# Plain Language Summary of H.R. 6719

This bill expands a federal program that helps pay for water and environmental infrastructure projects in West Virginia. Specifically, it adds more counties in both the northern and southern parts of the state to a program that was created back in the 1990s to assist local communities and organizations with water-related environmental work.

The bill makes two main changes. First, it adds eleven counties in southern West Virginia—including Kanawha, Putnam, Mason, and others—to an existing environmental restoration program. This means communities in these counties can now apply for federal assistance to fund projects related to water quality, environmental cleanup, and similar infrastructure needs. Second, the bill renames and expands a northern West Virginia program, changing it from "central West Virginia" to "northern West Virginia" and adding a specific list of 26 counties that qualify, including areas like Monongalia, Harrison, and Hancock counties.

In practical terms, this means local governments, water authorities, and non-profit organizations in these West Virginia counties now have access to federal funding and support for projects like water treatment improvements, environmental restoration, and infrastructure repairs. These communities don't have to pay for these projects entirely on their own—they can get federal assistance. The bill essentially recognizes that these particular counties have water and environmental needs that deserve federal support through existing programs that were previously available to other parts of the state.

To amend the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 and the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 to provide assistance to non-Federal interests for water-related environmental infrastructure projects in northern and southern West Virginia, and for other purposes.

McKinley, David B.

This bill provides for furnishing assistance to nonfederal interests for water-related, environmental infrastructure and resource protection and development projects in northern and southern West Virginia. The bill includes Gilmer, Mason, Putnam, Kanawha, Jackson, Roane, Clay, Wirt, Calhoun, Braxton, and Pendleton counties in central West Virginia as part of the Southern West Virginia Environmental Restoration Infrastructure and Resource Protection Development Pilot Program. The bill redesignates the area of the pilot program to provide environmental assistance to nonfederal interests in central West Virginia to that of northern West Virginia. The bill replaces the definition of the counties comprising central West Virginia with a definition of the counties comprising northern West Virginia.