A long-planned utility improvement project will be moving forward.

A Congressionally Directed Spending package of $10,269,000, to be managed through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has officially been awarded. The funds will assist with upgrading Follansbee’s water treatment plant and separate storm and sanitary sewer lines as part of a long-term control plan developed by the city.

The funds were requested by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito in the 2022 fiscal year.

“I was proud to use my position on the EPW and Appropriations Committees to advocate for and secure this award to support Follansbee in its mission to improve its wastewater system,” Capito said. “This funding, at the request of the city, will help modernize their water infrastructure in a way that will allow it to be more efficient, meet modern sanitation standards, and better serve its residents in the Northern Panhandle.”

This project will also provide the city with the treatment and reserve capacity to keep the city within the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection permits for sewage treatment.