Bipartisan Bill Would Tap $250M Rainy Day Fund For McDowell County Water

Kenyetta Hunt still makes weekly trips to a spring along Route 52 to fill five-gallon jugs because he does not trust the water that comes from his tap. "Hunt said he visits the spring at least once a week to fill five gallon jugs of water to use for drinking and cooking," a detail that underscores why two delegates introduced a proposal to marshal major state dollars for coalfield water repairs.

Del. David Green, R-McDowell, and Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, introduced legislation that would take $250 million from West Virginia's Rainy Day Fund and direct it to high-priority drinking water projects in nine southern coalfield counties, including McDowell. The Rainy Day Fund is cited in multiple reports as holding about $1.4 billion, making the $250 million request a sizable draw on state savings.

The proposed funding aims to address long-standing problems in the coalfields, from intermittent flows to systems residents say they cannot trust. Local reporting indicates the move would help hundreds of McDowell County residents who cannot get clean drinking water, and those who do cannot rely on continuous service.

The bill faces immediate fiscal and political resistance. Del. Vernon Criss, R-Wood County and chair of the House Finance Committee, warned that the measure would require approval from both chambers and raised sharp objections to dipping into savings. "This body and the Senate would have to agree on invading those Rainy Day funds, and that possibility would be pretty grave," Criss said. Criss has described using the Rainy Day Fund as "an automatic no-go" and suggested alternatives such as using unspent budget balances or routing assistance through existing entities like the Water Development Authority.

Del. David Green acknowledged the uphill climb inside his own party, saying he does not expect broad Republican support because many members would push to direct dollars to projects in their own districts. Legislative calendar and committee actions will determine whether the measure advances; at least one report noted that House leadership had not yet introduced the so-called Coalfield Clean Water Act early in the session.

For McDowell County residents, the debate is about more than accounting. If enacted, the $250 million proposal could fund overhauls, treatment upgrades, line replacements, source development and interconnections, that local officials say are needed to make faucets reliable and potable. If lawmakers block Rainy Day Fund use, advocates and county leaders may press for other channels of support, including budget reallocations or expanded Water Development Authority funding.

Next steps will play out in committee hearings and floor negotiations. McDowell residents who collect spring water and the utilities that serve them will be watching whether the state chooses to tap savings for immediate relief or pursue alternate, likely slower, funding routes.