Carbon County is now accepting applications for COVID-19 relief block grant funding.

Funding, provided through the CARES Act, is strictly for support of COVID-19-related activities to offset the cost of direct county COVID-19 response; assist businesses and municipalities; provide behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment services; fund nonprofit assistance programs; and deploy broadband to unserved or underserved areas.

Applications for small businesses, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, tourism entities, and broadband, behavioral health and business support agencies, can be accessed through the county website at www.carboncounty.com and clicking on the blue box “COVID-19 Relief (Carbon) County Block Grant portal.”

“We encourage everyone who meets the qualifications to go get those applications started,” Chris Lukasevich, county commissioner, said. “These applications should be downloaded on a computer, not a smart device, and filled out with an Adobe program. If anyone is having trouble with it, please give us a call and we can walk you through it.”

Carbon County has received $5.79 million in COVID funds for allocation. Review committees have been formed in the categories of municipality, small business, tourism and 501(c)3 and 501(c)19.

The application period closes July 31.

Recommendations from the administration group and committees will be made to commissioners by the end of August, with the final approvals and fund distributions to applicants anticipated for mid-September as long as no changes from the state or federal government are given to counties in the meantime.

On July 24 at 10 a.m., the county is hosting a Facebook livestreaming question-and-answer session for applicants. It will be streamed live on the Carbon County Commissioners Facebook page.

According to the program guidelines, funding can be used for:

• Offsetting cost of direct county response, planning and outreach efforts.

• Purchasing personal protective equipment.

• Administration of the grant by the county of no more than 2% of funds received or $200,000, whichever is less.

• Assistance to the county’s municipalities for response and planning efforts, including purchase of PPE.

• Tourism businesses of all sizes, including state and county fairs.

• Grant programs to support costs of assisting businesses during COVID-19.

• Behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment services.

• Broadband deployment with priority to unserved or underserved areas.

• Nonprofit assistance programs for 501(c)3 and 501(c)19 organizations.

Preference will be given to small-business grant programs for businesses with fewer than 100 employees and that did not receive funding through the Federal Paycheck Protection Program or the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program established under the CARES Act.

“Everything has been tested,” Commissioner Rocky Ahner said Thursday, “but we know there will be some snags with the application process. Just don’t get frustrated. Give us a call and we’ll get it sorted out.”