reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 21. Coalbed Methane Wells and Units › §22-21-19. Validity of Unit Agreements

No agreement between or among coalbed methane operators or owners entered into for the development of coalbed methane or forming drilling units therefor may be held to violate the statutory or common law of this state prohibiting monopolies or acts, arrangements, contracts, combinations or conspiracies in restraint of trade or commerce.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 21. Coalbed Methane Wells and Units › §22-21-20. Spacing

No coalbed methane well may be drilled closer than one hundred feet of the outermost boundary of the coalbed methane tract, leased premises, or unit from which coalbed methane is or will be produced or within one thousand six hundred linear feet of the location of an existing well or a proposed well for which a permit application is on file, unless all owners and operators of any affected workable coal seams agree in writing. Affected workable coal seams for purposes of this section shall be those which will be penetrated or those seams more than twenty-eight inches in thickness from which production is targeted. Spacing shall otherwise be as provided in a pooling order issued by the chief, an order establishing special field rules or an order issued by the review board.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 21. Coalbed Methane Wells and Units › §22-21-21. Dry or Abandoned Wells

Any coalbed methane well which is completed as a dry hole or which has not produced coalbed methane in paying quantities for a period of twelve consecutive months shall be presumed to have been abandoned and the operator shall promptly plug the well and reclaim all surface land affected by the well in accordance with the provisions of this article, unless the operator furnishes satisfactory proof to the chief that there is a bona fide future use for such well in accordance with the rules promulgated under article six of this chapter.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 21. Coalbed Methane Wells and Units › §22-21-22. Notice of Plugging and Reclamation of Well; Right to Take Well; Objection; Plugging Order; Plugging for Mine-Through

(a) Prior to the commencement of plugging operations the operator shall give thirty days' advance notice to the chief and to all coal owners and operators whose names and addresses would be required for a permit application under subdivision (2), subsection (b), section six of this article as of the date of the notice. Such notice shall set out the number and other identification of the well, a copy of the well plat, the date plugging will commence, and the manner and method of plugging.
(b) Any coal owner or operator whose coal seam is affected by such well shall have the following rights:
(1) To convert the well to a vent hole or otherwise take the well. In such event the chief, upon determination that the coal owner or operator has placed the well under a mining permit, shall release the well operator's bond and the well operator shall be relieved of further responsibility for the well; and
(2) To file comment or objection with the chief, within fifteen days after receipt of notice of intent to plug, with respect to the proposed manner or method of plugging. The chief shall consider any such comment or objection and issue an order specifying the manner and method of plugging and reclamation.
(c) Whenever any coalbed methane well is located in that portion of a coal seam which will be mined within six months, the well operator shall, within sixty days after notice from the coal owner or coal operator that the well is to be mined through, plug the well in such manner that the well can be safely mined through.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 21. Coalbed Methane Wells and Units › §22-21-23. Method of Plugging

All coalbed methane wells shall be plugged in such a manner that any workable coal seam surrounding the well can be safely mined and that the well can be mined through. The chief shall promulgate rules specifying the manner and method of plugging coalbed methane wells and in doing so, or in entering any order for such plugging and reclamation, shall give special consideration to the ability to mine any affected coal seam safely and the protection of any affected coal seam for future mining.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 21. Coalbed Methane Wells and Units › §22-21-24. Existing Mining Rights

Nothing in this article shall be construed to affect the mining and other property rights of any coal owner nor shall any provision of this article be construed to preclude a coal operator from removing support of the surface and any structure or facilities thereon and other strata as such rights may exist in any severance deed or other contract.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 21. Coalbed Methane Wells and Units › §22-21-25. Judicial Review; Appeal to Supreme Court of Appeals; Legal Representation for Review Board

(a) Any person adversely affected by an order of the chief or review board is entitled to judicial review. All of the pertinent provisions of section four, article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code apply to and govern the judicial review.
(b) The judgment of the circuit court is final unless reversed, vacated or modified on appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals in accordance with the provisions of section one, article six, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(c) Legal counsel and services for the chief or review board in all appeal proceedings in any circuit court and the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be provided by the Attorney General or his or her assistants and in any circuit court by the prosecuting attorney of the county, all without additional compensation. The chief or review board, with the written approval of the Attorney General, may employ special counsel to represent the chief or review board at any appeal proceedings.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 21. Coalbed Methane Wells and Units › §22-21-26. Limitation on Actions in Trespass

In any case where title to subsurface minerals has been severed in such a way that title to natural gas underlying such tract and title to coal underlying such tract are in different persons, it shall be an affirmative defense to any action for willful trespass arising from the drilling and commercial production of methane from any coal seam underlying such tract, that the operator of such well permitted, drilled and completed such well under color of title of any instrument, deed, or lease for oil and gas purposes from the gas owner, or an instrument, deed or lease for coal mining purposes from the coal owner.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 21. Coalbed Methane Wells and Units › §22-21-28. Penalties

(a) Any person who violates any term or condition of a permit issued under this article, and the violation is found by the chief or review board to have rendered unmineable all or a portion of a workable coal seam, is subject to civil penalties, to be imposed and collected by the chief or review board in an amount not to exceed the reasonably expected net profit lost to the coal owner as a result. All penalties collected shall be transferred to the special reclamation fund as provided by section twenty-nine, article six of this chapter.
(b) Any person who violates any provision of this article, any of the rules promulgated by the chief or review board or any order of the chief or review board other than a violation governed by the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000.
(c) Any person who, with the intention of evading any provision of this article, any of the rules promulgated by the chief or any order of the chief or review board, who makes or causes to be made any false entry or statement in any application or other document permitted or required to be filed under the provisions of this article, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned in the county jail not more than six months, or both fined and imprisoned.
(d) Any person who knowingly aids or abets any other person in the violation of any provision of this article, any of the rules promulgated hereunder or any order or final decision of the chief or review board or director, shall be subject to the same penalty as that prescribed in this article for the violation by such other person.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 22. Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act › §22-22-1. Legislative Findings; Legislative Statement of Purpose

(a) The Legislature finds there is property in West Virginia that is not being put to its highest productive use because it is contaminated or it is perceived to be contaminated as a result of past activity on the property.
(b) The Legislature further finds that abandonment or under use of contaminated or potentially contaminated industrial sites results in inefficient use of public facilities and services and increases the pressure for development of uncontaminated pristine land. Since existing industrial areas frequently have transportation networks, utilities and an existing infrastructure, it can be less costly to society to redevelop existing industrial areas than to relocate amenities for industrial areas at pristine sites.
(c) The Legislature further finds that the existing legal structure creates uncertainty regarding the legal effect of remediation upon liability. Legal uncertainty serves as a further disincentive to productive redevelopment of brownfields. Therefore, incentives should be put in place to encourage voluntary redevelopment of contaminated or potentially contaminated sites.
(d) The Legislature further finds that an administrative program should be established to encourage persons to voluntarily develop and implement remedial plans without the need for enforcement action by the Division of Environmental Protection. Therefore, it is the purpose of this article to:
(1) Establish an administrative program to facilitate voluntary remediation activities and brownfield revitalization; (2) Provide financial incentives to entice investment at brownfield sites; and
(3) Establish limitations on liability under environmental laws and rules for those persons who remediate sites in accordance with applicable standards established under this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 22. Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act › §22-22-5. Brownfield Application; Remediation Process; Brownfield Remediation; Eligibility; Application; Remediation Loan; and Obtaining Information From Director

(a) For brownfield property, any environmental remediation undertaken pursuant to this article, by a development authority or any person who did not cause or contribute to the contamination on the property shall comply with the appropriate standards established by the director pursuant to this article and rules promulgated hereunder. After conferring with the director, the person may apply to the director for a site assessment loan under section six of this article. A site assessment must be conducted to establish existing contamination of the site. An application for brownfield remediation must be submitted along with the application fee. The procedures established for voluntary remediation set forth in section four must be followed. The director shall establish a reasonable application fee.
(b) Brownfield sites being remediated by persons who did not cause or contribute to the contamination of the site are eligible for consideration for remediation loans established under article fifteen, chapter thirty-one of this code.
(c) Persons undertaking brownfield remediation, who did not cause or contribute to the contamination of the brownfield site, may obtain all information relating to contamination at the site in the possession of the director prior to engaging in a site assessment.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 22. Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act › §22-22-8. Voluntary Remediation Work Plans and Reports

After signing a voluntary remediation agreement, the person undertaking remediation shall prepare and submit the appropriate work plans and reports to the director. The director shall review and evaluate the work plans and reports for accuracy, quality and completeness. The director may approve a voluntary remediation work plan or report or disapprove and notify the person of additional information needed to obtain approval.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 22. Voluntary Remediation and Redevelopment Act › §22-22-9. Termination of Agreement; Cost of Recovery; Legal Actions

The person undertaking remediation may, in their sole discretion, terminate the agreement as provided by the terms of the agreement and by giving fifteen days advance written notice of termination. Only those costs incurred or obligated by the director before notice of termination of the agreement are recoverable, if the agreement is terminated. The termination of the agreement does not affect any right the director may have under any other law to recover costs. The person undertaking the remediation must pay the division's costs associated with the voluntary remediation within thirty-one days after receiving notice that the costs are due and owing. The director may bring an action in Kanawha County circuit court or in the circuit court in the county wherein the property is situated to recover the amount owed to the division and reasonable legal expenses.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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).
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 22B. Uniform Environmental Covenants Act › §22-22B-3. Nature of Rights; Subordination of Interests

(a) Any person, including a person that owns an interest in the real property, the agency, or a municipality or other unit of local government, may be a holder. An environmental covenant may identify more than one holder. The interest of a holder is an interest in real property.
(b) A right of an agency under this article or under an environmental covenant, other than a right as a holder, is not an interest in real property.
(c) An agency is bound by any obligation it assumes in an environmental covenant, but an agency does not assume obligations merely by signing an environmental covenant. Any other person that signs an environmental covenant is bound by the obligations the person assumes in the covenant, but signing the covenant does not change obligations, rights or protections granted or imposed under law other than this article except as provided in the covenant.
(d) The following rules apply to interests in real property in existence at the time an environmental covenant is created or amended:
(1) An interest that has priority under other law is not affected by an environmental covenant unless the person that owns the interest subordinates that interest to the covenant.
(2) This article does not require a person that owns a prior interest to subordinate that interest to an environmental covenant or to agree to be bound by the covenant.
(3) A subordination agreement may be contained in an environmental covenant covering real property or in a separate record. If the environmental covenant covers commonly owned property in a common interest community, the record may be signed by any person authorized by the governing board of the owners' association.
(4) An agreement by a person to subordinate a prior interest to an environmental covenant affects the priority of that person's interest but does not by itself impose any affirmative obligation on the person with respect to the environmental covenant.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 22B. Uniform Environmental Covenants Act › §22-22B-4. Contents of Environmental Covenant

(a) An environmental covenant must:
(1) State that the instrument is an environmental covenant executed pursuant to this article;
(2) Contain a legally sufficient description of the real property subject to the covenant;
(3) Describe the activity and use limitations on the real property;
(4) Identify every holder;
(5) Be signed and notarized by the agency, every holder, and unless waived by the agency every owner of the fee simple of the real property subject to the covenant; and
(6) Identify the name and location of any administrative record for the environmental response project reflected in the environmental covenant.
(b) In addition to the information required by subsection (a) of this section, an environmental covenant may contain other information, restrictions and requirements agreed to by the persons who signed it, including any:
(1) Requirements for notice following transfer of a specified interest in, or concerning proposed changes in use of, applications for building permits for, or proposals for any site work affecting the contamination on, the property subject to the covenant;
(2) Requirements for periodic reporting describing compliance with the covenant;
(3) Rights of access to the property granted in connection with implementation or enforcement of the covenant;
(4) A brief narrative description of the contamination and remedy, including the contaminants of concern, the pathways of exposure, limits on exposure and the location and extent of the contamination;
(5) Limitation on amendment or termination of the covenant in addition to those contained in sections nine and ten of this article; and
(6) Rights of the holder in addition to its right to enforce the covenant pursuant to section eleven of this article.
(c) In addition to other conditions for its approval of an environmental covenant, the agency may require those persons specified by the agency who have interests in the real property to sign the covenant.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 22B. Uniform Environmental Covenants Act › §22-22B-5. Validity; Effect on Other Instruments

(a) An environmental covenant that complies with this article runs with the land.
(b) An environmental covenant that is otherwise effective is valid and enforceable even if:
(1) It is not appurtenant to an interest in real property;
(2) It can be or has been assigned to a person other than the original holder;
(3) It is not of a character that has been recognized traditionally at common law;
(4) It imposes a negative burden;
(5) It imposes an affirmative obligation on a person having an interest in the real property or on the holder;
(6) The benefit or burden does not touch or concern real property;
(7) There is no privity of estate or contract;
(8) The holder dies, ceases to exist, resigns or is replaced; or
(9) The owner of an interest subject to the environmental covenant and the holder are the same person.
(c) An instrument that creates restrictions or obligations with respect to real property that would qualify as activity and use limitations except for the fact that the instrument was recorded before the effective date of the enactment of this article during the regular session of the Legislature in two thousand five is not invalid or unenforceable because of any of the limitations on enforcement of interests described in subsection (b) of this section or because it was identified as an easement, servitude, deed restriction or other interest. This article does not apply in any other respect to such an instrument.
(d) This article does not invalidate or render unenforceable any interest, whether designated as an environmental covenant or other interest, that is otherwise enforceable under the law of this state.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 22B. Uniform Environmental Covenants Act › §22-22B-6. Relationship to Other Land-Use Law

This article does not authorize a use of real property that is otherwise prohibited by zoning, by law other than this article regulating use of real property, or by a recorded instrument that has priority over the environmental covenant. An environmental covenant may prohibit or restrict uses of real property which are authorized by zoning or by law other than this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 22B. Uniform Environmental Covenants Act › §22-22B-7. Notice

(a) A copy of an environmental covenant shall be provided by the persons and in the manner required by the agency to:
(1) Each person that signed the covenant;
(2) Each person holding a recorded interest in the real property subject to the covenant;
(3) Each person in possession of the real property subject to the covenant;
(4) Each municipality or other unit of local government in which real property subject to the covenant is located; and
(5) Any other person the agency requires.
(b) The validity of a covenant is not affected by failure to provide a copy of the covenant as required under this section.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 22B. Uniform Environmental Covenants Act › §22-22B-8. Recording

(a) An environmental covenant and any amendment or termination of the covenant must be recorded in every county in which any portion of the real property subject to the covenant is located. For purposes of indexing, a holder shall be treated as a grantee.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), section nine of this article, an environmental covenant is subject to the laws of this state governing recording and priority of interests in real property.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 22B. Uniform Environmental Covenants Act › §22-22B-9. Duration; Amendment by Court Action

(a) An environmental covenant is perpetual unless it is:
(1) By its terms limited to a specific duration or terminated by the occurrence of a specific event;
(2) Terminated by consent pursuant to section ten of this article;
(3) Terminated pursuant to subsection (b) of this section;
(4) Terminated by foreclosure of an interest that has priority over the environmental covenant; or
(5) Terminated or modified in an eminent domain proceeding, but only if:
(A) The agency that signed the covenant is a party to the proceeding;
(B) All persons identified in subsections (a) and (b), section ten of this article are given notice of the pendency of the proceeding; and
(C) The court determines, after hearing, that the termination or modification will not adversely affect human health or the environment.
(b) If the agency that signed an environmental covenant has determined that the intended benefits of the covenant can no longer be realized, a court, under the doctrine of changed circumstances, in an action in which all persons identified in subsections (a) and (b), section ten of this article have been given notice, may terminate the covenant or reduce its burden on the real property subject to the covenant. The agency's determination or its failure to make a determination upon request is subject to review pursuant to article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, an environmental covenant may not be extinguished, limited or impaired through issuance of a tax deed, foreclosure of a tax lien, or application of the doctrine of adverse possession, prescription, abandonment, waiver, lack of enforcement, or acquiescence, or a similar doctrine.
(d) An environmental covenant may not be extinguished, limited, or impaired except as authorized by this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 22B. Uniform Environmental Covenants Act › §22-22B-10. Amendment or Termination by Consent

(a) An environmental covenant may be amended or terminated by consent only if the amendment or termination is signed by:
(1) The agency;
(2) Unless waived by the agency, the current owner of the fee simple of the real property subject to the covenant;
(3) Each person that originally signed the covenant, unless the person waived in a signed record the right to consent or a court finds that the person no longer exists or cannot be located or identified with the exercise of reasonable diligence; and
(4) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (2), subsection (d) of this section, the holder.
(b) If an interest in real property is subject to an environmental covenant, the interest is not affected by an amendment of the covenant unless the current owner of the interest consents to the amendment or has waived in a signed record the right to consent to amendments.
(c) Except for an assignment undertaken pursuant to a governmental reorganization, assignment of an environmental covenant to a new holder is an amendment.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in an environmental covenant:
(1) A holder may not assign its interest without consent of the other parties;
(2) A holder may be removed and replaced by agreement of the other parties specified in subsection (a) of this section; and
(e) A court of competent jurisdiction may fill a vacancy in the position of holder.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 22B. Uniform Environmental Covenants Act › §22-22B-11. Enforcement of Environmental Covenant

(a) A civil action for injunctive or other equitable relief for violation of an environmental covenant may be maintained by:
(1) A party to the covenant;
(2) The agency or, if it is not the agency, the Department of Environmental Protection;
(3) Any person to whom the covenant expressly grants power to enforce;
(4) A person whose interest in the real property or whose collateral or liability may be affected by the alleged violation of the covenant; or
(5) A municipality or other unit of local government in which the real property subject to the covenant is located.
(b) This article does not limit the regulatory authority of the agency or the Department of Environmental Protection under law other than this article with respect to an environmental response project.
(c) A person is not responsible for or subject to liability for environmental remediation solely because it has the right to enforce an environmental covenant.