H. B. 2642
(By Delegates Douglas, Collins,
Kuhn and Davis)
[Introduced February 4, 1999; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend article twenty, chapter twenty-two of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
two, relating to defining and increasing the powers and
duties of the environmental advocate of the division of
environmental protection; authorizing the director to have
a toll-free number set up for the environmental advocate.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article twenty, chapter twenty-two of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section two,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.
§22-20-2. Powers and duties of the environmental advocate.
(a) The powers and duties of the environmental advocate
shall include all the powers and duties set out in rules pursuant
to section one of this article and the following additional
powers and duties:
(1) Be the liaison between the citizens and the division of
environmental protection, including prompt answering of
questions, giving direction and distributing information. The
powers and duties may not include representing a citizen in the
complaint process;
(2) Formulate and apply a process to inform citizens of
preblast surveys, including: The importance of preblast surveys
and how the preblast survey relates to a future claim for
damages, the requirements and procedure for a preblast survey as
defined in section thirteen-a, article three of this chapter and
any other information to help a citizen make an informed decision
concerning preblast surveys;
(3) Formulate and apply a process to inform citizens on how
to make a complaint and where to direct the complaint, including
furnishing any relevant telephone numbers and toll-free numbers;
and
(4) Hold at least four public meetings per year in different
areas of the state to inform the citizens of their rights and to
allow the citizens to discuss environmental issues affecting
their lives. The environmental advocate shall provide notice of
the public meetings at least ten days prior to the meeting. The
notice shall be printed in an area newspaper of general
circulation and posted at the location where the meeting will be
held. The environmental advocate may decide, with input from
concerned citizens, what issues will be discussed at these
meetings. The environmental advocate may request other concerned
individuals and groups to address these public meetings.
(b) The director may have a toll-free number set up for the
environmental advocate office for access with citizens.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to define and increase
the powers and duties of the environmental advocate of the
Division of Environmental Protection and allowing the director to
set up a toll-free number for the advocate.
Section two is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
This bill has been recommended for passage by the Joint
Standing Committee on Government Organization.