Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $1.3 Million to Improve Water Infrastructure in Odessa, Washington, Opportunity Zone

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.3 million grant to the town of Odessa, Washington, to make critical water infrastructure improvements to support the community and its businesses. The EDA grant, to be located in an Opportunity Zone, will be matched with $326,401 in local funds.

“The Trump Administration is committed to helping American communities obtain the modern infrastructure they need to encourage business growth in Opportunity Zones,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This project will provide Odessa with the water infrastructure necessary to meet the needs of the community.”

“Odessa was impacted by severe winter storms, flooding, and mudslides in 2017,” said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This project will help the town become more resilient in the face of future natural disasters, and its location in an Opportunity Zone will help drive business development to an area of great need.”

“Opportunity Zones have proven to be a successful tool to spur development and investment in rural and otherwise economically distressed areas. This $1.3 million grant will help meet an urgent water infrastructure need in Lincoln County” said Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05). “I applaud the City of Odessa for leading on this grant and rallying community support for the project and thank President Trump, Secretary Ross, and the Economic Development Administration for investing in Eastern Washington.”

The funding announced today goes to one of WA 139 Opportunity Zones. Created by President Donald J. Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity Zones are spurring economic development 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 Commerce Department’s work in Opportunity Zones, please visit EDA’s Opportunity Zones webpage. To learn more about the Opportunity Zone program, see the Opportunity Now resources page here.

This project is funded under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 116-20) (PDF), in which Congress appropriated to EDA $600 million in additional Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) Program (PDF) funds for disaster relief and recovery as a result of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, wildfires, and other calendar year 2017 natural disasters under the Stafford Act.

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.