Senate Bill No. 509
(By Senators Caruth and Snyder)
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[Introduced March 9,2009; referred to the Committee on Energy,
Industry and Mining; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §22-1-7 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the creation of the Office of
Energy Advisor within the Division of Environmental
Protection; and creating a standing committee of the
Legislature to oversee the implementation of the energy
advisor's initiatives.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §22-1-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION.
§22-1-7. Offices within division.
Consistent with the provisions of this article, the secretary
shall, at a minimum, maintain the following offices within the
division:
(1) The Office of Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation, which is charged, at a minimum, with administering and enforcing, under
the supervision of the director, the provisions of article two of
this chapter;
(2) The Division of Mining and Reclamation, which is charged,
at a minimum, with administering and enforcing, under the
supervision of the director, the provisions of articles three and
four of this chapter;
(3) The Division of Air Quality, which is charged, at a
minimum, with administering and enforcing, under the supervision of
the director, the provisions of article five of this chapter;
(4) The Office of Oil and Gas, which is charged, at a minimum,
with administering and enforcing, under the supervision of the
director, the provisions of articles six, seven, eight, nine and
ten of this chapter;
(5) The Division of Water and Waste Management, which is
charged, at a minimum, with administering and enforcing, under the
supervision of the director, the provisions of articles eleven,
twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen,
nineteen and twenty of this chapter;
and
(6) The Office of Explosives and Blasting, which is charged,
at a minimum, with administering and enforcing, under the
supervision of the director, the provisions of article three-a of
this chapter; and
(7) Effective July 1, 2009, The Office of Energy Advisor, which is charged, at a minimum, with advising the Governor, under
the supervision of the director, of the status of the coal industry
and other energy sources and production in the state, under the
pertinent provisions of this chapter and chapter twenty-two-a of
this code and administering the state's energy industry.
Effective July 1, 2009, the Legislature shall create a
Standing Committee of the Legislature to oversee the implementation
of the initiatives related to the duties of energy advisor.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the Office of
Energy Advisor within the Division of Environmental Protection, to
advise the Governor of the status of the energy industry in the
state. It also creates a Standing Committee of the Legislature to
oversee the implementation of the energy advisor's initiatives.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.