County Of Union

County Of Union, a U.S. local government entity headquartered in La Grande, Oregon, acts as a prime recipient of federal project grants and operates subordinate entities including the Union Soil and Water Conservation District. The county's federal footprint centers on airport infrastructure development, rural public safety and victim services, emergency preparedness, and public health—delivered primarily as a grant recipient (64% of recent awards) rather than as a federal contractor.

County Of Union's primary customer concentration aligns with infrastructure and public safety missions. The Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration Northwest Mountain Region leads with 14 awards focused on taxilane and runway safety area construction and rehabilitation at La Grande Regional Airport, followed by the Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration with 15 awards and the Department of Agriculture Forest Service R6-Pacific Northwest Region with 10 awards ($112 thousand combined potential value) for forestry support activities. The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women accounts for three awards, including a $940,263 project grant (CFDA 16.589) awarded October 1, 2023, supporting rural domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking victim advocacy, forensic examination, and law enforcement training in Union County through September 30, 2026. These five agencies account for 55% of recent awards across the county's portfolio.

Recent airport infrastructure work includes three FAA Airport Improvement Program grants totaling $7.84 million: a $6.79 million Phase 2 grant (CFDA 20.106) awarded August 25, 2025, for runway 12/30 safety area construction and lighting reconstruction, running through August 24, 2029; a $550,000 Phase 2 taxilane construction grant (CFDA 20.106) awarded August 26, 2025, completing August 25, 2029; and a $144,210.53 Phase 3 taxilane construction grant (CFDA 20.117) under the Airport Infrastructure Grants program awarded July 7, 2026, funded through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, completing July 6, 2030. The county also received a $500,000 Phase 1 design grant (CFDA 20.106) from FAA on July 26, 2023, for runway lighting and safety area improvements, with completion by July 25, 2027. An August 28, 2023, FAA grant covers design and construction phases for a 425-foot southwest taxilane extension, completing August 27, 2027.

County Of Union's sub-recipient work flows predominantly through the Oregon Health Authority on public health financial assistance agreements (2023–2025 and 2022 cycles), with multiple tranches between July 2023 and June 2026 supporting mental health and addiction services. The county also receives sub-awards for emergency preparedness funding under the FY2022–FY2025 Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) program, supporting core capability development, and one sub-award under the Department of Justice COPS Office Technology and Equipment Program (awarded December 29, 2022, completing December 31, 2024) for law enforcement technology and equipment. Additional sub-grant awards document public transit service purchases, tactical communications equipment (P25 radios, night vision, door lock systems for public safety buildings), and emergency operations center improvements.

Activity volume has been uneven—four awards in 2022, a spike to 17 in 2023, then declining to six awards in 2024 and 2025, with three awards in 2026 year-to-date. Only one award reaches ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating minimal near-term recompete exposure. The combined potential value across all awards in the source data is $282 thousand, but the county has obligated $44.2 million across the portfolio, reflecting substantial executed grant funding in excess of reported potential values. This gap signals that the source captures only a subset of County Of Union's total federal award universe, likely missing historical grants and reimbursable awards. The county's award mix skews toward infrastructure, public health, and emergency management—typical of rural local government entities accessing federal grant programs rather than competing for federal service contracts.