Today (Wednesday, May 6, 2026) the City of Columbia was informed that they have been officially approved for an Economic Development Grant for a gas line expansion on North KY-61. The project will be expanding the Natural Gas capacity to customers for the purpose of supporting local business growth. More information will be coming soon.
(See press release from the US Dept of Commerce below)
WASHINGTON –Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is announcing $10 million in Disaster Supplemental funding awards to Georgia and Kentucky, which were impacted by storms and natural disasters in 2023 and 2024.
The EDA awards announced today are:
- Augusta Technical College Foundation, Inc. in Augusta, Georgia, received a $6.8 million grant for construction of an automotive workforce training facility.
- Lebanon, Kentucky received a $2 million grant for water infrastructure improvements to support local business expansion.
- Columbia, Kentucky received a $1.2 million grant for natural gas infrastructure improvements to support local business growth.
“The Economic Development Administration is committed to revitalizing America’s competitive spirit,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary and Chief Operating Officer Ben Page, performing the nonexclusive duties and functions of the Assistant Secretary. “These projects will do just that – upskilling the American workforce in high-tech, automotive manufacturing and providing businesses with the infrastructure they need for growth and job creation.”
The EDA Fiscal Year 2025 Disaster Supplemental Grant Program makes approximately $1.5 billion available to support economic recovery activities in areas that received major disaster declarations because of hurricanes, wildfires, severe storms and flooding, tornadoes, and other natural disasters occurring in calendar years 2023 and 2024. EDA continues to review applications for portions of this funding on an ongoing basis – please review the application guidelines at eda.gov for more details.
EDA releases announcements for grants over $1 million. For more information on all EDA awards, please visit eda.gov.
