Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced more than $20 million has been awarded to Panama City through the Department of Economic Opportunity’s (DEO) Rebuild Florida Mitigation General Infrastructure Repair Program.
The funding will be used to make repairs and replace 2.4 miles of water lines, 2.4 miles of stormwater lines and 3 miles of sewer lines that were damaged by Hurricane Michael. These improvements will fully restore water quality, functioning stormwater drainage and dependable sewer for the area.
“Since the beginning of my administration, we have remained committed to helping Northwest Florida recover from Hurricane Michael, and today I am proud to award another $20 million to help Panama City’s recovery,” said DeSantis on Thursday. “This project will make a real difference by restoring water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure in the city.”
“In a state that often experiences unpredictable natural disasters, we are fortunate to have the leadership of Governor DeSantis to support these recovery efforts,” said DEO Sec. Dane Eagle. “We are very pleased to be able to assist the people of Panama City with this award and will continue to strengthen Florida by fulfilling the needs of all communities.”
The program, administered by DEO allows local governments to develop large-scale infrastructure projects to make communities more resilient to future disasters. DEO is the governor-designated state authority responsible for administering all U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) long-term recovery funds awarded to the state. Rebuild Florida uses federal funding for Florida’s long-term recovery efforts from the devastating impacts of natural disasters.
