Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $800,000 to Support Development of GIS-based Economic Risk and Resiliency Tool to Serve 4-county Texas Region

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding an $800,000 grant to the Coastal Bend Council of Governments, Corpus Christi, Texas, to support the development of a Geographic Information System (GIS) database for Aransas, Bee, Refugio, and San Patricio counties that will aid in the study of economic risk and resilience in those areas. This EDA grant will be matched with $204,790 in local investment.

“After two years, the Texas coast is still recovering from damage caused by Hurricane Harvey,” said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This EDA investment will support the Coastal Bend Council of Government’s partnership with the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, to develop a geographic information system to study the risk and impact of various economic scenarios to accelerate economic growth across the region.”

This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Coastal Bend Council of Governments, which EDA funds to help 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.

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.