Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs Announces $2,528,951 in FY2023 Grants Benefitting the U.S. Virgin Islands

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs has announced $2,528,951 in fiscal year 2023 (FY23) Technical Assistance Program grant funding that will support and benefit the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI).  

“The funding this year will support many important needs for the U.S. Virgin Islands, such as emergency response, improving government processes, utilities training, sustainable water resources, and youth mentoring on climate change and natural resources protection,” said Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Carmen G. Cantor. “We are especially pleased to be able to support the U.S. Virgin Islands in preparations for the commemoration of 175 years of emancipation.” 

Technical Assistance Program grant awards totaling $2,528,951 will be awarded to the territorial government or non-government organizations as follow, with one project being funded in collaboration with the Bureau of Reclamation towards funding water resilience.  

USVI Territorial Government 

• $655,423 to the Fire Service for Emergency Response Vehicles  
• $300,000 to the Bureau of Information Technology for a Business Process Improvement Technology Solutions project  
• $200,000 to the Office of the Governor to facilitate project programming for the Commemoration of 175 Years of Emancipation in the Virgin Islands  
• $60,000 to the Department of Planning and Natural Resources for the National Historic Register Boundaries Update for the Catherineberg-Jockumsdahl-Herman Farm District project 

Non-Profit Organizations  

• $658,050 to the Virgin Islands Architecture Center for Built Heritage and Crafts, Inc. (VIAC) for the VIAC Capacity Building Initiative program 
• $296,500 to the Virgin Islands Water & Power Authority for Water Distribution Training  
• $62,010 to the Ocean Foundation for developing outreach programs and mentoring youth at the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge. 

Bureau of Reclamation 

• $296,968 to the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation for a project with the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources to improve the Sustainability of Water Resources in a Changing Climate through Estimations of Groundwater Recharge on St. Croix. 

More information about the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs can be found at www.doi.gov/oia.  

The Assistant Secretary of Insular and International Affairs and the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) carry out the Secretary of the Interior’s responsibilities for the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additionally, OIA administers and oversees federal assistance under the Compacts of Free Association to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. OIA also administers a discretionary Technical Assistance Program for all the insular areas. Find information about OIA and its work on www.doi.gov/oia, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

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