Washington

EDA’s flexible and responsive programs help communities withstand a variety of threats to economic resilience, retain jobs and set the stage for sustained growth.  These threats can come from susceptibility to natural disasters, changes in trade patterns, or in the case of Grant County, the loss of a privately operated fire suppression system. The Grant County International Airport Industrial Area’s legacy fire suppression system that served its industrial areas was owned and operated by a private party that was not only reluctant to upgrade the system, but considered discontinuing the service. Without fire suppression systems, two major regional employers who were operating in the industrial area faced having to relocate, putting almost 900 jobs at risk. 

In September 2014, EDA awarded $726,415 to construct a new fire suppression system at the Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake.  The EDA grant award removed a potential threat to the continuing operation of two historically significant regional employers and will allow for expansion opportunities to service additional facilities in the future. With approximately 2,400 workers employed within this five-square mile industrial area, this project lies within the largest concentration of manufacturing employment in Central Washington. By helping to retain 900 existing jobs and creating the possibility of 400 additional jobs, the water supply redesign and upgrade will become an economic engine for industrial development in the community.