By Esteban Fernandez
For Times West Virginian
Fairmont — The City of Fairmont is biting its nails over its $10 million Congressional spending request for its $108 million wastewater treatment facility project.
“Ten million dollars in the scheme of $108 million may not seem like a significant chunk, but for a congressionally directed spending appropriation, $10 million is a very significant ask,” City Manager Travis Blosser said. “There aren’t a lot of congressionally directed spending appropriations in the last two rounds that have been that amount or more.”
Blosser said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., has submitted the full $10 million request to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee. The request, if approved, would fall within the federal FY2027 budget.
The city is embarking on a suite of water system infrastructure upgrades, beginning with its aging wastewater treatment plant. Overall, the city is looking at $1 billion worth of modernization work for the entire system. To make it manageable, the city is splitting the upgrades into bite sized chunks.
The wastewater plant is over 40 years old and actively decomposing in some sections, specifically its Rotating Biological Contactors. Not only have some of its RBCs stopped working, one actively sheered off its protective covering, tossing a large metal covering several feet away. Replacement parts for the RBCs are no longer available off the shelf either. The city has to special order them to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars.
“A big factor, because 10 years ago, you can buy gear boxes for about $10-$12,000,” Plant Superintendent Billy Johnson said in February. “Now, they’re $37,000 and we need a bunch of them.”
Blosser and other city officials are concerned that if the treatment plant isn’t taken care of now, it’ll cost city taxpayers more money in the long run to fix. Blosser said in his State of the City Address he wants to avoid the fate of Worthington.
Blosser said he’s pleased the state’s Congressional delegation is prioritizing the city’s request.
Blosser also shared the contract for the asphalt resurfacing of the Gateway Connector has been signed. The project will cost the West Virginia Division of Highways $1.5 million. With any luck, it will begin next month, Blosser said, with work continuing throughout the summer.
Read more from Times West Virginian, here
