U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall applauded the passage of legislation in the House of Representatives Friday that will authorize $14 billion over the next four years for clean water projects, including many in West Virginia.

"This is a great victory for the State of West Virginia and for all of the communities across America that depend on this essential program," Rahall said.

As second-ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Rahall was instrumental in moving the reauthorization of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund forward.

"As we build our economies, we can't forget that any growth has to start with a solid foundation," Rahall said. "That means making sure that our towns are on solid footing, with solid infrastructures. It means making sure needs are being met. It means making sure the people of West Virginia are safe and that the water they drink is clean. Clean-water projects might not always get all of the headlines, but they play an essential role in our development."

The Clean Water State Revolving Fund-an outgrowth of the 1972 Clean Water Act-provides low-interest loans for certain water-pollution-abatement projects. During the FY05-FY06 Fiscal Year, the program issued more than $46 million in loans to West Virginia projects, including $160,000 to the Glen Rogers Public Service District in Wyoming County; $3 million to the Shady Spring PSD and $1.3 million to the Crab Orchard-MacArthur PSD in Raleigh County; $3 million to the Northern Wayne PSD in Wayne County; and $1.6 million to Marlinton in Pocahontas County.

"The impact of this program on West Virginia is as crystal clear as the drinking water so many of us often take for granted," Rahall said.

Mike Johnson, Director of the West Virginia Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund, echoed the Congressman's sentiments.

"This increase in allocation is very good news to us as we continue to work to meet the State's tremendous need for new facilities," Johnson said.

Despite the positive impact the program has had on so many communities, funding has dropped in recent years amid diminishing funding requests from the Bush Administration. Under this year's budget proposal, West Virginia stood to lose more than $6 million in funds.

"We are going down a slippery slope when our communities lose the ability to upgrade their wastewater infrastructure," Rahall said. "If we hope to keep moving forward, we need to properly fund the revolving loan fund and other programs like it."

In addition to the reauthorization of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, two other bills were passed this week as part of the Democratic-led Congress' efforts to ensure clean water for America's working families. H.R. 569, passed on Wednesday, will authorize $1.5 billion in grants to local communities over the next five years to construct treatment works to deal with sewer overflows. H.R. 700, passed on Thursday, will authorize a total of $125 million to fund projects that increase usable water supply by encouraging innovation in water reclamation, reuse and conservation. Rahall was an outspoken supporter of both bills.

"This week, the Democratic-led Congress passed three critical water quality bills that have been sitting on the shelf gathering dust for too long," Rahall said. "But as we know, this is just a drop in the bucket so to speak. I will continue to push for legislation that will improve the quality of life for West Virginians."