Senate Bill No. 219
(By Senators Rowe, McCabe, Caldwell and Love)
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[Introduced January 19, 2004; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §7-1-3v of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to authority of county commissions
to create a flood plain enforcement agency.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §7-1-3v of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
§7-1-3v. Floodplain and mudslide area management; legislative
findings; power and authority; enforcement;
provisions cumulative.
(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that it is
imperative that municipalities and counties in this state be fully
authorized and empowered to take all action necessary to comply
with the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968
(Public Law 91-152), as amended by the Congress of the United States through the fifteenth day of February, one thousand nine
hundred seventy-five; that municipalities presently are vested with
all statutory power and authority necessary in this regard; and
that the purpose of this section is to authorize and empower the
several counties of this state to comply with such requirements.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) "Act" means the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968
(Public Law 91-152), as amended by the Congress of the United
States through the fifteenth day of February, one thousand nine
hundred seventy-five; and
(2) "Specified area or areas" means the area or areas
specified under
such the act as a floodplain or mudslide area or
areas within which control over construction and improvements must
be exercised in order to comply with
such the act.
(c) To the extent and only to the extent necessary to comply
with the eligibility requirements of and otherwise fully and in all
respects to comply with the requirements of
such the act, the
county commission of each county is hereby authorized and empowered
to: (i) Adopt, administer and enforce building codes for a
specified area or areas within
such the county, which building
codes may establish different requirements for different specified
areas; (ii) require and issue building permits for all proposed
construction or other improvements in
such the county:
Provided,
That nothing contained in this subdivision (ii)
shall authorize authorizes a county commission to refuse to issue a building permit
for any proposed construction or other improvement outside of a
specified area or areas within
such the county; (iii) conduct
inspections of construction and other improvements in a specified
area or areas within
such the county and (iv) otherwise take such
action and impose such requirements regarding land use and control
measures in a specified area or areas within
such the county as
shall be necessary under
such the act:
Provided, That no
such
building code adopted by a county commission
shall may apply within
nor any authority hereinabove granted exercised by a county
commission within the corporate limits of any municipality which
has taken appropriate action to comply with
such the act, unless
and until
such the municipality so provides by ordinance. Any
such
building code adopted by a county commission and any other
requirements imposed by a county commission under the provisions of
this subsection (c) may be enforced by injunctive action in the
circuit court of the county.
(d) The power and authority conferred upon county commissions
in this section is supplemental to and not in derogation of any
power and authority heretofore or hereafter conferred by law upon
county commissions.
(e) The county commission, in formally adopting a floodplain
ordinance shall designate an enforcement agency which shall consist
of the following:
(1) The county assessor (or other technically qualified county
employee) shall determine whether proposed development will occur
in a specified area by using information collected in accordance
with the provisions of this section, section three-a, article
three, chapter eleven of this code and section three-p of this
article;
(2) The president of the county commission, the president of
the planning commission or the county administrator, or his or her
designee, is to be appointed county floodplain manager, and guide
all development determined to be within the specified area in
accordance with the ordinance requirements. The county floodplain
manager must complete the training specific to floodplain
management through the national flood insurance program within two
months of appointment;
(3) The director of the county office of emergency services
shall be responsible for providing information and assistance to
the floodplain manager after a flooding event;
(4) The county surveyor or the county engineer, if one is
employed by the commission, or other technically qualified county
employee, shall provide field inspections of permitted development
and technical assistance as requested by the floodplain manager;
(5) The prosecuting attorney shall serve as an ex officio
member of the enforcement agency and shall be the county officer
charged with processing injunctions;
(6) The county sheriff shall serve as an ex officio member of
the enforcement agency and the county officer charged with
enforcing the orders of the county commission under the provisions
of this section; and
(7) The members of this agency, along with their staff, are
jointly responsible for assuring that any new development observed
has been properly permitted.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize county
commissions to create floodplain ordinance enforcement agencies
comprised of local officials to ensure compliance with flood
prevention restrictions.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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