U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine and U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith announced $26,250,000 in federal funding from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Lee County Sewer Improvements Project.
The funding was awarded courtesy of the disaster relief package that the lawmakers pushed for and passed in December as part of legislation to fund the government.
“High-quality water infrastructure is crucial to the health and well-being of our communities. We’re thrilled to have helped secure this substantial funding for Lee County that will modernize and expand public wastewater collection for the region,” the lawmakers said.
The project received critical support through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will provide wastewater service to hundreds of households and more than 1,000 residents in Lee County. The project will also serve as the basis for expansion of Lincoln Memorial University, a private university in Tennessee which is an integral driver of the region’s economy.
According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the project will allow for residential growth and economic development in one of the most economically distressed regions of the United States. Lee County, Virginia is next to Hancock and Claiborne counties in Tennessee, and Harlan and Bell counties in Kentucky.
The funding proved more urgently needed in the wake of Hurricane Helene after significant damage to wastewater infrastructure across Southwest Virginia. The project will help to ensure that the community’s wastewater systems are better protected against future disaster events.
Warner posted on X today about the funding: “Thrilled to see Virginia get $26 million in federal funding for wastewater treatment improvements in Lee County! Our disaster aid supplemental is going to build Southwest Virginia back stronger than it was before Helene hit.”
The lawmakers have long supported the project. Warner and Kaine requested funding for the project as part of Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations process, and, in early January 2025, they wrote to the Office of Management and Budget and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works to request funding be made available in the December 2024 funding bill.
Share
Rebecca Barnabi
