West Virginia Infrastructure and Capacity Development Program
The West Virginia Infrastructure and Capacity Development provides assistance to drinking water systems in the areas of capital project funding from the Drinking Water Treatment Revolving Fund (DWTRF), Capacity Development, and Construction Permitting to ensure facilities will meet state and federal requirements.
The West Virginia Legislature, at the 2023 Regular Session, passed House Bill 561, which transferred administration of the DWTRF from the West Virginia Department of Health (WVDH) to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) effective July 1, 2023. The DEP will be working in collaboration with the Office of Environmental Health Services (OEHS) to provide funding to necessary projects and to provide financial support to OEHS to carry out set-aside activities funded under Sections 1452 (g)(2)(A), (B), (C), and (D) and Sections 1452 (k)(1)(B), (C), and (D) of the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act. As a result, the DEP will be responsible for managing the DWTRF and Capacity Development Programs and providing the necessary funding from the set-asides to fund all eligible expenditures in support of the OEHS Environmental Engineering Division.
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) - This is the capitalization fund provided annually by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enable the state to fund two distinct programs to assist drinking water systems. The majority of the DWSRF fund goes to fund infrastructure projects through the Drinking Water Treatment Revolving Fund. A smaller portion of the capitalization grant funds set-aside activities to provide assistance and monitoring of water system's performance. The Intended Use Plan prepared each year details the intended use of the funding available for capital projects and program set-aside activities. An annual report is issued that describes all of the construction and set-aside activities in detail. The Drinking Water Intended Use Plan and Drinking Water Annual Report can be viewed on the Drinking Water Treatment Revolving Fund webpage.
Drinking Water Treatment Revolving Fund (DWTRF) - This fund is the construction portion of the United States Environmental Protection Agency capitalization grant and corresponding state match along with subsequent loan repayments to enable the state to provide loans for drinking water infrastructure projects needed to achieve and maintain compliance with the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and the state's Public Water Systems Regulations. The program coordinates project funding with other state and federal agencies, under the auspices of the West Virginia Infrastructure and Jobs Development Council.
The Capacity Development Program helps drinking water systems to improve their finances, management, infrastructure, and operations so they can provide safe drinking water consistently, reliably, and cost-effectively. More specifically, the Federal SDWA capacity development provisions establish a flexible framework for the BPH and water systems to work together to ensure the systems acquire and maintain the technical, financial, and managerial resources necessary to consistently achieve the health objectives of the 1996 SDWA.
Plan Review and Permitting Section reviews all proposed plans and specifications for public water systems, recreational water facilities, dairy farm waste disposal facilities, water vending machines, and sewage collection and treatment systems to assure that proposed projects are designed in accordance with design standards and will perform as needed to provide adequate public health protection and service. Approximately 400 technical reviews are performed each year with about 225 approvals issued. Click here to go to the Permit Archive webpage to find previously issued construction permits.
For more information on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law please visit the website here.
Contact
West Virginia Department of Environmental ProtectionDivision of Water and Waste ManagementClean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds601 57th Street SE
Charleston, WV 25304
Phone: 304-926-0440
Toll Free: 866-568-6649