U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $518,400 to Protect Businesses From Flooding in Iowa Falls, Iowa

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 -- The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration issued the following news release on Sept. 16:

Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $518,400 grant to the city of Iowa Falls, Iowa, to flood-proof the public water supply and wastewater treatment facility to protect businesses from flooding. The EDA grant, to be matched with $129,600 in local investment, is expected to retain 75 jobs and generate $3 million in private investment.

"The Economic Development Administration plays an important role in supporting locally-developed disaster recovery and resiliency strategies," said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. "This EDA investment will allow Iowa Falls to address the local and regional need for resilient public water and wastewater treatment facilities by making structural and flood-proofing improvements to ensure continued operation of businesses in the event of future flooding."

"Like many communities across our state, Iowa Falls has seen the devastating effects from flooding," said Senator Chuck Grassley. "I'm glad the Economic Development Association has awarded the community a $518,400 grant to take proactive steps in keeping their city safe. This grant will help them protect their public water supply, wastewater treatment facility and local businesses from flooding,"

This project is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-20) (https://www.congress.gov/116/plaws/publ20/PLAW-116publ20.pdf), which provided EDA with $600 million in additional Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) Program (https://www.eda.gov/pdf/about/Economic-Adjustment-Assistance-Program-1-Pager.pdf) Program 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 (https://www.eda.gov/disaster-recovery/supplemental/) for more information.

This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Region 6 Resource Partners, which EDA funds 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.