Last week, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded a $1.5 million grant to the City of Bristol, Tennessee, to upgrade the municipal wastewater treatment plant to service a major antibiotic production facility and other current and future business needs. This grant is funded by the American Rescue Plan. This project will provide the wastewater infrastructure capacity needed to better serve local businesses and bring new businesses and jobs to the community. This EDA grant will be matched with $2.4 million in local funds and is expected to create 125 jobs and generate $165 million in private investment. “When choosing to invest and make a home in our community, our industry partners quickly realize the potential for growth that stems from the strategic, logistical and economic advantages of being located in Bristol, Tennessee,” said Mayor Mahlon Luttrell of Bristol. He went on to add, “we proudly welcome USAntibiotics to Bristol, along with the key strategic role our community will now play in ensuring safe and secure access to these medications for our entire country.” Mayor Richard Venable of Sullivan County also added that “initial new jobs, the many, many more jobs that are bound to come in future phases of this project, along with the investment is great news to be sure. But we have a company here producing life-saving medication that has been dependent on foreign markets. This is a national health and security issue being solved and it’s being solved right here in Northeast Tennessee.”
This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the First Tennessee Development District (FTDD). EDA funds the FTDD 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. Bill Forrester, Director of Community Planning, Housing, and Development shared that “this type of project is the net result of bringing partners together to work towards a common goal, something the FTDD does very well.”
This project is funded under EDA’s American Rescue Plan Economic Adjustment Assistance program, which makes $500 million in Economic Adjustment Assistance grants available to American communities. The Economic Adjustment Assistance program is EDA’s most flexible program, and grants made under this program will help hundreds of communities across the nation plan, build, innovate, and put people back to work through construction or non-construction projects designed to meet local needs.
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 invests in communities and supports regional collaboration in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.
For more information about this grant project or similar projects, please contact Bill Forrester, bforrester@ftdd.org.