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Fire departments, schools, libraries and townships are a few of the 40 Pennsylvania organizations that will receive more than $350,000 in funding this fall from Williams, an organization that operates pipelines and relates facilities that handle about 30 percent of the nation’s natural gas, through its biannual community grant program.
The $350,417 total includes $39,200 that will be distributed to organizations in Luzerne County, according to a news release.
Grants up to $10,000 per applicant are being awarded by Williams to eligible organizations in communities where the proposed Atlantic Sunrise pipeline project would be constructed and operated. Williams operates the Transco pipeline, which consists of more than 10,000 miles of pipe and provides about one-third of the natural gas consumed in Pennsylvania.
Organizations in Luzerne County that were awarded grants include:
• Dallas School District – Welding 101 course. Grant award: $7,500
• Back Mountain Memorial Library – Enrichment touch screen computer. Grant award: $8,200
• Harding Fire Company – Turnout gear replacement. Grant award: $10,000
• Kistler Elementary School – STEM classes. Grant award: $6,000
• Lake Township – Emergency battery backup system for traffic lights. Grant award: $7,500
Tuesday’s announcement marks the fourth grant award cycle since the program was initiated in 2015, according to a news release. Since then, Williams has announced total awards of more than $1.46 million across the entire Atlantic Sunrise project area, including $138,330 in Luzerne County.
“The support we’re receiving from Williams will be used to help us kick off a ‘welding 101’ course at Dallas High School which we will offer to both our day students and community members in the evening,” Jason Rushmer, Dallas High School principal, said in a news release. “We will be the first area school to offer this type of course which will help train welders for entering the workforce, especially the energy-related field that are in such close proximity to our district.”
Two cycles of Atlantic Sunrise grant awards are announced each year in the spring and in the fall. Grant applications can be completed online at www.williams.com/atlanticsunrise. Applications must be received by March 1 and Sept. 1.
