H. B. 2617
(By Delegates Michael, Warner and Frederick)
[Introduced February 3, 1999;
referred to the Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section sixty-three, article two,
chapter twenty-two-a of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the
office of miners' health, safety and training; fees for
permits and certificates of approval; providing that the fees
collected for such certificates be placed in the operating
permit fees fund and providing for expenditure of moneys
placed in the fund.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section sixty-three, article two, chapter twenty-two-a
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. UNDERGROUND MINES.
§22A-2-63. No mine to be opened or reopened without prior approval
of the director of the office of miners' health, safety and training; certificate of approval; approval fees; extension of certificate of approval;
certificates of approval not transferable; section to be printed on certificates of approval.
(a) No mine may be opened or reopened unless prior approval
has been obtained from the director of the office of miners'
health, safety and training. The director may not unreasonably
withhold approval. The operator shall pay a fee of one hundred
dollars for the approval, which shall be tendered with the
application for approval: Provided, That mines producing coal
solely for the operator's use shall be issued a permit without
charge if coal production will be less than fifty tons a year.
Within thirty days after the first day of January of each
year, the holder of a permit to open a mine shall apply for the
extension of the permit for an additional year. The permit,
evidenced by a document issued by the director, shall be granted as
a matter of right for a fee of one hundred dollars if, at the time
application is made, the permit holder is in compliance with the
provisions of section seventy-seven of this article and has paid or
otherwise appealed all coal mine assessments issued to the mine if
operated by the permit holder and imposed under article one of this
chapter. Applications for extension of permits not submitted
within the time required shall be processed as an application to
open or reopen a mine and shall be accompanied by a fee of one hundred dollars.
(b) Permits issued pursuant to this section are not
transferable.
(c) If the operator of a mine is not the permit holder as
defined in subsection (a) of this section, then the operator shall
apply for and obtain a certificate of approval to operate the mine
on which the permit is held prior to commencing operations. The
operator shall pay a fee of one hundred dollars, which payment
shall be tendered with the application for approval. The approval,
evidenced by a certificate issued by the director, shall be granted
if, at the time application is made, the applicant is in compliance
with the provisions of section seventy-seven of this article and
has paid or otherwise appealed all coal mine assessments imposed on
the applicant for the certificate of approval under article one of
this chapter.
(d) In addition to the director's authority to file a petition
for enforcement under subdivision (4), subsection (a), section
twenty-one, article one of this chapter, if an operator holding a
certificate of approval issued pursuant to subsection (c) of this
section, has been assessed a civil penalty in accordance with
section twenty-one, article one of this chapter, and its
implementing rules, and the penalty has become final, fails to pay
the penalty within the time prescribed in the order, the director
or the authorized representative of the director, by certified mail, return receipt requested, shall send a notice to the operator
advising the operator of the unpaid penalty. If the penalty is not
paid in full within sixty days from the issuance of the notice of
delinquency by the director, then the director may revoke the
operator's certificate of approval: Provided, That the operator to
whom the delinquency notice is issued has thirty days from receipt
of the delinquency notice to request, by certified mail, return
receipt requested, a public hearing held in accordance with the
procedures of section seventeen, article one of this chapter, and
its implementing rules, including application for temporary relief.
Once the operator's certificate of approval is revoked pursuant to
this subsection, the operator may not obtain any certificate of
approval under the provisions of this section to operate any other
mine until that operator pays the delinquent penalties that have
become final.
(e) Every firm, corporation, partnership or individual that
contracts to perform services or construction at a coal mine is
considered to be an operator and shall apply for and obtain a
certificate of approval prior to commencing operations: Provided,
That these persons shall only be required to obtain one certificate
annually: Provided, however, That persons such as, but not limited
to, consultants, mine vendors, office equipment suppliers and
maintenance and delivery personnel are excluded from this
requirement to obtain a certificate of approval. Operators who are required to obtain a certificate of approval pursuant to the
provisions of this subsection shall pay a fee of one hundred
dollars which shall be tendered with the application for approval.
Approval evidenced by a certificate issued by the director, shall
be granted if, at the time the application is made, the applicant
has paid or otherwise appealed all coal mine assessments imposed on
the applicant under article one of this chapter.
Within thirty days after the first day of January of each
year, the holder of a certificate of approval shall apply for the
extension of that approval for an additional year. Applications
for extension shall be accompanied by a fee of one hundred dollars.
An extension shall be granted if, at the time application is made,
the applicant has paid or otherwise appealed all coal mine
assessments imposed on the applicant under article one of this
chapter. All delinquent assessments which have been imposed upon
a certificate of approval holder or applicants under this section
may not be imposed upon any permit holder or certificate of
approval holder or any applicant pursuant to subsection (a) or (c)
of section sixty-three.
(f) The provisions of this section shall be printed on the
reverse side of every permit issued under subsection (a) of this
section and certificate of approval issued under subsection (d) of
this section.
(g) The district mine inspector shall conduct a pre-inspection of the area proposed for underground mining prior to issuance of
any new opening permit approval.
(h) After the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-seven, all moneys collected by the office of miners' health,
safety and training for the approval fees set forth in subsections
(a), (b) and (e) of this section shall be deposited with the
treasurer of the state of West Virginia to the credit of the
general administration--operating permit fees fund. The operating
permit fees fund shall be used by the director who is authorized to
expend the moneys in the fund for the administration of this
chapter: Provided, That after the thirtieth day of June, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, all moneys collected by the
office of miners' health, safety and training for the approval fees
set forth in subsections (a), (b) and (e) of this section shall be
deposited with the state treasurer to the credit of the general
fund.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law. Underscoring is omitted in that no new language
is added.