Senate Bill No. 45
(By Senators Fanning and Chafin)
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[Introduced February 11, 2009; referred to the Committee on
Energy, Industry and Mining; and then to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §22-6-7 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §22-11-8 of said
code, all relating to authorizing the Secretary of the
Department of Environmental Protection to sign National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §22-6-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that §22-11-8 of said code be amended
and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. OFFICE OF OIL AND GAS; OIL AND GAS WELLS;
ADMINISTRATION; ENFORCEMENT.
§22-6-7. Water pollution control permits; powers and duties of the
secretary; penalties.
(a) In addition to a permit for well work, the
director secretary, after public notice and an opportunity for public
hearings, may either issue a separate permit, general permit or a
permit consolidated with the well work permit for the discharge or
disposition of any pollutant or combination of pollutants into
waters of this state upon condition that
such the discharge or
disposition meets or will meet all applicable state and federal
water quality standards and effluent limitations and all other
requirements of the
director secretary.
(b) It
shall be is unlawful for any person conducting
activities which are subject to the requirements of this article,
unless that person holds a water pollution control permit therefor
from the
director secretary,
which is in full force and effect to:
(1) Allow pollutants or the effluent therefrom, produced by or
emanating from any point source, to flow into the water of this
state;
(2) Make, cause or permit to be made any outlet, or
substantially enlarge or add to the load of any existing outlet,
for the discharge of pollutants or the effluent therefrom, into the
waters of this state;
(3) Acquire, construct, install, modify or operate a disposal
system or part thereof for the direct or indirect discharge or
deposit of treated or untreated pollutants or the effluent
therefrom, into the waters of this state, or any extension to or
addition to such the disposal system;
(4) Increase in volume or concentration any pollutants in
excess of the discharges or disposition specified or permitted
under any existing permit;
(5) Extend, modify or add to any point source, the operation
of which would cause an increase in the volume or concentration of
any pollutants discharging or flowing into the waters of the state;
(6) Operate any disposal well for the injection or reinjection
underground of any pollutant, including, but not limited to,
liquids or gasses, or convert any well into such a disposal well or
plug or abandon any such disposal well.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this article or articles
seven, eight, nine or ten of this chapter to the contrary, the
director
shall have secretary has the same powers and duties
relating to inspection and enforcement as those granted under
article eleven, chapter twenty-two of this code in connection with
the issuance of any water pollution control permit or any person
required to have such permit.
(d) Any person who violates any provision of this section, any
order issued under this section or any permit issued pursuant to
this section or any rule of the director secretary relating to
water pollution or who willfully or negligently violates any
provision of this section or any permit issued pursuant to this
section or any rule or order of the director secretary relating to
water pollution or who fails or refuses to apply for and obtain a permit or who intentionally misrepresents any material fact in an
application, record, report, plan or other document files or
required to be maintained under this section shall be is subject to
the same penalties for such the violations as are provided for in
sections twenty-two and twenty-four, article eleven, chapter
twenty-two of this code: Provided, That the provisions of section
twenty-six, article eleven, chapter twenty-two of this code
relating to exceptions to criminal liability shall also apply.
All applications for injunction filed pursuant to section
twenty-two, article eleven, chapter twenty-two of the code shall
take priority on the docket of the circuit court in which pending,
and shall take precedence over all other civil cases.
(e) Any water pollution control permit issued pursuant to this
section or any order issued in connection with such permit for the
purpose of implementing the "National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System" established under the federal Clean Water Act
shall be issued by the chief of the office of water resources of
the division in consultation with the chief of the office of oil
and gas of the division secretary and shall be is appealable to the
Environmental Quality Board pursuant to the provisions of section
twenty-five, article eleven, chapter twenty-two and section seven,
article one, chapter twenty-two-b of this code.
ARTICLE 11. WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT.
§22-11-8. Prohibitions; permits required.
(a) The chief secretary may, after public notice and
opportunity for public hearing, issue a permit for the discharge or
disposition of any pollutant or combination of pollutants into
waters of this state upon condition that such the discharge or
disposition meets or will meet all applicable state and federal
water quality standards and effluent limitations and all other
requirements of this article and article three, chapter
twenty-two-b of this code.
(b) It is unlawful for any person, unless the person holds a
permit therefor from the division department, which is in full
force and effect, to:
(1) Allow sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes, or the
effluent therefrom, produced by or emanating from any point source,
to flow into the waters of this state;
(2) Make, cause or permit to be made any outlet, or
substantially enlarge or add to the load of any existing outlet,
for the discharge of sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes, or
the effluent therefrom, into the waters of this state;
(3) Acquire, construct, install, modify or operate a disposal
system or part thereof for the direct or indirect discharge or
deposit of treated or untreated sewage, industrial wastes or other
wastes, or the effluent therefrom, into the waters of this state,
or any extension to or addition to such the disposal system;
(4) Increase in volume or concentration any sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes in excess of the discharges or disposition
specified or permitted under any existing permit;
(5) Extend, modify or add to any point source, the operation
of which would cause an increase in the volume or concentration of
any sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes discharging or
flowing into the waters of the state;
(6) Construct, install, modify, open, reopen, operate or
abandon any mine, quarry or preparation plant, or dispose of any
refuse or industrial wastes or other wastes from any such the mine
or quarry or preparation plant:
Provided, That the division's
department's permit is only required wherever the aforementioned
activities cause, may cause or might reasonably be expected to
cause a discharge into or pollution of waters of the state, except
that a permit is required for any preparation plant:
Provided,
however, That unless waived in writing by the chief secretary,
every application for a permit to open, reopen or operate any mine,
quarry or preparation plant or to dispose of any refuse or
industrial wastes or other wastes from any such the mine or quarry
or preparation plant shall contain a plan for abandonment of such
the facility or operation, which plan shall comply in all respects
to the requirements of this article. Such The plan of abandonment
is subject to modification or amendment upon application by the
permit holder to the chief secretary and approval of such the
modification or amendment by the chief secretary
; or
(7) Operate any disposal well for the injection or reinjection
underground of any industrial wastes, including, but not limited
to, liquids or gases, or convert any well into such a disposal
well or plug or abandon any such disposal well.
(c) Where a person has a number of outlets emerging into the
waters of this state in close proximity to one another, such the
outlets may be treated as a unit for the purposes of this section,
and only one permit issued for all such the outlets.
(d) For water pollution control and national pollutant
discharge elimination system permits issued for activities
regulated by the office of mining and reclamation and the office of
oil and gas, the chief of the office of water resources may
delegate functions, procedures and activities to the respective
chiefs of those offices. Permits for such activities shall be
issued under the supervision of and with the signature and approval
of the chief of the office of water resources who shall review and
approve all procedures, effluent limits and other conditions of
such permits.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the Secretary
of the Department of Environmental Protection to sign National
Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.