ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 255
(Senators Miller, Sharpe, Ross and Helmick, original sponsors)
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[Passed March 9, 1996; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact section eleven, article four, chapter
twenty-two of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to surface mining
and reclamation of minerals other than coal; blasting
restrictions; formula; filing preplan; penalties; notice;
permitting seismograph measurement to be used in place of
scaled-distance formula; modifying scaled-distance formula;
modifying requirements relating to blasting; and requiring
that legislative rules be promulgated relating notification
of impending blasting activities.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eleven, article four, chapter twenty-two of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. SURFACE MINING AND RECLAMATION OF MINERALS OTHER
THAN
COAL.
§22-4-11. Blasting restriction; formula; filing preplan;
penalties; notice.
Where blasting of overburden or mineral is necessary, the
blasting shall be done in accordance with established principles
for preventing injury to persons and damage to residences,
buildings and communities. The blasting is in compliance with
provisions of this article if the following measures are adhered
to:
(1) The weight in pounds of explosives to be detonated in
any period less than an eight millisecond period without seismic
monitoring shall conform to the following scaled distance
formula: W = (D/50)(to the second power). Where W equals weight
in pounds of explosives detonated at any one instant time, then
D equals distance in feet from nearest point of blast to nearest
residence, building or structure, other than operation facilities
of the mine: Provided, That the scaled distance formulas need
not be used if a seismograph measurement at or between the blast
site and the nearest protected structure (residence, building or
structure) is recorded and maintained for every blast. The peak particle velocity in inches per second in any one of the three
mutually perpendicular directions shall not exceed the following
values at any protected structure:
Seismograph Measurement Distance to the Nearest
Protected Structure
1.25 0 - 300 feet
1.00 301 - 5,000 feet
0.75 5,001 feet or greater
The maximum ground vibration standards do not apply to the
structures owned by the permittee and not leased to another
person and structures owned by the permittee and leased to
another person, if a written waiver by the lessee is submitted to
the director before blasting.
(2) Airblast shall not exceed the maximum limits listed
below at the location of any dwelling, public buildings, school
or community or institutional building outside the permit area:
Lower frequency limit of measuring
system in Hz(+3dB)Maximum level in db
1Hz or lower-flat response*134 peak
2Hz or lower-flat response133 peak
6Hz or lower-flat response129 peak
c-weighted-slow response*105 peak dBC
* only when approved by the director.
(3) Access to the blast area shall be controlled against the
entrance of unauthorized personnel during blasting for a period
thereafter until an authorized person has reasonably determined
that:
(A) No unusual circumstances exist such as imminent slides
or undetonated charges, etc.; and
(B) Access to and travel in or through the area can be
safely resumed.
(4) A plan of each operation's methods for compliance with
this section (blast delay design) for typical blasts which shall
be adhered to in all blasting at each operation, shall be
submitted to the division of environmental protection with the
application for a permit. It shall be accepted if it meets the
scaled distance formula established in subdivision (1) of this
section.
(5) Records of each blast shall be kept in a log to be
maintained for at least three years, which will show for each
blast the following information:
(A) Date and time of blast;
(B) Number of holes;
(C) Typical explosive weight per delay period;
(D) Total explosives in blast at any one time;
(E) Number of delays used;
(F) Weather conditions;
(G)Signature of operator employee in charge of the blast;
(H) Seismograph data; and
(I) Date of seismograph calibration.
(6) Where inspection by the division of environmental
protection establishes that the scaled distance formula or the
seismograph results or the approved preplan are not being adhered
to, the following penalties shall be imposed:
(A) For the first offense in any one permit year under this
section, the permit holder shall be assessed not less than five
hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars;
(B) For the second offense in any one permit year under this
section, the permit holder shall be assessed not less than one
thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars;
(C) For the third offense in any one permit year under this
section or for the failure to pay any assessment hereinabove set
forth within a reasonable time established by the commissioner,
the permit shall be revoked.
All assessments as set forth in this section shall be
assessed by the director, collected by the director and deposited
with the treasurer of the state of West Virginia, to the credit
of the operating permit fees fund.
The director shall propose legislative rules pursuant to
article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code which shall
provide for a warning of impending blasting to the owners,
residents or other persons who may be present on property
adjacent to the blasting area.