Nebraska

In 2009, EDA invested $2 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding in the city of South Sioux City to help support infrastructure development in the Roth Industrial Park, a hub for agriculture-related manufacturing firms. This investment proved to be so successful in attracting new businesses to the area that within five years demand at the park was so high that the existing sewer/waste water infrastructure could no longer meet the demand, inhibiting the city’s ability to attract new investment.

As South Sioux City explored alternatives to address this increased demand, they found a proprietary technology that would not only increase the Park’s capacity, but could treat the collected waste streams from companies operating across the Park and convert the waste by-products into a pipeline renewable form of natural gas.  In July 2014, EDA announced a $2.2 million grant to upgrade the sanitary sewer infrastructure in the Roth Industrial Park to incorporate "waste-to-energy" provisions, allowing byproducts of manufacturing to generate biofuels. This project simultaneously increases the Park’s ability to attract more businesses and industries, while reducing the region's dependence on fossil fuels and fostering innovation for a more self-sustaining economy. 

The project supports the growth of existing and developing industries in the region, where a specialty of advanced manufacturing of meat products has developed, bringing with it new higher-skilled, higher-wage jobs.  The grantees estimate that the improvements will help create more than 106 new jobs and attract $238 million in private investment.