Cedar Falls awarded $8.8M in disaster grants

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — The Cedar Falls Utilities Electrical Retrofit Project has been awarded more than $8.8 million in federal disaster grants to strengthen nearly 57 miles of overhead electrical distribution lines damaged during storms in 2008.

Sen. Tom Harkin announced the grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency on Thursday.

The funds come from an allocation of dollars to Iowa based on the cost of repairing damage in the state from the 2008 floods.

Harkin says the money will help the utility reduce the chance of damage from future storms and lower utility bills for customers because the utility will not have to cover the full cost of the improvements.