WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced that the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program has awarded a total of $851,000 to four communities in southeast Ohio.

“This federal funding makes critical investments in improving our state’s infrastructure and bolstering economic growth,” said Brown. “Now more than ever, we must ensure that communities in southeast Ohio have the resources they need to improve the everyday lives of their residents. My office and I will continue working with community partners to ensure southeast Ohio gets the support it needs.”

Awarded funding includes:

  • $100,000 grant and a $155,000 loan to Saline Township in Jefferson County to purchase an ambulance and necessary EMS equipment.
  • $100,000 grant and $92,000 loan to German Township in Harrison County to purchase a tractor with a mower attachment and dump truck to provide roadside maintenance to 30 miles of township road.
  • $100,000 grant and a $44,000 loan to Center Township in Monroe County to purchase a dump truck, equipped with a snowplow and salt spreader, to help maintain public facilities and over 50 miles of road.
  • $100,000 grant and $160,000 loan to Sardis Volunteer Fire Department in Monroe County to purchase a pumper truck to provide the Department with up-to-date equipment and reliable service to the 2,951 residents in the service area.

These funds are a part of the USDA’s Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program, which provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. The program helps rural small towns, cities and communities make infrastructure improvements and provide essential facilities such as schools, libraries, courthouses, public safety facilities, hospitals, colleges and daycare centers.

Brown has been a leader for Ohio’s rural communities, successfully securing a number of provisions that are important to Ohio farmers in the 2018 Farm Bill. He is the first Ohioan to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee in more than 50 years. 

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