BURNSVILLE, WV – Gov. Jim Justice announced today that West Virginia has secured $1.5 million in federal grant funding that will be used to bring much-needed wastewater system improvements to the town of Burnsville in Braxton County.

The governor made the announcement at the Burnsville Town Hall and Police Department facility and presented town leaders with the grant.

“This is big money, that’s all there is to it,” Gov. Justice said. “And being able to help get you this money, it’s the kind of thing that truly tickles me to death. I absolutely love it because, at the end of the day, all I want is goodness for all of us in West Virginia.”

These funds are just one piece of $13.1 million in federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars that have been dedicated for various broadband and infrastructure projects throughout West Virginia this year by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

This wastewater infrastructure project in Burnsville will significantly expand the life of the town’s wastewater sanitation system by allowing for the replacement of outdated critical components of the system to correct inflow and infiltration problems.

Overall, this project will improve service for over 550 total people and several businesses that use the wastewater service across town, while also improving efficiency by limiting the need for future repairs, which will help keep costs down for both residential and commercial customers.

“Hopefully these funds will make a real dent at improving the wastewater system here in Burnsville,” Gov. Justice said. “We want this money to go a long way and make life better.”

A grand total of $10.7 million of the overall CDBG funds awarded in West Virginia will go toward similar wastewater system and water line projects, benefitting thousands of people in 7 different counties across the state.

“We are excited to give out a bunch of these grants all over the state to make life better for everyone,” Gov. Justice said. “Here in West Virginia, we know how good we have it. With how good our people are and how beautiful it is, we’re living in paradise. But we absolutely need to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to get the very best out of this state.”

In total, 19 different communities throughout West Virginia have been awarded CDBG grants for this year.