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Senate Bill No. 599
(By Senators Ross, Dittmar, Anderson, Deem, and Bowman)
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[Originating in the Committee on Natural Resources;
reported March 1, 1996.]
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A BILL to amend article one-a, chapter twenty of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
by adding thereto a new section, designated section one-a,
relating the public land corporation; the federal clean
water act; permitting; certification; promulgation of rules;
and designating the public land corporation as the
appropriate state agency for issuance of all certifications
and permits required for debris removal and flood prevention
on small streams.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section article one-a, chapter twenty of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section one-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1A. REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT AND PROCEDURES.
§20-1A-1a. Certification and permitting for debris removal and
flood prevention.
(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the
public land corporation, as the vested title holder of public
lands of the state and of all of the state's waterways and
streams, is the proper agency in which all responsibility should
reside for the protection and supervision of the integrity of
such waterways. It is further found that a centralized
stewardship of such natural resources will provide greater
protection for the state.
(b) The public land corporation is hereby designated the
sole state governmental body responsible for issuance of those
certifications and permits required by section four hundred one
and section four hundred four, respectively, of the Federal Clean
Water Act, notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary.
(c) Upon receipt of an application for the issuance of the
aforementioned certification or permit, the public land
corporation shall immediately consider such application. The
public land corporation shall approve or deny the application not
later than thirty days following the filing thereof. Any application not approved or denied within thirty days shall be
deemed to be approved.
(d) The public land corporation shall promulgate rules
pursuant to the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
governing the issuance of section four hundred one certifications
and section four hundred four permits and establishing a
"one-stop-shop" approach for issuance of all permits required for
debris removal and flood prevention on small streams of this
state.