MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection's footprint in Jefferson County, W.Va. appears to be expanding.

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., announced last week that the agency will now have a "longstanding presence" at a Summit Point, W.Va., facility that was vacated by the State Department in November.

“The facilities and personnel at Summit Point are second to none," Capito said in a news release. "I was disappointed when the State Department decided to move away. Ever since then, I have made it a priority to backfill that presence, and I am proud that CBP will help fill that void. I look forward to a long-term partnership."

The new CBP training site will join the agency's Advanced Training Facility off U.S. 340 near Harpers Ferry, W.Va.

Capito chairs the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., applauded the partnership reached between CBP and the Summit Point facility as great news for West Virginia in a separate announcement last week.

“After the U.S. State Department decided to move their training center from Summit Point ... I started looking for other options to continue using Summit Point for federal training programs," Manchin said.

"The CBP Advanced Training Center in Harpers Ferry needed to expand their training capacity and after months of discussions, have decided the (19) acres of Summit Point are the perfect location to expand their training."

Customs and Border Protection, which needed additional training and administrative space, is expected to engage in a variety of training activities at Summit Point, including medical, firearms, chemical and small unmanned aircraft systems, according to Capito's announcement.

The training site in the southern Jefferson County community includes classroom facilities, physical training/conditioning facilities, firing ranges, breeching/entry/tactical movement skills facilities and several others.

The move is made possible through language that Capito said she had included in the 2020 fiscal year funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security.