Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/bill_status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=sb373%20intr.htm&yr=2014&sesstype=RS&i=373
Timestamp: 2018-01-17 02:20:03
Document Index: 709395874

Matched Legal Cases: ['§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22', '§22']

[Introduced January 16, 2014; referred to the Committee on Natural Resources; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.)
A BILL to amend and reenact §22-26-1, §22-26-2, §22-26-3, §22-26-5, §22-26-6, §22-26-7 and §22-26-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto six new sections, designated §22-26-10, §22-26-11, §22-26-12, §22-26-13, §22-26-14 and §22-26-15, all relating to the Water Resources Protection and Management Act; making certain legislative finding regarding storage of fluids in aboveground storage tanks; defining certain terms; eliminating certain variance provision; requiring certain progress report from the secretary; requiring certain cooperating state agencies to continue funding levels for stream gaging network; requiring notification of inability to continue funding of stream gaging network; requiring certain information regarding private wells be submitted to the secretary; requiring secretary to provide annual update on implementation of State Water Resources Management Plan; adopting State Water Resources Management Plan; requiring DEP to report biennially to commission regarding implementation of plan and survey results; requiring large-quantity users to submit certain report annually; requiring registration and inventory of certain aboveground storage tanks; making it unlawful to construct, maintain or use any aboveground storage tank without secretary’s authorization; requiring secretary to develop a regulatory program and providing guidelines for new and existing aboveground storage tanks; requiring inspections, monitoring and testing; providing for administrative orders and reconsideration by secretary; providing for civil penalties and injunctive relief; and authorizing rulemaking.
That §22-26-1, §22-26-2, §22-26-3, §22-26-5, §22-26-6, §22-26-7 and §22-26-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto six new sections, designated §22-26-10, §22-26-11, §22-26-12, §22-26-13, §22-26-14 and §22-26-15, all to read as follows:
§22-26-1. Short title; legislative findings.
(a) Short title. -- This article may be known and cited as the Water Resources Protection and Management Act.
(b) Legislative findings. --
(1) The West Virginia Legislature finds that it is the public policy of the State of West Virginia to protect and conserve the water resources for the state and to provide for the public welfare. The state’s water resources are vital natural resources of the state that are essential to maintain, preserve and promote quality of life and economic vitality of the state.
(2) The West Virginia Legislature further finds that it is the public policy of the state that the water resources of the state be available for the benefit of the citizens of West Virginia, consistent with and preserving all other existing rights and remedies recognized in common law or by statute, while also preserving the resources within its sovereign powers for the common good.
(3) The West Virginia Legislature further finds that the water use survey conducted by the Department of Environmental Protection is a valuable tool for water resources assessment, protection and management.
(4) The West Virginia Legislature further finds that the water resources of this state have not been fully measured or assessed and that a program to accurately measure and assess the state’s water resources is necessary to protect, conserve and better utilize the water resources of this state.
(5) The West Virginia Legislature further finds that the survey information collected and analyzed by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has identified the need for a statewide water resources management plan.
(6) The West Virginia Legislature further finds that the development of a state water resources management plan is in the best interest of the state and its citizens and will promote the protection of this valuable natural resource; promote its use for the public good; and enhance its use and development for tourism, industry and other economic development for the benefit of the state and its citizens.
(7) The West Virginia Legislature further finds that incomplete data collection from an inadequate groundwater monitoring system continues to hamper efforts to study, develop and protect the state’s water resources and will be a major obstacle in the development of a water resources management plan.
(8) The Legislature further finds that large quantities of fluids are stored in aboveground storage tanks within the State of West Virginia and that emergency situations involving these substances can and will arise which may present a hazard to human health, safety or the environment. The Legislature also recognizes that some of these fluids have been stored in aboveground storage tanks in the state in a manner insufficient to protect human health, safety or the state’s water resources.
() "Aboveground storage tank" means any tank or container where ninety percent or more of the tank volume is located above the ground surface, but does not include farm or residential tanks or containers with a capacity of eleven hundred gallons or less and used for noncommercial purposes.
(c) “Commercial well” means a well that serves small businesses and facilities in which water is the prime ingredient of the service rendered, including wells drilled to support horizontal well operations.
(d) Community water system” means a public water system that pipes water for human consumption to at least fifteen service connections used by year-round residents or one that regularly serves at least twenty-five residents.
(I) (j) “Large quantity user” means any person who withdraws over seven three hundred fifty thousand gallons of water in a any calendar month thirty-day period from the state’s waters and any person who bottles water for resale regardless of quantity withdrawn.
(n) “Operator” means any person in control of, or having responsibility for, the daily operation of an aboveground storage tank.
(o) “Owner” means a person who owns an aboveground storage tank used for the storage of any fluid.
(m) (p) “Person”, “persons” or “people” means an individual, public and private business or industry, public or private water service and governmental entity.
(n) (q) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection or his or her designee.
(o) (r) “Transient water system” means a public water system that serves at least twenty-five transient people at least sixty days a year.”
(p) (s) “Test well” means a well that is used to obtain information on groundwater quantity, quality, aquifer characteristics and availability of production water supply for manufacturing, commercial and industrial facilities.
(q) (t) “Water resources”, “water” or “waters” means any and all water on or beneath the surface of the ground, whether percolating, standing, diffused or flowing, wholly or partially within this state, or bordering this state and within its jurisdiction and includes, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, natural or artificial lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, branches, brooks, ponds, impounding reservoirs, springs, wells, watercourses and wetlands: Provided, That farm ponds, industrial settling basins and ponds and waste treatment facilities are excluded from the waters of the state.
(r) (u) “Watershed” means a hydrologic unit utilized by the United States Department of Interior’s geological survey, adopted in one thousand nine hundred seventy-four, as a framework for detailed water and related land-resources planning.
(s) “Withdrawal” means the removal or capture of water from water resources of the state regardless of whether it is consumptive or nonconsumptive: Provided, That water encountered during coal, oil, gas, water well drilling and initial testing of water wells, or other mineral extraction and diverted, but not used for any purpose and not a factor in low-flow conditions for any surface water or groundwater, is not deemed a withdrawal.
(b) The secretary shall conduct an ongoing water resources survey of consumptive and nonconsumptive surface water and groundwater withdrawals by large quantity users in this state. The secretary shall determine the form and format of the information submitted, including the use of electronic submissions. The secretary shall establish and maintain a statewide registration program to monitor large quantity users of water resources of this state beginning in two thousand six.
(d) Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, large quantity users who withdraw water from a West Virginia water resource shall comply with the survey and registration requirements of this article. Registration shall be maintained annually by every large quantity user by certifying, on forms and in a manner prescribed by the secretary. that the amount withdrawn in the previous calendar year varies by no more than ten percent from the users’ baseline average or by certifying the change in usage.
(e) The secretary shall maintain a listing of all large quantity users and each such user’s baseline average water withdrawal.
(k) The secretary shall report annually to the Joint Legislative Oversight Commission on State Water Resources on the survey results. The secretary shall also make a progress report every three years annually on the development implementation of the state water resources management plan and any significant changes that may have occurred since the survey report State Water Resources Management Plan was submitted in two thousand six thirteen.
(p) The Department, the Division of Natural Resources, the Division of Highways, and the Conservation Agency (cooperating State agencies”) shall continue providing matching funds for the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) stream gaging network to the maximum extent practicable. Should a cooperating State agency become unable to maintain its contribution level, it should notify the USGS and the commission of its inability to continue funding for the subsequent federal fiscal year by July 1, in order to allow for the possible identification of alternative funding resources.
(2) A listing of each consumptive or nonconsumptive withdrawal by a large quantity user, including the amount of water used, location of the water resources, the nature of the use, location of each intake and discharge point by longitude and latitude where available and, if the use involves more than one watershed or basin, the watersheds or basins involved and the amount transferred.
(15) Proposed methods of implementing various recommended actions, programs, policies, projects or management activities.
(f) Upon adoption of the state Water Resources Management Plan by the Legislature, the report requirements of this article shall be superceded by the plan and subsequent reports shall be on the survey results and the water resources plan. If the plan is not adopted a detailed report discussing the provisions of this section as well as progress reports on the development of the plan shall be submitted every three years. The State Water Resources Management Plan is hereby adopted. Persons identified as large quantity users prior to the effective date of this subsection shall report actual monthly water withdrawals for the previous calendar year by March 31 of each succeeding year. Persons identified as large quantity users on or after the effective date of this subsection shall submit their initial annual report no later than March 31, 2016, and subsequent annual reports by March 31 of each year thereafter.
§22-26-10. Registration of existing aboveground storage tanks.
(a) To assure protection of the water resources of the state, the secretary shall compile an inventory of aboveground storage tanks in existence on the effective date of this section. To develop the inventory, the secretary shall promulgate and propose emergency and legislative rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code regarding registration requirements.
(b) Within thirty days of the effective date of the rules referred to in subsection (a) of this section, owners or operators shall register each aboveground storage tank and provide an inventory of its contents to the secretary.
§22-26-11. Permit required; Aboveground Storage Tank Regulatory Program.
(a) Without authorization from the secretary, it is unlawful for any person to construct, maintain or use any aboveground storage tank for the storage of any fluid other than water, without first obtaining a permit from the secretary.
(1) A requirement to submit a verified application for a permit containing such information as may be proscribed by the secretary;
(2) Performance standards for design, construction, installation, maintenance, release detection and prevention, and secondary containment;
(3) Requirements for maintaining a leak detection system, inventory control systems together with tank testing, or a comparable system or method designed to identify releases from aboveground storage tanks in a manner consistent with the protection of human health and the environment;
(4) Requirements for maintaining records of any monitoring or leak detection system or inventory control system or tank testing system;
(5) Requirements for reporting releases and corrective action taken in response to a release;
(6) Requirements for taking corrective action in response to a release from an aboveground storage tank;
(7) Requirements for the closure of aboveground storage tanks to prevent future releases of fluids to the state’s water resources;
(8) Requirements for certification of installation, removal, retrofit, testing and inspection of aboveground storage tanks and leak detection systems by a registered professional engineer or other qualified person;
(11) A requirement that any aboveground storage tank work shall commence within six months from the date the permit was issued and must be completed within one year of commencement. If the work has not started or is not completed during the stated time periods the permit expires and a new permit is required, unless a written extension is granted by the Secretary. An extension may be granted only if the applicant can demonstrate that the delay was not deliberate and that the delay will not present harm to the general public or the environment;
(12) A procedure for the administrative resolution of violations including the assessment of administrative civil penalties; and
(13) A procedure for any person adversely affected by a decision or order of the secretary relating to the aboveground storage tank program to appeal to the environmental quality board, pursuant to the provisions of article one, chapter twenty-two-b of this code.
§22-26-12. Inspections, monitoring and testing.
(a) Any owner or operator of an aboveground storage tank shall, upon request of the director, furnish information relating to such tanks, their associated equipment and contents, conduct reasonable monitoring or testing, permit the secretary or his or her authorized representative at all reasonable times to have access to, and to copy all records relating to such tanks and permit the secretary or his or her authorized representative to have access to the aboveground storage tank for corrective action.
(b) The secretary or his or her authorized representative may:
(1) Enter at reasonable times any establishment or other place where an aboveground storage tank is located;
(2) Inspect and obtain samples from any person of any fluids contained in such tank;
(3) Conduct monitoring or testing of the tanks, associated equipment, contents or surrounding soils, air, surface, water or groundwater; and
(4) Take any necessary corrective action.
§22-26-13. Administrative orders; requests for reconsideration.
(a) Whenever on the basis of any information, the secretary determines that any person is in violation of any requirement related to the aboveground storage program or any rule promulgated thereunder, the secretary may issue an order stating with reasonable specificity the nature of the violation and requiring compliance within a reasonable specified time period. The secretary may, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, stay any order he or she issues upon application, until the order is reviewed by the environmental quality board.
(b) Any person issued an order may file a notice of request for reconsideration with the secretary not more than seven days from the issuance of such order. The notice of request for reconsideration shall identify the order to be reconsidered and shall set forth in detail the reasons for which reconsideration is requested. The secretary shall grant or deny the request for reconsideration within twenty days of the filing of the notice of request of reconsideration.
§22-26-14. Civil penalties and injunctive relief.
(a) The secretary may commence a civil action for temporary and permanent injunctive relief to compel compliance with any provision or requirement of the aboveground storage tank program. (b) The secretary may also commence a civil action for civil penalties for any violation of any provision or requirement of the aboveground storage tank program.
(c) Venue for the civil actions authorized by subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall be in the circuit court of Kanawha County or the circuit court of the county in which an aboveground storage tank is located.
§22-26-15. Promulgation of rules.
The secretary may promulgate and propose emergency and legislative rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the aboveground storage tank program.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to amend the Water Resources Protection and Management Act to incorporate recommendations from the State Water Resources Management Plan (Plan). Those recommendations include: Changing the definition of a large quantity user to a person who uses at least 300,000 gallons of water in any thirty-day period; Requiring large quantity users to report actual water withdrawals or usage for a calendar year on an annual basis; Requiring any agency that contributes to funding the stream gage network to notify the Commission and the USGS if the agency cannot maintain its level of funding; Requiring drilling contractors or well owners to report the depth to groundwater of drilled wells; adopting the Plan; and Requiring the Department of Environmental Protection to report annually to the Commission on the implementation of the Plan and survey results. The bill also requires registration of existing aboveground storage tanks and directs the secretary of the department of environmental protection to develop a program to regulate new and existing aboveground storage tanks.