Brown Announces Nearly $1.5 Million To Bolster Economy In Southeast Ohio

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced the Appalachian Regional Commission's (ARC) Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative has awarded two grants to the Outdoor Recreation Council of Appalachia in Athens. These investments, totaling $1,493,716, will go toward the Gateway Communities and Sustainable Recreation project, an asset-based approach to building resilient communities and transitioning Appalachian economies.

"Rural communities have been overlooked for too long. If we want to promote economic development throughout Ohio, we need to ensure that businesses and communities have tools and resources they need," said Brown. "Investments like these help communities across Southeast Ohio create jobs, enhance outdoor recreation, and attract businesses to the area. I'll continue to fight for funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission, so it can continue to empower our communities."

The awards include:

In February, Brown announced the U.S. Department of Interior's Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) had awarded the Ohio Department of Natural Resources a $46,444,000 Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation grant. This funding will go toward reclamation and restoration projects in previously mined sites across the state, including closing dangerous mine shafts, eliminating highwalls, reclaiming unstable slopes, treating acid mine drainage, and restoring water supplies damaged by mining. Funding for this investment was made possible through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act(IIJA), which Brown helped to write and pass.

ARC is an economic development agency of the federal government. It has a mission to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in the Appalachian region. POWER is a congressionally funded initiative that targets federal resources to help communities and regions that have been affected by job losses in coal mining, coal power plant operations, and coal-related supply chain industries due to the changing economics of America's energy production.