FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: January 16, 2026
Time Requested: 04:01 PM |
| Agency: |
Environmental Protection, Department of |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 1355 |
Introduced |
SB469 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
Environment; Natural Resources |
|---|
|
FUND(S):
General
Sources of Revenue:
General Fund
Legislation creates:
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
SB469 will have a significant cost associated with it. These costs will be incurred through the need for assessments at over 23,000 locations across the state to be completed throughout the 772 distinct watersheds which comes to an average of over 400 evaluation sites per county. These evaluations will have to include: Stream surveys to determine location and amount of material to be dredged, identification of waste disposal sites, Section 404 permits for each dredge site, NPDES Stormwater construction permits for each dredging site that has a disturbance of over 1 acre and all waste disposal sites, land owner right of entry agreements for all private land owners, and Section 7 Endangered Species Act consultation through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is important to note that these costs will be incurred in perpetuity, given the likelihood that dredged sites will refill with materials if no other changes are made to the condition of the stream/watershed (e.g., safe retention/storage of water, reduction of stream velocity, prevention of upland erosion, stabilization of riparian areas, etc.) Further, redeposition may occur at a faster rate than is typical due to increased erosion of streambanks associated with incised stream channels created during dredging. In addition, destabilizing the streambed may cause downcutting and eventually lateral movement that could lead to increased property damage. Those possible costs are not included in this fiscal note. Due to the dynamic nature of stream channels with high bedloads, once a stream assessment is completed and it is determined that dredging is appropriate the WVDOH will have no more than one (1) year to conduct the construction activities or additional evaluations will be needed. The following expenses are for evaluations and assessments only and do not include any construction costs, which will be provided by the WVDOH.
SB469 does not provide a revenue source to complete the requirements of the bill. DEP does not have funding available to absorb these costs.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2026
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2027
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Personal Services |
700,000 |
1,550,000 |
1,550,000 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
200,000 |
200,000 |
| Assets |
390,000 |
0 |
100,000 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
3. Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
Please explain increases and decreases in personal services, current expenses, etc., including assumptions and data source
and delineation between start-up and ongoing costs. Please also include a long-range schedule of costs and revenues if fiscal impact
is expected to vary in future years.
"The FY26 amount for personal services ($700,000) is assuming we would start and staff up immediately and it is based on the remaining time in FY26. Full year personnel costs would be $1.55 million which is assuming we would need to hire 8 people to perform stream assessments full time: 2 permitting staff for all 404, 401, NPDES, DNR and floodplain permits; 2 Endangered species staff for the section 7 consultation and species specific field surveys that will be required; 2 land agents to deal with the countless Right of Entry and land agreements that will be needed; and 1 Engineer/Hydrologist to design and sign off on all of engineering plans that would be required.
Repairs and Alterations is an estimate on reclamation work that would need to be done on private landowner property which is primarily where these projects would take place.
Equipment includes survey and drone equipment that would be required to perform the evaluations as well as a minimum of 6 vehicles that would need to be added to the fleet. The startup costs would be slightly higher than the annual expenses due to additions of fleet vehicles and equipment necessary to perform this type of work. These costs are preliminary and assume that a certain number of evaluations will need to be performed so in increase or decrease in number of data points required will effect the cost. This cost would be in perpetuity as these streams would require continued evaluation and monitoring to determine how often dredging would need to occur within a certain stream reach. "
Memorandum
This bill does not include the costs associated with obtaining property for waste disposal sites, to be located within a reasonable and economic hauling distance of dredging operations. This note assumes the WV Department of Transportation, Division of Highways will accomplish dredging within one year of the assessments, given the dynamic nature of stream scour and deposition.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Gary Rogers
Email Address: Gary.W.Rogers@wv.gov