is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-20) (PDF), which provided EDA with $600 million in additional Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) Program (PDF) funds for disaster relief and recovery for areas affected by Hurricanes Florence, Michael, and Lane, Typhoons Yutu and Mangkhut, 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. Please visit EDA's Disaster Supplemental webpage.

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About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)

The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.