H. B. 2549
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chambers and Delegates
Williams, Martin, Rowe and Proudfoot)
[Introduced March 11, 1993; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section eight, article five-f,
chapter twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to an
additional extension of the solid waste facility closure
deadline.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eight, article five-f, chapter twenty of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5F. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ACT.
§20-5F-8. Limited extension of solid waste facility closure
deadline.
(a) The director of the division of
natural resources
environmental protection shall grant an extension of the closure
deadline up to the thirty-first day of March, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-three, to a solid waste facility required by solid
waste management regulations to close by the thirtieth day ofNovember, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, unless the
director determines by a preponderance of the evidence that such
extension will pose a significant risk to human health or safety
or cause irreparable harm to the environment.
(b) No later than the first day of November, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-one, any facility seeking an extension of its
closure deadline must submit to the division of natural resources
an application sufficient to support the requirements of
subsection (a) of this section.
(c) The director shall grant or deny the extension no later
than the twenty-first day of November, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-one. If the director denies an extension, the facility
shall cease accepting solid waste on the thirtieth day of
November, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one. No person
seeking judicial review, pursuant to subsection (d) of this
section, of the director's denial of an extension shall accept
solid waste at the facility during the pendency of the judicial
review process.
(d) Any party who is aggrieved by an order of the director
regarding the grant or denial of an extension of the closure
deadline for a solid waste facility pursuant to this section, may
obtain judicial review thereof in the same manner as provided in
section four, article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
which provisions shall apply to and govern such review with like
effect as if the provisions of said section were set forth in
extenso in this section, except that the petition shall be filed,within the time specified in said section, in the circuit court
of Kanawha County:
Provided, That the court shall not in any
manner permit the continued acceptance of solid waste at the
facility pending review of the decision of the director.
(e) The judgment of the circuit court shall be final unless
reversed, vacated or modified on appeal to the supreme court of
appeals, in accordance with the provisions of section one,
article six, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, except that
notwithstanding the provisions of said section, the petition
seeking such review must be filed with said supreme court of
appeals within thirty days from the date of entry of the judgment
of the circuit court.
(f) The director of the division of natural resources shall
grant an extension of the closure deadline not to exceed the
thirtieth day of September, one thousand nine hundred ninety-
three, to a solid waste facility required by solid waste
management regulations to close by the thirtieth day of November,
one thousand nine hundred ninety-two.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
director of the division of environmental protection shall grant
an additional extension of the solid waste closure deadline to
the thirtieth day of September, one thousand nine hundred ninety-
four, to any solid waste facility which is otherwise required to
close by the thirty-first day of March, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-three, or by the thirtieth day of September, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-three, if the facility (1) has filed aninitial application for a certificate of need with the public
service commission; and (2) has filed on or before the thirty-
first day of December, one thousand nine hundred ninety-two, an
initial (part I) application for a permit to construct a
composite liner with the division of environmental protection.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to amend the West
Virginia Solid Waste Management Act to provide for an additional
extension of the closure deadline for qualifying solid waste
facilities to September 30, 1994. Qualifying facilities are
those which are now required to close by March 31, 1993, or
September 30, 1993, and which (1) have filed an initial
application for a certificate of need with the Public Service
Commission; and (2) have filed on or before December 31, 1992, an
initial application for a permit to construct a composite liner
with the Division of Environmental Protection.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.