Capito Announces Federal Resources for Initiatives Across West Virginia

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WVDN) — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced resources from several federal agencies for projects that will bolster health services, economic development, infrastructure, academic and defense research, park improvement efforts, and energy projects across West Virginia.

HHS FUNDING: Senator Capito, Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS), announced grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for a variety of health projects in West Virginia.

“From cancer detection to primary care, I was excited to secure resources from HHS that will bolster the health care infrastructure in West Virginia,” Ranking Member Capito said. “Through my position as the top Republican on the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, I am able to advocate for our state’s needs and bring funding to support projects that will help West Virginians access the medical care they need.”

EPA FUNDING: Senator Capito, Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, announced funding to the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WV DOT) through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to rebuild a portion of West Virginia State Route 39. Senator Capito previously wrote a letter of support for this project to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

“The WV 39 reconstruction project is critical to the security and way of life of residents in the Richwood community, and it’s why I wrote Secretary Buttigieg to strongly support approval of this grant application in 2023. I am thrilled that this portion of WV 39 will be reconstructed and better protected from flooding as a result of this funding,” Ranking Member Capito said.

ARC FUNDING: Senator Capito also announced resources from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to support two projects in West Virginia, one addressing the addiction crisis and another for broadband connectivity.

“As the Ranking Member of the EPW Committee, which oversees the ARC, I know firsthand how critical it is to support efforts that help strengthen communities across West Virginia. These grants will go toward improving health outcomes for West Virginians, helping those struggling with addiction, and better connecting our communities through broadband deployment,” Ranking Member Capito said.

DOE FUNDING: Senator Capito announced resources from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for research that will help support the development of our domestic hydrogen industry at West Virginia University (WVU) through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and other energy innovation resources.

“As a lead negotiator of the IIJA, I knew that WVU would play a critical role in the energy innovation of the future and I am excited to see them taking on this challenge in hydrogen production,” Ranking Member Capito said. “These projects will support advancements in energy and I look forward to seeing the results from researchers at WVU and other research leaders in Morgantown.”

DOT FUNDING: Senator Capito, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, announced a tranche of DOT Airport Improvement Grants (AIGs) to airports across West Virginia to conduct improvements and repairs at the facilities.

“Airports across West Virginia, especially in rural areas, provide critical access for residents across our state to connect with other parts of the country,” Senator Capito said. “These grants will help West Virginia airports make the necessary repairs and improvements that will assist them as they continue to serve Mountain State residents.”

NPS FUNDING: Senator Capito also secured several grants for local parks that will improve outdoor spaces for communities across West Virginia.

“I was pleased to secure grant funding that will make outdoor spaces across West Virginia a better place to visit and enjoy,” Senator Capito said. “The improvements will make our small towns even better places to experience all the wild and wonderful opportunities our state has to offer.”

NSF FUNDING: Senator Capito announced grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a variety of research projects at WVU and Marshall University.

“West Virginia’s research institutions are some of the best in the world, and I was proud to make sure that they received needed support to pursue these academic undertakings. I know they have some of the brightest minds working on this and I am excited to see what they can find in these new projects,” Senator Capito said.

DOD FUNDING: Senator Capito, a member of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, announced a funding opportunity for WVU through the Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR).

“West Virginia has a proud history of military service, shown through generations of active-duty service members and veterans, as well as workers and companies that equip our military with the tools to keep them safe and effective. I was proud to work to secure resources at WVU that will help them ensure our military remains the strongest and most advanced force in the world,” Senator Capito said.

Individual HHS award details listed below:

• $1,149,731 in HHS Ryan White Title II Formula Grant funding to the WV DHHR (Charleston, W.Va.).

• $400,000 in HHS National Cancer Institute Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant funding to Sostos, LLC (Morgantown, W.Va.) for cancer detection and diagnosis research.

• $228,000 in National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences funding to WVU (Morgantown, W.Va.) for validation of a military burn pit surrogate generator and aerosol exposure system.

• $163,711 in HHS funding to the WV DHHR (Charleston, W.Va.) for state primary care offices.

• $102,742 in HHS funding to the WV DHHR (Charleston, W.Va.) for state primary care offices. for Universal Newborn Hearing Screening and Intervention.

• $54,711 in National Institute of General Medical Sciences funding to WVU (Morgantown, W.Va.) for Pharmacology, Physiology, and Biological Chemistry Research.

Individual EPA award details listed below:

• $3,280,000 in FHWA funding to the West Virginia Department of Transportation (Charleston, W.Va.) to reconstruct 1,350 feet of State Route 39 (WV 39) and raise the roadway about seven feet to place it outside the flood zone of the Cherry River. WV 39 is a critical corridor in the transportation network of the area and serves as the main east-west evacuation route for the City of Richwood, an isolated, sparse, rural community that has been the center of the lumber industry.

Individual ARC award details listed below:

• $7,700,000 in ARC funding to the Community Education Group (Lost River, W.Va.) for the Help Our People Expand the EcoSystem (HOPEE) project. This project is slated to impact 56 counties across the Appalachian states of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia. The primary goal of the HOPEE project is to improve the socioeconomic disparities in Appalachia while addressing overlapping syndemics, such as substance use disorder (SUD) and infectious disease, which continue to erode Appalachia’s economy, workforce, health, behavioral health, and social determinants of health.

• $2,684,784 in ARC funding to the Webster County, W.Va. Economic Development Authority to transition to a fully fiber broadband solution. ARC funds will be used to develop a fully fiber broadband network that will ultimately deliver 100/100Mbps service to 830 households and 80 businesses in 5 communities in Webster County, as well as provide scalable, long-term broadband solutions.

Individual DOE award details listed below:

• $9,300,000 in IIJA funding for WVU (Morgantown, W.Va.) for developing a microwave-assisted heating process for continuous sintering of solid oxide electrolyzer cells, with the goal to decrease processing time and save energy compared to conventional sintering technologies.

• $4,500,000 in IIJA for WVU (Morgantown, W.Va.) for increasing the technology readiness level of proton-conducting solid oxide electrolyzer systems by simultaneously addressing the major fundamental barriers to higher-performance cells while increasing cell size and manufacturing scalability.

• $6,700,000 in IIJA for WVU (Morgantown, W.Va.), in partnership with the University of Maryland (College Park, MD) for developing a continuous manufacturing process for solid oxide electrolyzer cells.

• $150,000 in DOE funding for U.S. Research Impact Alliance Corp. (Morgantown, W.Va.) to develop an entrepreneur in residence (EIR) program to support inventors in reviewing national lab & university IP, creating go-to-market strategies, partnering with SME networks, and planning for licensing and commercialization.  

Individual DOT award details listed below:

• $2,071,525 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for West Virginia International Yeager Airport (Charleston, W.Va.).

• $1,406,389 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Milton J. Ferguson Field Airport (Huntington, W.Va.).

• $1,031,712 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for North Central West Virginia Airport (Clarksburg, W.Va.).

• $1,006,851 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Greenbrier Valley Airport (Lewisburg, W.Va.).

• $294,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Raleigh County Memorial Airport (Beckley, W.Va.).

• $294,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport (Parkersburg, W.Va.).

• $294,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Shepherd Field Airport (Martinsburg, W.Va.).

• $294,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Morgantown Municipal Airport (Morgantown, W.Va.).

• $144,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Mercer County Airport (Bluefield, W.Va.).

• $144,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Fairmont Muncipal-Frankman Field Airport (Fairmont, W.Va.).

• $144,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Elkins-Randolph County – Jennings Randolph Field Airport (Bluefield, W.Va.).

• $144,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Jackson County Airport (Ravenswood, W.Va.).

• $144,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Wheeling Ohio County Airport (Wheeling, W.Va.).

• $113,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Upshur County Regional Airport (Buckhannon, W.Va.).

• $113,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Logan County Airport (Logan, W.Va.).

• $113,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Marshall County Airport (Moundsville, W.Va.).

• $113,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Grant County Airport (Petersburg, W.Va.).

• $113,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Philippi-Barbour County Regional Airport (Philippi, W.Va.).

• $113,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Mason County Airport (Point Pleasant, W.Va.).

• $113,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Summersville Airport (Summersville, W.Va.).

• $113,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Braxton County Airport (Sutton, W.Va.).

• $113,000 DOT FAA AIG Grant funding for Appalachian Regional Airport (Williamson, W.Va.).

NPS award details listed below:

• $252,000 NPS grant to the West Virginia Development Office (Charleston, W.Va.) for Upshur County Park tennis courts renovation in Buckhannon, W.Va.

• $150,000 NPS grant to the West Virginia Development Office (Charleston, W.Va.) to improve public outdoor recreation in Bluefield, W.Va.

• $150,000 NPS grant to the West Virginia Development Office (Charleston, W.Va.) for rehabilitation of the Larenim Park Amphitheater in Burlington, W.Va.

• $124,850 NPS grant to the West Virginia Development Office (Charleston, W.Va.) for the West Milford, W.Va. Town Park Development project.

• $99,964 NPS grant to the West Virginia Development Office (Charleston, W.Va.) for Bridge Park Pickleball courts in Hurricane, W.Va.

• $58,000 NPS grant to the West Virginia Development Office (Charleston, W.Va.) for Riverfront Park improvements in Moundsville, W.Va.

• $37,440 NPS grant to the West Virginia Development Office (Charleston, W.Va.) to for Barbour County park improvements.

Individual NSF award details listed below:

• $574,732 NSF grant to WVU (Morgantown, W.Va.) to support a project titled “CAS: Functionalization of Earth-Abundant, Molecular Group 4 Photosensitizers for Photochemical Applications.”

• $371,668 NSF grant to Marshall University (Huntington, W.Va.) to support a project titled “REU Site: Appalachian Mathematics and Physics Site.”

• $299,999 NSF grant to WVU (Morgantown, W.Va.) to support a project titled “EAGER: Private Blockchain-Enabled Federated Learning Framework for Distributed Manufacturing Networks.”

• $50,000 NSF grant to WVU (Morgantown, W.Va.) to support a project titled “I-Corps: Translation Potential of a Medical Device for Early Detection of Sleep Apnea.”

Individual DOD award details listed below:

• Up to $600,000 in DOD DEPSCoR funding to WVU (Morgantown, W.Va.) to pursue science and engineering research relevant to DOD over a three-year period in a project titled “Multimodal Framework for Sensation to Action Transformation.”