May 17--OTHER W.VA. LAWMAKERS' earmark requests will be reported on in the coming weeks.

Rep. Alan Mollohan ranks third among West Virginia's three-member House delegation for federal Fiscal Year 2010 appropriations earmark requests. Here's how they stack up: 1. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-3rd District (17 counties in the southern part of the state), 47 earmarks totaling $404,175,750.

2. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd District (18 counties across the central part of the state and the Eastern Panhandle), 87 earmarks totaling $220,664,913.

3. Mollohan, D-1st District (20 northern counties), 69 earmarks totaling $119,910,400. More than a third of Capito's requests -- and two of her largest, dollarwise -- are for community water and sewage projects.

The federal government is emphasizing "green" projects that benefit the environment, and Capito has seven of those on her list totaling $7,909,200.

Capito's Press Secretary Jonathan Coffin explained her approach to earmarks in an e-mail.

"There's an important place for federal assistance on important local projects, but they warrant review to make sure that these are projects that serve a public interest."

The staff reviews every constituent request to make sure it serves the public, he said.

"The key to this process is transparency and accountability," he said. "We've all heard stories of earmarks dropped into legislation in the dead of night without any review. That's not the way Congress should conduct business, which is why the Congresswoman has posted her requests on her Web site in the past for all to review, and she has done that once again this year.

"She believes that if a project is deserving of federal assistance, it should be open for public scrutiny, and we should know who's making the request."

One of the benefits of earmarks Coffin said, is calling congressional attention to local projects that would otherwise get no notice.

Kirsten Brost, spokeswoman for the House Appropriations Committee, said the House has "taken unprecedented steps toward transparency."

Among them, all members are required to file forms showing that neither they nor their spouses have a financial interest in their requests. All funded requests will be posted online with the sponsor's name, and name and address of the recipient.

Members are also required to post their requests on their official Web sites.

"With these steps, the public can hold Congress accountable for its decisions," she said.

House members' earmark requests are now before the various Appropriations Committee subcommittees, officials said.