U.S VIRGIN ISLANDS– Governor Albert Bryan Jr announced more than $1.2 million in grant funding from the Department of Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) Friday, including $300,000 to the Department of Agriculture for the purchase of farm equipment and $600,000 the territory’s hospitals for hazardous waste disposal.
The announcement came after the governor met with OIA Policy Specialist for the Virgin Islands and Guam, Dwayne Petersen, where he received the grant award letters.
Governor Bryan thanked Petersen and spoke to the importance of the funding and the continued support of the OIA to the territory.
“I want to express my appreciation for this much-needed funding, especially for agriculture and our coral reefs,” said Governor Bryan. “As an administration, our agricultural goal is to increase our crop and livestock yields, and Commissioner Nelson is working on launching programs that will incentivize real growth for real farmers,” the governor continued.
According to the award letter presented to Governor Bryan Thursday afternoon, the funding breaks down as follows:
2019 Coral Reef Natural Resources/Invasive Species notice
- $216,787 to support USVI Coral Disease Response Strike Team;
- $74,467.61 to the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources’ Coastal Zone Management Division for nuisance and invasive species awareness.
Technical Assistance Program
- $606,061 to the Governor Juan Luis Hospital & Medical Center and the Schneider Regional Medical Center for hazardous waste disposal projects;
- $303,000 to the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture for the acquisition of equipment and repair of inoperable machinery;
- $10,000 to the St. Croix Foundation for the AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service in America (VISTA) Development and Training Project.
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