reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
WV Code § 22-22-10 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 22. Environmental Resources|Article 22. Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act|§22-22-10. Inspections; Right of Entry; Sampling; Reports and Analyses

(a) The director, upon presentation of proper credentials may enter any building, property, premises, place or facility where brownfield or voluntary remediation activities are being or have been performed for the purpose of making an inspection to ascertain the compliance by any person with the provisions of this article or the rules promulgated by the director.(b) The director shall make periodic inspections at sites subject to this article. After an inspection is made, a report shall be filed with the director and a copy shall be provided to the person who is responsible pursuant to the voluntary agreement for remediation activities. The reports shall not disclose any confidential information protected under the provisions of subsection (d), section four of this article. The inspection reports shall be available to the public in accordance with the provisions of article one, chapter twenty-nine-b of this code. (c) The director may, upon presentation of proper credentials, enter any building, motor vehicle, property, premises or site where brownfield or voluntary remediation activities are being or have been performed and take samples of wastes, soils, air, surface water and groundwater. In taking such samples, the director may utilize such sampling methods as are necessary in exercising good scientific technique. Following the taking of any sample, the director shall give the person responsible in the voluntary agreement for remediation activities a receipt describing the sample obtained and if requested, a portion of each sample equal in volume or weight to the portion retained. The director shall promptly provide a copy of any analysis made to the responsible person named in the voluntary agreement.(d) Upon presentation of proper credentials, the director shall be given access to all records relating to a brownfield or voluntary remediation.
WV Code § 22-22-12 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 22. Environmental Resources|Article 22. Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act|§22-22-12. Enforcement Orders for Licensed Remediation Specialists; Cease and Desist Order; Criminal Penalties

(a) If the director, upon inspection, investigation or through other means observes, discovers or learns that a licensed remediation specialist has violated the provisions of this article or any rules promulgated hereunder, the director may:(1) Issue an order stating with reasonable specificity the nature of the violation and requiring compliance immediately or within a specified time. An order under this section includes, but is not limited to, orders suspending or revoking licenses, orders requiring a person to take remedial action or cease and desist orders; or(2) Request the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the alleged violation occurred bring a criminal action as provided for herein.(b) Any person issued an order may file a request for reconsideration with the director within seven days of the receipt of the order. The director shall conduct a hearing on the merits of the order within ten days of the filing of the request for reconsideration. The filing of a notice of request for reconsideration does not stay or suspend the execution or enforcement of the order.(c) Any licensed remediation specialist who fraudulently misrepresents that work has been completed and such action results in an unjustified and inexcusable disregard for the safety of others, thereby placing another in imminent danger or contributing to ongoing harm to the environment, he or she shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned not less than one nor more than two years, or both such fine and imprisonment.(d) If any person associated with remediation of a brownfield or voluntary remediation site engages in fraudulent acts or representations to the division, he or she shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned not less than one nor more than two years, or both.
WV Code § 22-22-13 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 22. Environmental Resources|Article 22. Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act|§22-22-13. Certificate of Completion

(a) The licensed remediation specialist shall issue a final report to the person undertaking the voluntary remediation when the property meets the applicable standards and all work has been completed as contemplated in the voluntary remediation agreement or the site assessment shows that all applicable standards are being met. Upon receipt of the final report, the person may seek a certificate of completion from the director.(b) The director may delegate the responsibility for issuance of a certificate of completion to a licensed remediation specialist in limited circumstances, as specified by rule pursuant to this article.(c) The certificate of completion shall contain a provision relieving a person who undertook the remediation and subsequent successors and assigns from all liability to the state as provided under this article which shall remain effective as long as the property complies with the applicable standards in effect at the time the certificate of completion was issued. This certificate is subject to reopener provisions of section fifteen of this article and may, if applicable, result in a land-use covenant as provided in section fourteen of this article.
WV Code § 22-22-14 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 22. Environmental Resources|Article 22. Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act|§22-22-14. Land-Use Covenant; Criminal Penalties

(a) The director shall establish by rule, criteria for deed recordation of land-use covenants and containing all necessary deed restrictions. The director shall cause all land-use covenants to appear in the chain of title by deed to be properly recorded in the office of the county clerk where the remediation site is located. If institutional and engineering controls are used, in whole or in part, to achieve a remediation standard, the director shall direct that a land-use covenant be applied. The covenant shall include whether residential or nonresidential exposure factors were used to comply with the site-specific standard. The covenant shall contain a provision relieving the person who undertook the remediation and subsequent successors and assigns from all civil liability to the state as provided under this article and shall remain effective as long as the property complies with the applicable standards in effect at the time the covenant was issued. (b) Whoever knowingly violates a land-use covenant by converting nonresidential property to residential property is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $25,000, imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.
WV Code § 22-22-15 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 22. Environmental Resources|Article 22. Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act|§22-22-15. Reopeners

Any person who completes remediation in compliance with this article shall not be required to undertake additional remediation actions for contaminants subject to the remediation, unless the director demonstrates that: (a) Fraud was committed in demonstrating attainment of a standard at the site that resulted in avoiding the need for further remediation of the site;(b) New information confirms the existence of an area of a previously unknown contamination which contains contaminants that have been shown to exceed the standards applied to the previous remediation at the site; (c) The level of risk is increased significantly beyond the established level of protection at the site due to substantial changes in exposure conditions, such as, a change in land use, or new information is obtained about a contaminant associated with the site which revises exposure assumptions beyond the acceptable range. Any person who changes the use of the property causing the level of risk to increase beyond established protection levels shall be required by the division to undertake additional remediation measures under the provisions of this article;(d) The release occurred after the effective date of this article on a site not used for industrial activity prior to the effective date of this article; the remedy relied, in whole or in part, upon institutional or engineering controls instead of treatment or removal of contamination; and treatment, removal or destruction has become technically and economically practicable; or(e) The remediation method failed to meet the remediation standard or combination of standards.In the event that any of the foregoing circumstances occur, the remediation agreement will be reopened and revised to the extent necessary to return the site to its previously agreed to state of remediation or other appropriate standard.
WV Code § 22-22-16 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 22. Environmental Resources|Article 22. Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act|§22-22-16. Duty of Assessor and Citizens to Notify Director When Change of Property Use Occurs

If an assessor in any county becomes aware of a change of remediated property use from nonresidential property to residential, the assessor shall check the land record of the county to ascertain if a land-use covenant appears to have been violated. Should it appear that a violation has occurred, the assessor shall notify the director in writing of the suspected violation. If any citizen becomes aware of a change of property use from nonresidential to residential, the citizen may check the land record of the county to ascertain if a land use covenant appears to have been violated and may notify the director in writing. The director shall then investigate and proceed with any necessary enforcement action.
WV Code § 22-22-17 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 22. Environmental Resources|Article 22. Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act|§22-22-17. Public Notification for Brownfields

Persons undertaking the remediation and revitalization of brownfield sites shall comply with the following public notice and review requirements:(a) A notice of intent to remediate a site shall be submitted to the division which provides, to the extent known, a brief description of the location of the site, a listing of the contaminants involved and the proposed remediation measures. The division shall publish an acknowledgment noting the receipt of the notice of intent in a division publication of general circulation. At the time a notice of intent to remediate a site is submitted to the division, a copy of such notice shall be provided to the municipality and the county in which the site is located and a summary of the notice of intent shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation serving the area in which the site is located.(b) The notice required by this subsection shall include a thirty-day public, county and municipal comment period during which the public, county and municipality can request to be involved in the development of the remediation and reuse plans for the site. If requested by the public, county, municipality or the director, the person undertaking the remediation shall develop and implement a public involvement program plan which meets the requirements set forth by the director.
WV Code § 22-22-18 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 22. Environmental Resources|Article 22. Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act|§22-22-18. Environmental Liability Protection

(a) Any person demonstrating compliance with the applicable standards established in section three of this article, whether by remediation or where the site assessment shows that the contamination at the site meets applicable standards, shall be relieved of further liability for the remediation of the site under this chapter. Contamination identified in the remediation agreement submitted to and approved by the division shall not be subject to citizen suits or contribution actions. The protection from further remediation liability provided by this article applies to the following persons:(1) The current or future owner or operator of the site, including development authorities and fiduciaries who participated in the remediation of the site;(2) A person who develops or otherwise occupies the site;(3) A successor or assign of any person to whom the liability protection applies;(4) A public utility, as defined in section two, article one, chapter twenty-four of this code, and for the purpose of this article, a utility engaged in the storage and transportation of natural gas, to the extent the public utility performs activities on the site;(5) A remediation contractor;(6) A licensed remediation specialist; and(7) A lender or developer who engages in the routine practices of commercial lending, including, but not limited to, providing financial services, holding of security interests, workout practices, foreclosure or the recovery of funds from the sale of a site.(b) A person shall not be considered a person responsible for a release or a threatened release of contaminants simply by virtue of conducting or having a site assessment conducted. Nothing in this section relieves a person of any liability for failure to exercise due diligence in performing a site assessment.
WV Code § 22-22-19 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 22. Environmental Resources|Article 22. Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act|§22-22-19. Establishing and Limiting the Responsibilities of Remediation Contractors

(a) A person who is engaged in the business of remediation contractor under this article is not responsible for a release or threatened release of contaminants at the site described in the voluntary remediation agreement for work properly performed pursuant to the agreement.(b) A person who is engaged in the business of remediation contractor under this article is not liable for any harm, damage or injury caused by a release of a contaminant which occurred prior to the contractor undertaking work at the site.(c) Limitation of liability, pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section does not apply to a release or threatened release of contaminants at the site described in the voluntary remediation agreement that is directly caused by an act or omission which constitutes gross negligence or by the willful misconduct of the remediation contractor.(d) A remediation contractor is not required to obtain a permit for remediation activities, if a permit is required under article five, eleven, fifteen or eighteen of this chapter. However, an owner or operator of the site to be remediated is not relieved of the permit requirements, if any, for remediation activities undertaken at the site. A remediation contractor must comply with all applicable state and federal laws in the transportation, treatment, storage and disposal of contaminants generated as a consequence of the remediation activities. (e) A remediation contractor is not a "generator" for the purposes of the generator assessments imposed pursuant to article twenty of this chapter.
WV Code § 22-22-20 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 22. Environmental Resources|Article 22. Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act|§22-22-20. Affirmative Defenses

Any person who is alleged to have violated an environmental law or the common law equivalent, which occurred while acting pursuant to this article, may affirmatively plead the following in response to an alleged violation:(a) An act of God; (b) An intervening act of a public agency;(c) Migration from property owned by a third party;(d) Actions taken or omitted in the course of rendering care, assistance or advice in accordance with the environmental laws or at the direction of the division;(e) An act of a third party who was not an agent or employee of the lender, fiduciary, developer, remediation contractor or development authority; or(f) If the alleged liability for a lender, fiduciary, developer or development authority arises after foreclosure, and the lender, fiduciary, developer or development authority exercised due care with respect to the lender's, fiduciary's, developer's or development authority's knowledge about the contaminants, and took reasonable precautions based upon such knowledge against foreseeable actions of third parties and the consequences arising therefrom. A lender, fiduciary, developer, remediation contractor or development authority may avoid liability by proving any other defense which may be available to it.
WV Code § 22-22-21 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 22. Environmental Resources|Article 22. Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act|§22-22-21. Savings Clause

Nothing in this article shall affect the rights, duties, defenses, immunities or causes of action under other statutes or the common law of this state which may be applicable to persons conducting remediation of a site.
WV Code § 22-22A-1 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 22. Environmental Resources|Article 22A. West Virginia Limited Liability for Persons Responding to Oil Discharges Act|§22-22A-1. Short Title

This article may be cited as the West Virginia Limited Liability for Persons Responding to Oil Discharges Act.
WV Code § 22-22A-2 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 22. Environmental Resources|Article 22A. West Virginia Limited Liability for Persons Responding to Oil Discharges Act|§22-22A-2. Definitions

For the purposes of this article:(a) "Damages" means damages of any kind for which liability may exist under the laws of this state resulting from, arising out of, or related to the discharge or threatened discharge of oil;(b) "Discharge" means any emission (other than natural seepage), intentional or unintentional, and includes, but is not limited to, spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying or dumping;(c) "Federal on-scene coordinator" means the federal official designated by the lead agency or predesignated by the United States environmental protection agency or the United States coast guard to coordinate and direct responses under the national contingency plan (NCP);(d) "National contingency plan" means the national contingency plan prepared and published under Section 311(d) of the federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. §1321(d), as amended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, Public Law No. 101-380, 104 Stat. 484 (1990) as in effect as of the effective date of this article;(e) "Oil" means oil of any kind or in any form, including, but not limited to, petroleum, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse and oil mixed with wastes other than dredged spoil;(f) "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, association, state, municipality, commission or political subdivision of a state or any interstate body;(g) "Remove" or "removal" means containment and removal of oil or a hazardous substance from water and shorelines or the taking of other actions as may be necessary to minimize or mitigate damage to the public health or welfare, including, but not limited to, fish, shellfish, wildlife and public and private property, shorelines and beaches;(h) "Removal costs" means the costs of removal that are incurred after a discharge of oil has occurred or, in any case in which there is a substantial threat of a discharge of oil, the costs to prevent, minimize or mitigate oil pollution from such an incident; and(i) "Responsible party" means a responsible party as defined under §1001 of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, Public Law No. 101-380, 104 Stat. 484 (1990).
WV Code § 22-22A-3 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 22. Environmental Resources|Article 22A. West Virginia Limited Liability for Persons Responding to Oil Discharges Act|§22-22A-3. Exemption From Liability

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, a person engaged in removal activities is not liable for removal costs or damages which result from acts or omissions in the course of rendering care, assistance or advice consistent with the national contingency plan or as otherwise directed by the federal on-scene coordinator or by the state official charged with responsibility for oil discharge responses.(b) Subsection (a) of this section does not apply:(1) To a responsible party;(2) With respect to personal injury or wrongful death; or(3) If the person is grossly negligent or engages in willful misconduct.(c) A responsible party is liable for any removal costs and damages that another person is relieved of under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section.(d) Nothing in this section affects the liability of a responsible party for oil spill response under state law.
WV Code § 22-22B-1 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 22. Environmental Resources|Article 22B. Uniform Environmental Covenants Act|§22-22B-1. Short Title

This article may be cited as the Uniform Environmental Covenants Act.
WV Code § 22-22B-2 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 22. Environmental Resources|Article 22B. Uniform Environmental Covenants Act|§22-22B-2. Definitions

As used in this article and insofar as they are not in conflict with article twenty-two of this chapter, the following terms shall mean:(1) "Activity and use limitations" means restrictions or obligations created under this article with respect to real property.(2) "Agency" means the Department of Environmental Protection or any federal agency that determines or approves the environmental response project pursuant to which the environmental covenant is created.(3) "Common interest community" means a condominium, cooperative, or other real property with respect to which a person, by virtue of the person's ownership of a parcel of real property, is obligated to pay property taxes or insurance premiums, or for maintenance or improvement of other real property described in a recorded covenant that creates the common interest community.(4) "Environmental covenant" means a servitude arising under an environmental response project that imposes activity and use limitations.(5) "Environmental response project" means a plan or work performed for environmental remediation of real property and conducted:(A) Under a federal or state program governing environmental remediation of real property, including article twenty-two of this chapter;(B) Incident to closure of a solid or hazardous waste management unit, if the closure is conducted with approval of an agency; or(C) Under a state voluntary clean-up program authorized in article twenty-two of this chapter.(6) "Holder" means the grantee of an environmental covenant as specified in subsection (a), section three of this article.(7) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government, governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality or any other legal or commercial entity.(8) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.(9) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.