HB2156 HENT AM. #1 2-27
Casto 3264
The Subcommittee on Environment, Infrastructure and Technology moved to amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
§17-16-6. Permit by commission or county court for openings in or structures on public roads; franchises and easements of oil, etc., transportation companies.
(a) No opening shall be made in any state or county-district road or highway, nor shall any structure be placed therein or thereover, nor shall any structure, which has been so placed, be changed, or removed, except in accordance with a permit from the state road commission or county court, as the case may be. No road or highway shall be dug up for laying or placing pipes, sewers, poles or wires, or for other purposes, and no trees shall be planted or removed or obstructions placed thereon, without the written permit of the commission or county court, or its duly authorized agent, and then only in accordance with the regulations of the commission or court. The work shall be done under the supervision and to the satisfaction of the commission or court; and the entire expense of replacing the highway in as good condition as before shall be paid by the persons to whom the permit was given, or by whom the work was done: Provided, however, That nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent any oil or gas company or person having a proper permit or franchise from transporting oil or gasoline along any of the public highways of this state, nor to give such company a franchise without paying to the landowners through whose lands such road passes the usual and customary compensation paid or to be paid to the landowners for such right of way. Any grant or franchise when made shall be construed to give to such company or person only the right to use the easement in such public road.
(b) When such a permit is requested, the Department of Highways (DOH) shall have 60 days from the time of application to approve or deny the requested permit. If no answer to the permit request is given from the DOH within that 60 days, then the permit is considered approved. If changes are requested by a commercial, industrial, utility, residential development or other business, based on the application for the permit, this request for changes may be done only once and the request for changes shall be considered satisfied if all changes from the first request are completed. If a matter concerning the application or request for changes is contested, the DOH has 30 days to respond and, if they do not respond in that 30 days, the original permit request shall be considered approved. If the application for a permit is rejected by the DOH within the time frame listed in this subsection, the denial must be contested in magistrate court in the county in which the permit was requested within 30 days of the denial.
(c) If the opening onto a state or county-district road or highway is temporary access for an operation such as timbering, the DOH shall have 15 days from the time of application to approve or deny the requested permit. If no answer to the permit request is given by the DOH within 15 days, then the permit is considered approved. If changes are requested based on the application for the permit, this request for changes may be made only once and the request for changes shall be considered satisfied if all changes from the first request are completed. If the matter concerning the application or request for changes is contested, the DOH has 7 days to respond and, if they do not respond in those 7 days, the original permit request shall be considered approved. If the application for a permit is rejected by the DOH within the timeframe listed in this subsection, the denial must be contested in magistrate court in the county in which the permit was requested within 15 days of the denial.
(1) If the applicant complies with the guidelines above, there will be no application fee(s) charged.
(2) If the applicant requests emergency access or a shorter timeframe than outlined in this subsection, at their discretion, the DOH may require a $500 application fee.
(3) Existing entrances shall not require permitting, but the operator shall provide the DOH District Office with a notice of intent to use the existing entrance a minimum of 48 hr. prior to use.
(4) If the DOH requires a surety for a temporary entrance, that bond shall pertain only to damage caused by the entrance area and must be in the immediate proximity of the temporary entrance.
(d) A violation of any provision of this section shall be a misdemeanor and, the person or corporation violating the same shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not less than $25 nor more than $100 for each offense.
Adopted
Rejected