WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner today announced that more than $1 million in funding was secured for two water and energy projects in the Shenandoah Valley. The funds were included in the FY2010 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, passed in the Senate on Wednesday night, which provides funding for the Department of Energy, Army Corps of Engineers, Department of the Interior, and economic development projects. 

The projects will spur economic development, improve the accessibility and use of renewable resources, and lay the groundwork to improve water quality and repair environmental damage.

“These projects will ensure that Virginia remains at the forefront in technology and conservation practices while also creating jobs in the Shenandoah Valley,” said Senator Webb. “I am pleased that Virginia will receive more than $32 million for a number of projects ranging from maintaining waterways crucial to economic growth to preventing flooding and ensuring safe drinking water.”

“These investments will be significant steps toward making Virginia a leader in a newer, green energy technologies, and will help the Valley cut down on energy costs in the long-term,” said Senator Warner.  “Overall, the investments in this bill will help fund several projects across Virginia designed to improve infrastructure and protect the environment.”

Below is the list of projects secured in the Shenandoah Valley:

• Shenandoah Valley as a National Demonstration Project Achieving 25 Percent Renewable Energy by the Year 2025; James Madison University -- $750,000

Funds will be used to help the citizens of the Shenandoah Valley utilize the programs established by our State and Federal governments to achieve the National goal of 25 percent renewable energy by the year 2025.  James Madison University is proposing a research, development, and implementation program focused on improving environmental sustainability to serve as a test bed for alternative energy implementation and build a model which can be replicated on a statewide, regional, and national scale.  

• Gathright Dam & Lake Moomaw; Bath County, VA -- $255,000

Funding will go toward finalizing a Project Management Plan and executing a feasibility study to evaluate Gathright Dam and Lake Moomaw’s ability to alleviate the impacted environmental conditions along the river from Gathright Dam to the James River and initiate the investigations into different alternatives for the project area. The Reconnaissance Report, approved on February 18, 2005 by the Corps' North Atlantic Division office, addressed several problems and concerns articulated by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries including: benthic impairments, low dissolved oxygen concentrations, elevated nutrient levels, and cold and warm water fisheries.  

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