Nearly $4 million in Community Project Funding has been approved by the U.S. House for projects in Pennsylvania’s 16th Congressional District, according to an announcement from U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA). The funding will support upgrades and repairs to water and sewer infrastructure across several communities.
“These projects represent real, tangible investments in essential water and sewer infrastructure that will significantly benefit communities across the 16th Congressional District,” said Kelly. “Each of these projects will address critical public health, environmental, and reliability concerns. As my team and I reviewed this year’s applications, our priority was ensuring Pennsylvania taxpayers received the strongest return on their investment, and I’m confident these projects accomplish exactly that.”
The four projects receiving funds include:
– Meadville Area Sewer Authority: $750,000 to replace a deteriorating force main with a new pipe to help protect French Creek from sewage infiltration and improve service for Meadville and Vernon Townships.
– Hermitage Municipal Authority: $913,600 to demolish the Wheatland Pump Station, which has reached the end of its lifespan, and reroute sewer flow to reduce pollution risks.
– Cranberry Township: $1 million for replacing sections of an aging waterline along Route 19 that serves about 11,000 customers.
– Chicora Borough: $1.25 million to upgrade the borough’s drinking water plant, which supplies potable water to roughly 1,100 residents including a local elementary school.
Of the fifteen requests Rep. Kelly was permitted to submit during this appropriations process, four were included in this week’s spending package. Three other local volunteer fire department projects received $2.5 million in November through earlier Community Project Funding.
Kelly noted that additional project requests remain under consideration.
Congressional leaders brought back Community Project Funding—previously called “earmarks”—for the current Congress with new transparency requirements and stricter guidelines. Lawmakers could submit up to fifteen requests each session after consulting with local officials throughout Northwestern Pennsylvania.
Kelly has previously secured federal grants for his district as well. In 2020 he helped obtain two BUILD Grants totaling $46 million for transportation improvements on State Route 228 in Butler County and Erie’s Bayfront Parkway Project; another BUILD Grant worth $20 million went toward State Route 228 improvements in 2018.
Mike Kelly is currently serving in the U.S. Congress representing Pennsylvania’s 16th district since taking office in 2011 after replacing Kathy Dahlkemper. He was born in Pittsburgh in 1948 and lives in Butler. Kelly graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970.