Nearly a decade after the deadly 2016 floods, West Virginia officials are moving forward with a study to look at flood mitigation measures across the Kanawha River Basin.
Last month, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced that the state will work with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers on a study that thoroughly examines flood risk management strategies across 20 West Virginia counties, most of which were impacted by the June 2016 floods.
Morrisey’s announcement comes nearly four years after the study was initially funded by the federal government.
West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito requested the study in 2016, following the deadly flooding that swept across the state and left 23 dead. Federal funding for the project was later secured in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
But these types of studies require the state and federal government to split the cost equally. And the…