Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests to Support Workforce Training Efforts in Gallup, New Mexico Opportunity Zone

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $988,400 grant to the Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments (NWNMCOG) of Gallup, New Mexico, to support a series of workforce development initiatives to make the region more resilient to economic downturns. The EDA grant, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act designated Opportunity Zone, will be matched with $540,000 in state investment.

“The Trump Administration is working tirelessly to champion areas around the country that have been adversely impacted by the closures of coal-fired power plants,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Dr. John Fleming. “These workforce training programs will help increase business and job creation in New Mexico’s Four corners region.”

This project will help NWNMCOG complete preliminary site studies for the Red Mesa Business Park and Milan Industrial Park, and create a new curriculum for displaced workers to facilitate re-training and re-entry into the regional workforce. This project is funded under the Assistance to Coal Communities (ACC) program, through which EDA will award funds on a competitive basis to assist communities 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.

The funding announced today goes to a designated Opportunity Zone, created by President Donald J. Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to spur economic development by giving tax incentives to investors in economically-distressed communities nationwide. In June 2019, EDA added Opportunity Zones as an Investment Priority, which increases the number of catalytic Opportunity Zone-related projects that EDA can fund to fuel greater public investment in these areas. To learn more about the Opportunity Zone program, see the Treasury Department resources page here. To learn more about the Commerce Department’s work in Opportunity Zones, please visit EDA’s Opportunity Zones webpage.

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.