H. B. 2717
(By Delegates Osborne, Compton, Cann,
Manuel, Staton, Flanigan and Mahan)
[Introduced March 25, 1997; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend chapter twenty of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article five-k, relating
to public participation in the decision to locate commercial
infectious medical waste management facilities; defining
terms; setting forth procedure for public participation in
decision to locate commercial infectious medical waste
management facilities.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter twenty of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated article five-k, to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 5K. COMMERCIAL INFECTIOUS MEDICAL WASTE FACILITY SITING
APPROVAL.
§20-5K-1. Legislative purpose.
The purpose of this article is to provide the opportunity
for public participation in the decision to locate commercial
infectious medical waste management facilities.
§20-5K-2. Definitions.
Unless the context clearly requires a different meaning, as
used in this article the terms:
(a) "Commercial infectious medical waste facility" means any
infectious medical waste management facility at which thirty-five
percent or more by weight of the total infectious medical waste
stored, treated or disposed of by the facility in any calendar
year is generated off-site.
(b) "Infectious medical waste" means medical waste
identified as capable of producing an infectious disease.
Medical waste shall be considered capable of producing an
infectious disease if it has been, or is likely to have been,
contaminated by an organism likely to be pathogenic to healthy
humans, if such organism is not routinely and freely available in
the community, and such organism has a significant probability of
being present in sufficient quantities and with sufficient
virulence to transmit disease. For the purposes of this article,
infectious medical waste includes the following:
(1) Cultures and stocks of microorganisms and biologicals;
(2) Blood and blood products;
(3) Pathological wastes;
(4) Sharps;
(5) Animal carcasses, body parts, bedding and related
wastes;
(6) Isolation wastes;
(7) Any residue or contaminated soil, water or other debris
resulting from the cleanup of a spill of any infectious medical
waste; and
(8) Any waste contaminated by or mixed with infectious
medical waste.
(c) "Off-site" means a facility or area for the collection,
storage, transfer, processing, treatment or disposal of
infectious medical waste that is not on the generator's site, or
a facility or area that received infectious medical waste for
storage or treatment that has not been generated on-site.
(d) "Secretary" means the secretary of the department of
health and human resources or his or her designee.
§20-5K-3. Procedure for public participation.
(a) From and after the fifth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-seven, in order to obtain approval to locate a
commercial infectious medical waste facility, an applicant shall:
(1) File a pre-siting notice with the county commission and
local solid waste authority of the county or counties in which the facility is to be located or proposed. Such notice shall be
submitted on forms prescribed by the secretary;
(2) File a pre-siting notice with the secretary; and
(3) File a pre-siting notice with the division of
environmental protection.
(b) If a pre-siting notice is filed in accordance with
subsection (a) of this section, the county commission shall
publish a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the
provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, in
a newspaper of general circulation in the counties wherein the
commercial infectious medical waste facility is to be located.
Upon an affirmative vote of the majority of the county
commissioners or upon the written petition of registered voters
residing in the county equal to not less than fifteen percent of
the number of votes cast within the county for governor at the
preceding gubernatorial election, which petition shall be filed
with the county commission within sixty days after the last date
of publication of the notice provided in this section, the county
commission shall, upon verification of the required number of
signatures on the petition, and not less than fifty-six days
before the election, order a referendum be placed upon the
ballot. Any referendum conducted pursuant to this section shall
be held at the next primary, general or other county-wide
election.
(1) Such referendum is to determine whether it is the will
of the voters of the county that a commercial infectious medical
waste management facility be located in the county. Any election
at which such question of locating a commercial infectious
medical waste management facility is voted upon shall be held at
the voting precincts established for holding primary or general
elections. All of the provisions of the general election laws,
when not in conflict with the provisions of this article, apply
to voting and elections hereunder, insofar as practicable. The
secretary of state shall prescribe the form of the petition which
shall include the printed name, address and date of birth of each
person whose signature appears on the petition.
(2) The ballot, or the ballot labels where voting machines
are used, shall have printed thereon substantially the follow
depending upon the type of facility to be located with the
county:
Shall a commercial infectious medical waste management
facility be located within ______________________ County.
[] For the facility
[] Against the facility
(Place a cross mark in the square opposite your choice.)
(3) If a majority of the legal votes cast upon the question
is against the facility, then the county commission shall notify
the local solid waste authority, the division of environmental protection, and the secretary of the department of health and
human resources of the result and the commercial infectious
medical waste management facility may not proceed any further
with the application. If a majority of the legal votes cast upon
the question is for the facility, then the application process as
set forth in article five-j, of this chapter may proceed:
Provided, That such vote is not binding on nor does it require
the secretary to issue the permit. If the majority of the legal
votes cast is against the question, the question may be submitted
to a vote at any subsequent election in the manner herein
specified: Provided, however, That the question may not be
resubmitted to a vote until two years after the date of the
previous referendum.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow local citizens
to vote on the location of a commercial infectious medical waste
facility in their county.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.