Senate Bill No. 671
(By Senator Anderson)
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[Introduced February 22, 1999;
referred to the Committee on Energy, Industry and Mining.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section three hundred nine, article
two-a, chapter twenty-two-a of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating
to the establishment of initial rules to address the
operation of diesel equipment in underground coal mines.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three hundred nine, article two-a, chapter
twenty-two-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 2A. USE OF DIESEL-POWERED EQUIPMENT IN UNDERGROUND COAL
MINES.
§22A-2A-309. Failure to promulgate initial rules; arbitration.
Because the commission failed to finally adopt its initial rules before the first day of April, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-eight, and the arbitration process established under this
section failed to materialize and furthermore, failed to meet the
statutory deadline of the fifth day of January, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-eight, the West Virginia diesel equipment
commission pursuant to West Virginia code chapter twenty-two-a,
article two-a, section three hundred one shall adopt, as its
initial rules, the federal standards relating to equipment
design, approval, operation, maintenance, safety land emission
control provisions as promulgated by the United States department
of labor, mine safety and health administration.
(a) For purposes of this section the term "federal standards
relating to equipment design, approval, operation, maintenance,
safety and emission control provisions as promulgated by the
"United States department of labor, mines safety and health
administration" shall mean: The final rules governing the
approval, exhaust gas monitoring, and safety requirements for the
use of diesel-powered equipment in underground coal mines as promulgated by the United States department of labor, mine safety
and health administration on the twenty-fifth day of October, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-six, and the final rules promulgated
by the United States department of labor, mine safety and health
administration governing diesel particulate matter for
underground coal mines originally proposed on the ninth day of
April, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight.
(b) Within twenty-eight days following the promulgation of
federal standards relating to the equipment design, approval,
operation, maintenance, safety and emission control provisions as
promulgated by the United States department of labor, mines
safety and health administration, the commission shall adopt the
initial rules conforming the initial rules to the federal
standards relating to the equipment design, approval, operation,
maintenance, safety and emission control provisions as
promulgated by the United States department of labor, mines
safety and health administration. The commission shall file a
notice of the final adoption in the state register and with the
legislative rule-making review committee. The initial rules are
thereby promulgated and have the effect of law without further action by the commission or the Legislature. The initial rules
shall be published in the code of state rules and continue in
effect until modified or superseded in accordance with the
provisions of this article, or by act of the Legislature.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to compel the West
Virginia Diesel Commission to adopt the federal standards for the
operation, approval safety and exhaust gases of Diesel Equipment.
This section has been completely rewritten; therefore,
strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.