This Funding Will Allow Occoquan to Repair Damage & Make Major Upgrades to Stormwater Management System

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Biden on Saturday signed into law U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger’s legislation that will provide $920,000 to make much-needed improvements to the Town of Occoquan’s aging stormwater management system.

This investment — which Spanberger secured as part of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate-passed fiscal year (FY)2024 appropriations package — will allow the Town of Occoquan to upgrade its antiquated stormwater management facilities to prevent persistent flooding in the town and subsequent runoff into the Occoquan River. The funding would enable Occoquan to address the deterioration of its current system by completing a CCTV (closed-circuit television) sewer inspection, cleaning out the system, performing joint repairs, and lining the stormwater pipes.

“This is very significant for the town of Occoquan. We have legacy stormwater systems that in some cases stretch as far back as a Civil Works Administration (CWA) project from the 1930s. For more than fifty years — since the early 1970s at least — these systems have been subjected to great stress, primarily from stormwater originating outside of town, which has in turn contributed to recurring inland flooding of the downtown area. While steps have been taken to address some of those point sources, repairing the cumulative damage to the town’s main stormwater arteries has long been far beyond the town’s means,” said Mayor Earnie Porta, JD, PhD, Town of Occoquan. “Thanks to the efforts of Congresswoman Spanberger, Occoquan will now not only be able to address that multi-generational infrastructure damage and minimize the risk of continued flooding but will also be capable of maintaining the system into the future. We simply could not have addressed this without her interest, support, and advocacy on our behalf.”

“Public officials should always be responsive to the unique needs of the communities they serve. Even before working with local officials and leaders in Occoquan to secure this direct federal investment, I heard about the real need for serious upgrades to the town’s aging stormwater management system — and the role federal dollars would play in making these repairs a reality. I’m proud to see this investment signed into law to improve resilience to heavy rain and prevent contaminated runoff into the Occoquan River,” said Spanberger. “These much-needed improvements will promote the region’s continued economic growth into the future.”

BACKGROUND

For FY2024, the U.S. House of Representatives allowed for specific Community Project Funding requests — as it did in FY2023. Spanberger worked directly with community leaders in localities across Virginia’s Seventh District to gather community-focused requests for her submissions. Click here for the full list of her submissions.

The Community Project Funding process was created to ensure that Members of Congress — in concert with the communities they represent — may submit direct applications for federal funding to support locally planned projects as part of the yearly appropriations process.

To be eligible, projects must be sponsored by local or state government entities or non-profit organizations and must be projects that would otherwise meet the qualifications to apply for federal grant funding. The purpose of Community Project Funding is to ensure direct, local engagement as part of the federal appropriations process. In line with this goal, funding applications needed to demonstrate significant local support for the projects.

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