West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 148 - Administration › Title 148 - LEGISLATIVE RULE DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION › Series 148-20 - Controlling The Public Land Corporation's Sale, Lease, Exchange Or Transfer Of Lands And Minerals › Section 148-20-3 - Rules for Sale, Exchange or Transfer of Land or Minerals

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
3.1. The Secretary of the Public Land
				Corporation shall present to the Board of Directors of the Public Land
				Corporation any proposed land sale, exchange, transfer or lease of land or
				minerals. If the Board of Directors authorizes consideration of the project,
				then the Secretary will have one year to gather the information needed and
				present it to the Board of Directors to make a final decision as follows:
3.1.a. Determine the "fair market value" of
				the land or minerals through an appraisal or assistance from an independent
				mineral consultant;
3.1.b. The
				agency that is proposing the sale or lease must prepare and reduce to writing
				the reasons and supporting data regarding the sale, lease, exchange or transfer
				of land or minerals. The written reasons required under this section shall be
				made available by the corporation for public inspection at the office of county
				clerk at the county courthouse of each county in which the affected lands or
				minerals are located during the two successive weeks before the date of the
				required public hearing;
3.1.c.
				Provide for a public hearing to be held at a reasonable time and place within
				each county in which the affected lands or minerals are located to allow
				interested members of the public to attend the hearing without undue hardship.
				Members of the public may be present, submit statements and testimony and
				question the corporation's representative;
3.1.d. At least thirty days before the public
				hearing, provide notice to all members of the Legislature, to the head of the
				governing body of any political subdivision having zoning or other land use
				regulatory responsibility in the geographic area within which the public lands
				or minerals are located and to the head of any political subdivision having
				administrative or public services responsibility in the geographic area within
				which the lands or minerals are located;
3.1.e. Publish a notice of the required
				public hearing. The notice shall be published as a Class II legal advertisement
				in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of the
				West Virginia Code and the publication area shall be each county in which the
				affected lands or minerals are located. The public hearing will not be held
				until at least 14 days after the first publication of the notice. The notice
				shall contain the time and place of the public hearing along with a brief
				description of the affected lands or minerals;
3.1.f. Post a copy of the required notice in
				a location in plain sight at the affected land for members of the public to
				observe. The notice (8½" x 11") shall remain posted for two successive
				weeks prior to the date of the public hearing;
3.1.g. Appoint a representative of the Public
				Land Corporation to conduct the public hearing. The representative shall be
				knowledgeable of all the facts and circumstances surrounding the proposed sale,
				lease, exchange or transfer. The representative conducting the public hearing
				shall make the results of the hearing available to the Public Land Corporation
				for its consideration at least five days prior to the Board of Directors making
				final decisions regarding the affected lands or minerals. The representative
				shall make a report of the public hearing available for inspection by the
				public, or, upon written request of any interested parties. A written copy will
				be provided to the president of the county commission, county clerk, and any
				municipality in which the effected lands may be located and pursuant to 3.1.d;
				and any individual requesting a copy of same within thirty days following the
				public hearing; and
3.1.h. If the
				evidence at the public hearing establishes by a preponderance that the
				appraisal provided for in subsection (a) of section 3.1 of this rule does not
				reflect the true, fair market value, the Public Land Corporation shall have
				another appraisal completed.
3.1.i.
				If the evidence at the public hearing establishes by a preponderance that the
				sale or exchange of land does not meet any of the criteria set forth below, the
				Public Land Corporation may not proceed with the sale or exchange of the land
				without judicial approval.