WASHINGTON –  U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross has announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $8.4 million grant to the city of Council Bluffs, to make flood control infrastructure improvements needed to protect businesses and make the region resilient to future natural disasters. The EDA grant, which will be located near a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone, will be matched with more than $2 million in local investment and is expected to create 95 jobs.

Dana Gartske, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, says “This investment will provide improvements to the city of Council Bluffs’ levee system to include the addition of robust seepage and stability beams. The upgrades to the flood risk reduction system will ensure prior and future economic investments in the city will remain effective and contribute to overall economic growth in the nearby region and Opportunity Zone.”

The project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency, 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. The funding will catalyze private investment in a nearby Opportunity Zone.

Opportunity Zones are spurring economic development in economically-distressed communities nationwide. The project is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019.