Cities will get nearly $200M in grants for pipeline upgrades

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Federal officials have announced the first $196 million of grants in a $1 billion program to repair and replace aging and sometimes leaking natural gas pipelines across the country. The Transportation Department on Wednesday announced that the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico, will get $10 million as the first grant recipient. Nineteen other communities will also get grants to help upgrade 270 miles of natural gas pipelines in 19 states, although the government didn’t identify all the recipients. Another nearly $400 million of grants will be announced later this year. The grants will be paid for with money from the infrastructure law President Joe Biden’s administration is touting in a series of events across the country.