Welch to Hold Public Meeting on CDBG Grant Application Resubmission

The City of Welch published an official public notice calling for a community meeting tied to its effort to secure federal funding for a sewer infrastructure project that has been in the works since at least the previous fiscal year.

The meeting was organized to collect citizen comments on Welch's resubmission of a FY2024 State/HUD Community Development Block Grant application, this time seeking consideration under the FY2025 program. At the center of the application is the Welch CSO 5 Removal Project, a combined sewer overflow initiative that would address longstanding infrastructure concerns in the city.

CDBG funding, administered through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and distributed at the state level, supports community development efforts in lower-income areas. For a small municipality like Welch, securing such a grant can be the difference between a critical infrastructure project moving forward or stalling indefinitely.

The resubmission signals that the city's initial FY2024 application did not advance to funding, but city officials chose to keep the project alive by carrying it into the next grant cycle rather than abandoning it. Combined sewer overflow systems, which allow untreated sewage to mix with stormwater during heavy rain events, are a known environmental and public health concern in older Appalachian communities, and their removal is often a regulatory priority under the Clean Water Act.

The public notice and accompanying meeting give Welch residents a formal opportunity to weigh in before the application is finalized and submitted to state reviewers.