Seventeen Arkansas cities and counties have been awarded a combined $8.5 million in Community Development Block Grants, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission announced.

The 17 cities and counties all received roughly $500,000 for various infrastructure or community projects. The grants are funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and are distributed by the states.

To be eligible for a grant under the program, a community has to have a population of fewer than 50,000 residents and must show that a majority of the people who would benefit from the funding are low- to moderate-income or it would eliminate slums or blight, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“When the federal government works right, in coordination with state and local experts, the results can be fantastic,” Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday. “The Community Development Block Grant program is an example of state and federal collaboration. We can thank our congressional delegation for this 50-year-old program’s success, keeping it out of the hands of special interest groups and making it determined solely on community size and need.”

The grants announced Thursday are a portion of the $17.8 million the state has received for the General Assistance set-aside under the program for fiscal year 2023, according to a news release from the governor’s office. Communities may apply for grants ranging from $75,000 to $1 million.

To help determine which communities should receive the funding, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission travels around and holds town hall forums to get public input, according its website.

“With these grants, our communities will have better infrastructure and better quality-of-life amenities,” said Clint O’Neal, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

Established through federal law in 1974, Arkansas first began receiving Community Development Block Grants in 1983. In total, the state has received more than $900 million in grant funding for 2,390 projects across the state, according to the news release.

The Arkansas cities and counties that have been awarded Community Development Block Grants are:

Columbia County: $500,000 for an after-school youth center.

Dierks (Howard County): $499,743 for water system improvements.

Dumas (Desha County): $499,935 for sewer system improvements.

East Camden (Ouachita County): $499,420 for sewer system improvements.

Garland City (Miller County): $500,000 for pond levee improvements.

Hope (Hempstead County): $500,000 for wastewater system improvements.

Jennette (Crittenden County): $500,000 for water system improvements.

Kensett (White County): $499,750 for wastewater treatment plant improvements.

Kingsland (Cleveland County): $500,000 for pump station improvements and pipe repairs.

Lockesburg (Sevier County): $500,000 for water tank improvements.

Logan County: $485,556 for senior center renovations.

Lonoke (Lonoke County): $500,000 for sewer line rehabilitation.

Lonoke County: $500,000 for a developmentally disabled vocational training facility.

Pangburn (White County): $500,000 for wastewater collection system rehabilitation.

Peach Orchard (Clay County): $498,920 for water line rehabilitation.

Sparkman (Dallas County): $496,426 for wastewater rehabilitation.

Van Buren County: $500,000 for road improvements.