ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 354
(By Senators Wiedebusch, Macnaughtan and Dittmar)
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[Introduced February 15, 1994;
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources.]
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A BILL to amend article one, chapter five-b of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
by adding thereto a new section, designated section eleven,
relating to authorizing the director of tourism and parks to
acquire additional land for North Bend state park.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article one, chapter five-b, of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eleven, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. DIVISION OF TOURISM AND PARKS.
§5B-1-11. North Bend state park expansion.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that:
(1) The North Fork Hughes River watershed project, now being
planned and designed by local watershed sponsors with assistance
from the soil conservation service and other federal and stateagencies, will be of great benefit to the local area, region and
to the state of West Virginia.
(2) The project will consist of a multiple-purpose dam
across the North Fork Hughes River and a three hundred five acre
lake, recreational facilities and county-wide water supply
facilities. In addition to providing water supply and
recreational benefits, the project will provide flood damage
reduction benefits to North Bend state park and the town of
Cairo. The dam and a small portion of the reservoir will be
located on the eastern edge of the park.
(3) Planned recreational facilities, will provide for
camping, picnicking, swimming, fishing, hiking, outdoor games and
natural/educational activities. Facilities will be grouped and
located in five different areas. Two of these areas, the
Deerfield camping area and Cokeley recreation area, are planned
to be located just outside the existing park boundary and within
a parcel of land estimated to contain three hundred acres. This
parcel of land lies to the south of the planned reservoir. It is
bounded by the reservoir on the north, the park boundary on the
west, County Route 5 on the south, and Third Run on the east and
includes everything except two parcels of land and improvements
containing about twenty-seven acres. An additional forty-eight
acres may be included resulting from an uneconomic remnant
associated with the Cokeley property. This remnant lies just
south of County Route 5 and is contiguous with the three hundred
acre parcel.
(4) The area of the reservoir from the park boundary to
Third Run will cover ninety-three acres. A buffer strip of land
with a minimum width of two hundred fifty feet will be acquired
around the reservoir. The buffer strip on the north side of the
reservoir between the park boundary and Third Run covers an area
of about thirty-seven acres.
(5) Funds to install the dam, all associated recreational
and water supply facilities and all needed land and rights-of-way
will be provided by the federal government through an Appalachian
regional commission. Upon completion of construction, the dam
and all facilities will be transferred to the state or local
units of government for operation and maintenance.
(6) Installation of the recreation facilities will provide
for two hundred twenty-one thousand seven hundred recreational
days with a total value amount of one million nine thousand
dollars. This is roughly the same as now being provided by
current park facilities. Therefore, recreational visitation to
the area will be doubled. The reservoir will be readily
accessible by North Bend visitors and will complement the park's
scenic beauty with the addition of views of the water from picnic
areas, lodge rooms and cabins. The planned reservoir will
enhance rather than change the recreation bundle already provided
by North Bend state park.
(7) The majority of the planned recreational facilities will
be located on the aforementioned Deerfield and Cokeley areas
adjacent to the park. The inclusion of these areas into thestate park system will greatly enhance the capability of the
existing park to meet current and projected demands, will
increase the mix of activities, and will provide for future
operation and maintenance.
(b) In view of the foregoing, the Legislature recognizes the
value of the planned reservoir and additional recreational
facilities to the citizens of West Virginia and hereby grants
authority to the commissioner of the division of tourism and
parks to expand the boundaries of North Bend state park.
Additional land to be included will contain the Deerfield and
Cokeley areas which consist of approximately three hundred acres,
the forty-eight acre Cokeley property remnant, ninety-three acres
of the reservoir situated between the park boundary and Third
Run, and thirty-seven acres of the buffer zone situated on the
north side of the reservoir between the park boundary and Third
Run, all as previously described. Total additional land to be
included will be approximately four hundred seventy-eight acres.
Additionally, the Legislature directs the public land corporation
to use all existing authorities prescribed under state law to
acquire the necessary land and rights-of-way in cooperation with
the commissioner of tourism and parks. Upon completion and
transfer of the facilities to the state park system, the
commissioner will operate and maintain the facilities, and manage
the expansion from funds appropriated for that purpose.