BATON ROUGE, La. — Following a recent meeting with the regional directors of the Governor’s Office of Rural Development, Gov. John Bel Edwards is encouraging rural communities to reach out to the Office for help taking advantage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Justice40 initiative.

“Louisiana’s rural areas are the lifeblood of our state, and I have tasked my administration with doing everything we can to revitalize these communities,” said Gov. Edwards. “More resources are available for rural communities now than ever before and our Office of Rural Development is here to help local communities access those federal dollars."

Office of Rural Development Executive Director Noble Ellington and his team are offering hands-on assistance to Louisiana’s rural communities, their local officials, and businesses. The Office of Rural Development wants to help rural communities participate in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Justice40 initiative which requires that 40 percent of the federal BIL funding be spent in impoverished and disadvantaged communities across the United States.

Local projects will be focused on but not limited to the nine pillars of rural development: broadband, clean water, economic development, education, finance, healthcare, infrastructure, workforce development and agriculture.

Contact information for your local regional director and for the Office of Rural Development can be found below and at https://gov.louisiana.gov/page/rural-development-office.