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Rapid Response Teams (RRTs)
With RRTs, communities that most need federal resources get help with the unique problems they face. Federal programs work together to help communities find and use resources in ways that support their identified needs.
Benefits
Federal agencies are responsive to RRT communities and want to make their programs work for each one.
RRTs support not only the expertise that local leaders have regarding their own communities, but also the evolving leadership to make sure the federal government works for the future of those communities.
RRTs also help identify and provide technical assistance to communities. Technical assistance could range from identifying relevant funding opportunities to market studies, site-specific analysis, grant logistics, etc.
County Map by RRT Status
How RRTs Implement Their Work
- Coordinating the identification and use of Energy Communities IWG member agencies’ resources.
- Establishing working relationships with community leaders and members.
- Providing dedicated technical assistance to address communities’ immediate needs and longer-term economic transition strategies.
- Ensuring the Energy Communities IWG programs help communities in their efforts to transform and grow their economies.*Additional comprehensive tasks may be defined by the RRT through its involvement with each energy community.
Outcomes
The primary outcomes will catalyze projects and actions to achieve substantive progress toward the goals outlined in each RRT roadmap.
Examples of outcomes may include:
- Communities grow and thrive.
- Economies transform and diversify.
- Redeveloping a brownfield or reclaiming abandoned mine lands to create a new source of jobs and tax base.
- Providing training to workers from a closed plant. Local communities identifying leadership to continue energy transition activities.
- The local community has identified leadership to continue energy transition activities.
- Funding has been applied for and received.
Frequently Asked Questions
RRTs work within energy communities at the time of a past or approaching fossil fuel facility closure to address worker and community needs using existing federal resources. The RRT framework is unique in the way it learns about and addresses fossil energy-related economic, environmental, community and health challenges in each energy community. Each RRT is led by one key federal agency, which will then develop an interagency team to coordinate funding streams and technical assistance for the regions.
The purpose of RRTs is to provide on-the-ground technical assistance using experienced regional staff to coordinate federal funding opportunities to assist energy communities dealing with past or imminent fossil energy asset transitions such as coal mine and power plant closures.
Each on-the-ground RRT is designed to work with community members to identify economic transformation and revitalization goals, figure out ways to pursue those goals, and make the connections between programs across the federal family and up and down levels of government. RRTs aim to understand the needs of communities and work to make sure barriers to meeting those needs are smoothed over.
RRTs also help identify and provide technical assistance to communities. Technical assistance could range from identifying relevant funding opportunities to market studies, site-specific analysis, grant logistics, etc. RRTs create a single point of contact for a region to access federal funds and identify other resources without navigating the entire federal network of agencies and funding.
- Appalachian Regional Commission
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- U.S. Department of Commerce
- U.S. Department of Education
- U.S. Department of Energy
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- U.S. Department of the Interior
- U.S. Department of Labor
- U.S. Department of Transportation
- U.S. Department of the Treasury
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The Rural Partners Network (RPN) is an alliance of federal agencies and commissions working directly with rural communities to expand rural prosperity through job creation, infrastructure development and community improvement. Led by USDA Rural Development, RPN members collaborate to identify resources to help rural people build the futures they envision for the unique places they call home.
RRTs are focused on energy communities where there is an unmet need. The RRT is comprised of federal, state and local agencies and partners. They make connections between state and local agencies; assist in identifying community leadership; conduct listening sessions with community members; increase grassroots engagement; and create a basic plan to address economic diversification, worker needs and community challenges.
To date, RRT locations have been chosen by identifying the regions with the highest loss of coal assets and with inadequate financial and local community resources to address those losses. If your community or region is interested in being considered for an RRT, please contact [email protected].
About RRTs
The Energy Communities IWG and its member agencies are launching Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) across the nation to establish a network of assistance that is focused and sustainable in a community or region. Assistance is driven by locally identified needs and supported with federal, state, local and outside expert resources.
There are seven existing RRTs across the country in Wyoming, the Four Corners region, the Illinois Coal Basin, Eastern Kentucky, Appalachian Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Each region has a unique set of challenges the RRTs aim to address, including workforce training, economic diversification, repurposing of legacy energy facilities, broadband access, infrastructure improvements and more.
RRTs are intended to work with energy communities who have experienced a recent or approaching fossil fuel facility closure to address worker and community needs using existing federal resources. RRT members work with community members to identify economic transformation and revitalization goals, figure out ways to pursue those goals, and make the connections between programs across the federal family and up and down levels of government. RRTs aim to understand the needs of communities and work to make sure barriers to meeting those needs are smoothed over.
RRTs focus on understanding the needs of communities and working to minimize barriers to assistance.
Recent RRT News
Energy Communities IWG Announces West Virginia Rapid Response Team
Beckley, WV. (October 29, 2024)—Today, the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization (Energy Communities IWG) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development formally announced the launch of a West Virginia Rapid Response Team (RRT). The announcement was made at the Federal Community
Energy Communities IWG Announces Launch of Pennsylvania Rapid Response Team
The Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization (Energy Communities IWG) today joined senior federal and state officials at the Catalyzing Economic Development in Pennsylvania’s Energy Communities event at Westmoreland County Community College to announce new federal initiatives to support workers, along with economic revitalization
Energy Communities IWG Announces Launch of Appalachian Ohio Rapid Response Team
Today, the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization (Energy Communities IWG) announced the launch of a Rapid Response Team (RRT) in Appalachian Ohio at the 3rd Annual Appalachia Forward Conference. The Energy Communities IWG RRT, led by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), will