January 31, 2020

Manchin Announces $131 Million To Rebuild Three Schools Damaged By 2016 Floods

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $131,671,998.45 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to rebuild Richwood Middle School, Richwood High School and Summersville Middle School which were critically damaged by the devastating 2016 floods. With these awards, West Virginia has exceeded FEMA’s threshold to modify the cost-share agreement from the current 75% federal-25% state to 90% federal-10% state. As with all Major Disaster Declarations, this cost-share adjustment requires the approval of the President of the United States. If granted, this would be applied retroactively and result in millions of dollars in additional federal funds to support the ongoing recovery in West Virginia.  

“After the terrible flooding in 2016 that ravaged West Virginia and killed 23 people, I knew that it would be a long and difficult road to recovery. I hope that rebuilding these three schools will bring peace of mind to the families that had their lives upended. Over the past nearly four years, these communities have shown us time and again what it means to be West Virginia Strong and continually amaze me with their resiliency. Now that West Virginia has exceeded FEMA’s threshold, I also encourage the President to review our cost-share agreement and approve the adjustment so that these communities have the federal support they need and deserve. I’ve been advocating for this commonsense change since the month after the 2016 floods, and I will continue to work with our local, state, and federal partners to get the job done. We cannot afford to leave millions of dollars for our state on the table,” said Senator Manchin.