Senate Bill No. 769
(By Senators Bowman, Minard and Chafin)
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[Introduced February 20, 2006; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §22C-3-6 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to providing for recouping part of
the cost of cleaning up illegal solid waste dumps by the Solid
Waste Management Board; providing for the establishment of
criteria for county and regional solid waste authority share;
and requiring county and regional solid waste authorities to
contribute.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §22C-3-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT BOARD.
§22C-3-6. Powers, duties and responsibilities of board generally.
The Solid Waste Management Board may exercise all powers
necessary or appropriate to carry out and effectuate its corporate purpose. The board may:
(1) Adopt, and from time to time, amend and repeal bylaws
necessary and proper for the regulation of its affairs and the
conduct of its business, and rules, promulgated pursuant to the
provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, to implement and
make effective its powers and duties.
(2) Adopt an official seal.
(3) Maintain a principal office which shall be in Kanawha
County, and, if necessary, regional suboffices at locations
properly designated or provided.
(4) Sue and be sued in its own name and plead and be impleaded
in its own name, and particularly to enforce the obligations and
covenants made under sections ten, eleven and sixteen of this
article. Any actions against the board shall be brought in the
circuit court of Kanawha County.
(5) Make loans and grants to persons and to governmental
agencies for the acquisition or construction of solid waste
disposal projects and adopt rules and procedures for making such
loans and grants.
(6) Acquire, construct, reconstruct, enlarge, improve,
furnish, equip, maintain, repair, operate, lease or rent to, or
contract for operation by a governmental agency or person, solid
waste disposal projects, and, in accordance with chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, adopt rules for the use of such projects.
(7) Make available the use or services of any solid waste
disposal project to one or more persons, one or more governmental
agencies, or any combination thereof.
(8) Issue solid waste disposal revenue bonds and notes and
solid waste disposal revenue refunding bonds of the state, payable
solely from revenues as provided in section ten of this article,
unless the bonds are refunded by refunding bond, for the purpose
of paying all or any part of the cost of acquiring, constructing,
reconstructing, enlarging, improving, furnishing, equipping, or
repairing solid waste disposal projects, or making loans to persons
or to governmental agencies for the acquisition, design or
construction of solid waste disposal projects or parts thereof.
(9) Acquire by gift or purchase, hold and dispose of real and
personal property in the exercise of its powers and the performance
of its duties as set forth in this article.
(10) Acquire in the name of the state, by purchase or
otherwise, on such terms and in such manner as it deems proper, or
by the exercise of the right of eminent domain in the manner
provided in chapter fifty-four of this code, such public or private
lands, or parts thereof or rights therein, rights-of-way, property,
rights, easements and interests it deems necessary for carrying out
the provisions of this article, but excluding the acquisition by
the exercise of the right of eminent domain of any solid waste facility operated under permits issued pursuant to the provisions
of article fifteen, chapter twenty-two of this code and owned by
any person or governmental agency. This article does not authorize
the board to take or disturb property or facilities belonging to
any public utility or to a common carrier, which property or
facilities are required for the proper and convenient operation of
such public utility or common carrier, unless provision is made for
the restoration, relocation or duplication of such property or
facilities elsewhere at the sole cost of the board.
(11) Make and enter into all contracts and agreements and
execute all instruments necessary or incidental to the performance
of its duties and the execution of its powers. When the cost under
any such contract or agreement, other than compensation for
personal services, involves an expenditure of more than two
thousand dollars, the board shall make a written contract with the
lowest responsible bidder after public notice published as a Class
II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article
three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, the publication area for
such publication to be the county wherein the work is to be
performed or which is affected by the contract, which notice shall
state the general character of the work and the general character
of the materials to be furnished, the place where plans and
specifications therefor may be examined and the time and place of
receiving bids. A contract or lease for the operation of a solid waste disposal project constructed and owned by the board or an
agreement for cooperation in the acquisition or construction of a
solid waste disposal project pursuant to section sixteen of this
article is not subject to the foregoing requirements and the board
may enter into such contract or lease or such agreement pursuant to
negotiation and upon such terms and conditions and for such period
as it finds to be reasonable and proper under the circumstances and
in the best interests of proper operation or of efficient
acquisition or construction of such project. The board may reject
any and all bids. A bond with good and sufficient surety, approved
by the board, is required of all contractors in an amount equal to
at least fifty percent of the contract price, conditioned upon the
faithful performance of the contract.
(12) Employ managers, superintendents, engineers, accountants,
auditors and other employees, and retain or contract with
consulting engineers, financial consultants, accounting experts,
architects, attorneys and such other consultants and independent
contractors as are necessary in its judgment to carry out the
provisions of this article, and fix the compensation or fees
thereof. All expenses thereof are payable solely from the proceeds
of solid waste disposal revenue bonds or notes issued by the board,
from revenues and from funds appropriated for such purpose by the
Legislature.
(13) Receive and accept from any federal agency, subject to the approval of the Governor, grants for or in aid of the
construction of any solid waste disposal project or for research
and development with respect to solid waste disposal projects and
solid waste disposal sheds and receive and accept from any source
aid or contributions of money, property, labor or other things of
value, to be held, used and applied only for the purposes for which
such grants and contributions are made.
(14) Engage in research and development with respect to solid
waste disposal projects and solid waste disposal sheds.
(15) Purchase fire and extended coverage and liability
insurance for any solid waste disposal project and for the
principal office and suboffices of the board, insurance protecting
the board and its officers and employees against liability, if any,
for damage to property or injury to or death of persons arising
from its operations and any other insurance the board may agree to
provide under any resolution authorizing the issuance of solid
waste disposal revenue bonds.
(16) Charge, alter and collect rentals and other charges for
the use or services of any solid waste disposal project as provided
in this article, and charge and collect reasonable interest, fees
and other charges in connection with the making and servicing of
loans to governmental agencies in furtherance of the purposes of
this article.
(17) Establish or increase reserves from moneys received or to be received by the board to secure or to pay the principal of and
interest on the bonds and notes issued by the board pursuant to
this article.
(18) Establish criteria for county and regional solid waste
authorities to cooperate in cleaning up unauthorized and illegal
solid waste dumps on private and public property and to charge not
less than one-half the cost of the cleanup to the affected county
or regional solid waste authority: Provided, That the share of
the cost assessed against a county or regional solid waste
authority may be offset by in kind contributions of labor and of
equipment.
(18)
(19)
Do all acts necessary and proper to carry out the
powers expressly granted to the board in this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a method to
recoup part of the cost of cleaning up illegal solid waste dumps
by the Solid Waste Management Board. Under the bill, the board
must establish criteria for share of the cost of the clean up to
be borne by county and regional solid waste authorities.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that
would be added.