ENROLLED
H. B. 4697
(By Delegates Manuel, Beach, Williams, Anderson,
Stemple, Osborne and Hubbard)
[Passed March 13, 1998; in effect July 1, 1998.]
AN ACT to amend chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article nine-e, relating
to air quality in new school construction; short title;
definitions; standards; tests; and school building authority
guidelines and report to legislative oversight commission on
education accountability.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated article nine-e, to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 9E. AIR QUALITY IN NEW SCHOOLS ACT.
§18-9E-1. Short title.
This article is titled and may be cited as the "Air Quality
in New Schools Act of 1998."
§18-9E-2. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article, "new school building"
means any public school in the state for which design and construction begin after the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-eight, for the education of students in grades
kindergarten through twelfth.
§18-9E-3. Air quality in new schools.
(a) In an effort to create well ventilated school
environments, and notwithstanding any other provision of this
code to the contrary, any new school building designed and
constructed in the state by a county board after the first day of
July one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, regardless of the
funding source, shall be designed and constructed in compliance
with the current standards of the American society of heating,
refrigerating and air conditioning engineers handbook (ASHRAE),
the national fire protection association code (NFPA) and the code
of the building officials and code administrators (BOCA).
Prior to construction of any new school building in this
state, tests, as required by the school building authority rules
promulgated under the provisions of subsection (b) of this
section, shall be conducted to determine if radon is present at
the proposed construction site. If radon is detected, additional
tests shall be performed within thirty days to confirm the
results. If it is determined that radon is present in amounts
greater than the amount determined to be acceptable by the rules
promulgated by the school building authority, pursuant to
subsection (b) of this section, during both tests, any new school
building constructed on that site shall incorporate an active
soil depressurization system to divert radon from the building site, or utilize any other industry accepted mitigation technique
to minimize exposure to radon.
(b) The school building authority shall promulgate rules
pursuant to article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
to assure that any new school building designed after the
effective date of this article is designed and constructed in
accordance with the ASHRAE, NFPA and BOCA standards. The school
building authority shall promulgate rules, pursuant to article
three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code that establish
standards for safe levels of radon for public school buildings.
The school building authority shall submit the rules for approval
to the legislative oversight commission on education
accountability on or before the first day of July, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-eight. The rules shall include the
requirement that county boards submit all designs to the school
building authority for review and approval prior to preparation
of final bid documents.
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