Interior announces millions in grants to U.S. Territories, Freely Associated States 

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs announced the following grants Aug. 11.
Guam will receive 839,150, which includes $644,800 to the Guam Public Broadcasting Service to Upgrade the Power Infrastructure in Support of more Reliable Broadcasting Services; and $194,350 to the Guam Community College for the Increasing Facilities Maintenance Capabilities project.  

The Northern Mariana Islands will receive $1,097,640, which includes $827,640 to the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. for the Granular Activated Carbon System Monitoring and Maintenance project at ten water production wells on Saipan; and $270,000 to the Northern Marianas Technical Institute for the Fuetsan i Futurata pilot project to teach and train local laborers in construction and maintenance skills. 
 
The Federated States of Micronesia will receive $273,600, which includes $165,000 to the Yap State Public Services Corp. for the Pacific Lineman Training Program, a regional program that includes the territories and each of the states in the freely associated states in the Western Pacific; and $108,600 to the Pohnpei Utilities Corp. for the Construction and Extension of Pipeline with Power line for Centrifugal Pump project on Pohnpei.   

The Marshall Islands will receive $821,242, which includes $315,000 to the Majuro Water and Sewer Co. for the Pump and Collection System Renewal program; $256,242 to the Majuro Atoll Waste Co. for Waste Collection Improvement and Expansion project on Majuro; and $250,000 to the Ministry of Health for the Remodeling of the Section 177 Clinic project, also on Majuro. 

Palau will receive $612,768, which includes $532,730 to the Ministry of Health and Human Services for the Belau National Hospital Renovations project and $80,038 to the Palau Public Utilities Corp. for the Babeldaob Water Quality Monitoring project.  

Mawar disaster loans top $150 million, SBA says
As of Aug. 8, Typhoon Mawar disaster loans were at more than $150 million. The U.S. Small Business Administration approved 124 business loans for a total of $12,515,800, with an average loan of $100,933, SBA told the Journal.
Disaster loans of up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property, including personal vehicles.

GPA looks to federal funds to fix woes

The Guam Power Authority has scheduled a public hearing for “stakeholders to review and discuss the objectives for potential grant projects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid Formula Grants to States and Indian Tribes, administered by the Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office’s National Energy Technology Laboratory,” according to an Aug. 11 release.

The program will provide approximately $942.2 million for Year 1 and Year 2 and $459 million annually over a period of three years to “States and Indian Tribes to improve the resilience of the electric grid and mitigate the impact of disruptive events.”

The hearing is on Aug. 16 from 5.30 to 6.30 pm. at the Gloria B. Nelson Public Service Building in Mangilao.


UOG bags grant for technical assistance

The University of Guam’s Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant will receive $526,000 as part of a new nationwide initiative to help local communities access federal technical assistance as they resolve environmental challenges. 
 
UOG’s participation will be through a partnership with San Diego State University. SDSU will establish one of 17 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers nationwide. Each of the 17 centers will receive $10 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and UOG’s $526,000 will come from its partnership with SDSU.

In Guam, the UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant will lead outreach, engagement, and service delivery for Guam and the rest of the Micronesia region. The local efforts will be coordinated with the Guam Green Growth and the Guam Energy Office.  

Port of Guam to leverage potential grants

Port Authority of Guam officials met Aug. 10 with Janet Yocum, Operations Planner of the Response Division of FEMA’s Region IX Pacific Area Office and officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to discuss FEMA’s Typhoon Mawar Resilience Project.

Through the project, FEMA is working with subject matter experts on site inspections of physical as well as non-physical components of critical infrastructure identified by the federal interagency and the Government of Guam, to include leveraging military construction projects as a way to include work related to the port. mbj