Commerce Department makes $30M available for coal communities
WASHINGTON – To support locally driven efforts in coal country to spur job growth, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced Friday the department’s Economic Development Administration is making $30 million in funds available to assist coal communities through the 2017 Assistance to Coal Communities initiative.
“This funding is one element of a government-wide effort to restore American jobs, and renew the areas hardest hit by misguided regulations,” Ross said in a news release.
The $30 million in ACC 2017 funds available for application are targeted to directly assist communities and regions severely impacted by the declining use of coal through activities and programs that support economic diversification, job creation, capital investment, workforce development and re-employment opportunities.
Under the ACC 2017 initiative, EDA is seeking applications for projects and activities that will:
• Support the creation of new businesses and jobs in a variety of industry sectors;
• Create or implement economic diversification strategies targeting affected workers and businesses;
• Develop a business incubator program;
• Enhance access to and use of broadband services to support job growth;
• Facilitate access to private capital investment and provide related capacity building and technical assistance;
• Promote market access for goods and services created and manufactured by businesses in the impacted community/region.
Under the ACC 2017 initiative, the term coal economy is used to refer to the complete ecosystem of coal-reliant industries and businesses. This includes, but is not limited to:
• Coal mining;
• Coal-fired power plants;
• Related transportation and/or logistics, and/or supply chain manufacturing industries.
Prospective applicants are encouraged to refer to the Notice of Funding Availability on grants.gov for more details on the ACC 2017 funding, including eligibility, matching-fund requirements, and other information.
For additional information about ACC 2017, visit the EDA’s ACC 2017 webpage at: www.eda.gov/coal.