Senate Bill No. 174
(By Senator Wooton)
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[Introduced January 25, 1995; referred to the Committee
on Transportation.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section sixty-three, article two,
chapter twenty-two-a of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
underground mines; certificates of approval; and exempting
contract truckers from the requirement of having a
certificate of approval.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section sixty-three, article two, chapter twenty-two-a
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2. UNDERGROUND MINES.
§22A-2-63. No mine to be opened or reopened without prior
approval of the d
irector of the office of miners'
health, safety and training; certificate of approval; approval fees; extension of certificate of
approval; certificates of approval not transferable; section
to be printed on certificates of approval.
(a) After the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
seventy-one, no mine shall be opened or reopened unless prior
approval has been obtained from the director of the office of
miners' health, safety and training, which approval shall not be
unreasonably withheld. The operator shall pay for such approval
a fee of one hundred dollars, which payment shall be tendered
with the application for such approval:
Provided, That mines
producing coal solely for the operator's use shall be issued a
permit without charge if coal production will be less than fifty
tons a year.
Within thirty days after the first day of January of each
year, the holder of such permit to open a mine shall apply for
the extension of such permit for an additional year. Such
permit, evidenced by a document issued by the director, shall be
granted as a matter of right for a fee of one hundred dollars if,
at the time such application is made, the permit holder is in
compliance with the provisions of section seventy-seven of this
article and has paid or otherwise appealed all coal mine
assessments issued to the mine if operated by the permit holder
and imposed under article one of this chapter. Applications for extension of such permits not submitted within the time required
shall be processed as an application to open or reopen a mine and
shall be accompanied by a fee of one hundred dollars.
(b) Permits issued pursuant to this section shall not be
transferable.
(c) If the operator of a mine is not the permit holder as
defined in subsection (a) of this section then such operator must
apply for and obtain a certificate of approval to operate the
mine on which the permit is held prior to commencing operations.
An operator who is not the permit holder operating such mine on
the tenth day of April, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three,
must apply for a certificate of approval on or before the first
day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three. The operator
shall pay a fee of one hundred dollars, which payment shall be
tendered with the application for approval. Such approval,
evidenced by a certificate issued by the director, shall be
granted if, at the time such application is made, the applicant
is in compliance with the provisions of section seventy-seven of
this article and has paid or otherwise appealed all coal mine
assessments imposed on such applicant for the certificate of
approval under article one of this chapter.
(d) In addition to the authority to file a petition for
enforcement under subdivision (4), subsection (a), section twenty-one, article one of this chapter, if an operator holding
a certificate of approval issued pursuant to subsection (c) of
this section, against whom a civil penalty is assessed in
accordance with section twenty-one, article one of this chapter,
and implementing regulations, and which has become final, fails
to pay the penalty within the time prescribed in such order, the
director or the authorized representative of the director, by
certified mail, return receipt requested, shall send a notice to
such operator advising the operator of the unpaid penalty. If
the penalty is not paid in full within sixty days from the
issuance of the notice of delinquency by the director, then the
director may revoke such operator's certificate of approval:
Provided, That such operator to whom the delinquency notice is
issued shall have thirty days from receipt thereof to request, by
certified mail, return receipt requested, a public hearing held
in accordance with the procedures of section seventeen, article
one of this chapter, and implementing rules, including
application for temporary relief. Once such operator's
certificate of approval is revoked pursuant to this subsection,
such operator shall be prohibited from obtaining any certificate
of approval under the provisions of this section to operate any
other mine until such time as that operator pays the delinquent
penalties that have become final.
(e) Every firm, corporation, partnership or individual that
contracts to perform services or construction at a coal mine
shall be deemed to be an operator and beginning the first day of
January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five, must apply for
and obtain a certificate of approval prior to commencing
operations:
Provided, That such persons shall only be required
to obtain one certificate annually:
Provided, however, That
persons such as, but not limited to, consultants, mine vendors,
office equipment suppliers, contract truckers and maintenance and
delivery personnel are excluded from this requirement. Any such
operator shall pay a fee of one hundred dollars which shall be
tendered with the application for approval. Such approval,
evidenced by a certificate issued by the director, shall be
granted if, at the time such application is made, the applicant
has paid or otherwise appealed all coal mine assessments imposed
on such applicant under article one of this chapter.
Within thirty days after the first day of January of each
year, the holder of such certificate of approval shall apply for
the extension of such approval for an additional year.
Applications for extension must be accompanied by a fee of one
hundred dollars. An extension shall be granted if, at the time
such application is made, the applicant has paid or otherwise
appealed all coal mine assessments imposed on such applicant under article one of this chapter. All delinquent assessments
which have been imposed upon a certificate of approval holder or
applicants under this section shall not be imposed upon any
permit holder or certificate of approval holder or any applicant
pursuant to subsection (a) or (c) of section sixty-three.
(f) The provisions of this section shall be printed on the
reverse side of every permit issued under subsection (a) and
certificate of approval issued under subsection (d) herein.
(g) The district mine inspector shall be contacted for a
pre-inspection of the area proposed for underground mining prior
to issuance of any new opening permit approval.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exempt contract
truckers from the requirement of obtaining a certificate of
approval under the provisions of W. Va. Code, 22A-2-63(e), which
requires the certificate for persons or other entities that have
a contract for services or construction at a mine.)
TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
On page ___, section sixty-three, line ___, after the word
"truckers" by adding a comma;
On page ___, section sixty-three, line ___, after the word
"of" by striking out the remainder of the sentence and inserting
in lieu thereof the words "this section."
And,
On page ___, section sixty-three, line ___, by striking out
the word "herein" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "of
this section".