Charleston Leader

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced today that funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has been allocated for water and wastewater infrastructure improvement projects across West Virginia.

These awards were secured through Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) requests made by Senator Capito in Fiscal Year 2024 (FY 24) and authorized through the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2022. The funding will support five new water projects across West Virginia.

“I was proud to work with the Army Corps of Engineers through my positions on the EPW and Appropriations Committees to both authorize and secure the funds that will help improve critical water infrastructure for West Virginia communities,” said Ranking Member Capito. “These projects will provide the support local entities need, especially in our most rural areas, to improve water infrastructure that helps residents and businesses. I am excited to announce these projects and look forward to seeing them completed.”

Section 571 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 established an environmental infrastructure program that allows the USACE to partner with non-federal entities in order to carry out water and wastewater projects, among other types of projects, in West Virginia. As Ranking Member of the EPW Committee, Senator Capito included an authorization increase for the 571 program in the bipartisan 2022 Water Resources Development Act that was signed into law in December 2022.

The individual award details are as follows:

- $2,000,000 USACE CDS award to the Tomlinson Public Service District (New Cumberland, W.Va.) for the Newell Water Treatment Plant and Distribution Lines.

- $1,000,000 USACE CDS award to the Mason County Public Service District (Point Pleasant, W.Va.) for upgrades to the Apple Grove Sanitary Sewer.

- $1,000,000 USACE CDS award to the Kanawha Public Service District (Cabin Creek, W.Va.) for Lens Creek sewer system improvements.

- $900,000 USACE CDS award to Masontown Water Works (Masontown, W.Va.) for Herring Road waterline replacement.

- $881,250 USACE CDS award to the City of St. Marys, W.Va. for phase one of its water system improvements.