H. B. 2643
(By Delegates Douglas, Collins, Kuhn,
Davis and Capito)
[Introduced February 4, 1999; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-four, article three,
chapter twenty-two of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
water rights; requiring surface-mining operators to replace
an owner's damaged underground water supply within a
specific area; promulgation of rules.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-four, article three, 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 3. SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION ACT.
§22-3-24. Water rights and replacement; waiver of replacement.
(a) Nothing in this article affects in any way the rights of
any person to enforce or protect, under applicable law, the
person's interest in water resources affected by a surface-mining
operation.
(b) After determination by an inspector of the division of
environmental protection of contamination, diminution or damage
to an owner's underground water supply and if the owner's
underground water supply
is within seven tenths of a mile of a
surface-mining operation and a preblast survey was done on the
owner's property including the underground water supply
, the
surface coal mining operator conducting the surface-mining
operation
shall replace within thirty days, the underground water
supply with a like source. The director shall propose rules for
legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article
three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, defining
contamination, diminution or damage, and detailing the procedure
for replacing the water supply in a timely fashion, including a
procedure for supplying an emergency water supply within
seventy-two hours.
(b) (c) Any operator shall replace the water supply of an
owner of interest in real property who obtains all or part of the
owner's supply of water for domestic, agricultural, industrial or
other legitimate use from an underground or surface source where
such supply has been affected by contamination, diminution or
interruption proximately caused by such surface-mining operation,
unless waived by said owner.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require surface-mining
operators to replace an owner's damaged underground water supply
within a specific area.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
This bill has been recommended for passage by the Joint
Standing Committee on Government Organization.