U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $539,788 to Advance Disaster Recovery Efforts in Butte County, California

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration issued the following news release:

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $539,788 grant to the County of Butte, California, to develop and implement a business resiliency strategy and a long-term regional economic recovery plan.

"The Trump Administration is working diligently to support communities impacted by natural disasters to both recover and rebuild stronger," said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. "We are pleased to support Butte County in hiring an economic recovery officer to develop an economic strategy and disaster preparedness plan. These efforts are critical to the region's recovery from severe weather events in 2019."

Winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides devastated Butte County's infrastructure in late February 2019. The economic recovery officer hired will lead the County's integrated economic development approach in coordination with local governments, state and federal agencies, regional stakeholders and private sector partner organizations to advance economic recovery and resiliency efforts.

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) 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/)

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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.