H. B. 2784
(By Delegates Modesitt, Azinger, Border,
Cann, Stemple and Beane)
[Introduced February 16, 1999; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section ten, article one-c, chapter
eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend and reenact section
two, article six, chapter twenty-two of said code; to amend
and reenact section four, article nine, chapter twenty-two-c
of said code; and to amend and reenact section one-b,
article two, chapter twenty-four of said code, all relating
to simplification of oil and gas well data reporting;
requiring division of tax and revenue to devise a form,
receive information, and share information with other
agencies and commissions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section ten, article one-c, chapter eleven of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; that section two, article six,
chapter twenty-two of said code be amended and reenacted; that section four, article nine, chapter twenty-two-c of said code be
amended and reenacted; and that section one-b, article two,
chapter twenty-four of said code be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
CHAPTER 11. TAXATION.
ARTICLE 1C. FAIR AND EQUITABLE PROPERTY VALUATION.
§11-1C-10. Valuation of industrial property and natural
resources property by tax commissioner;
penalties; methods; values sent to assessors.
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Industrial property" means real and personal property
integrated as a functioning unit intended for the assembling,
processing and manufacturing of finished or partially finished
products.
(2) "Natural resources property" means coal, oil, natural
gas, limestone, fireclay, dolomite, sandstone, shale, sand and
gravel, salt, lead, zinc, manganese, iron ore, radioactive
minerals, oil shale, managed timberland as defined in section two
of this article, and other minerals.
(b) All owners of industrial property and natural resources
property each year shall make a return to the state tax
commissioner and, if requested in writing by the assessor of the
county where situated, to such the county assessor at a time and
in the form specified by the commissioner of all industrial or natural resources property owned by them. The commissioner may
require any information to be filed which would be useful in
valuing the property covered in the return. To lessen the
reporting burden on oil and gas producers and operators and
eliminate to the fullest extent reasonable the filing of multiple
reporting forms with the state and counties on multiple reporting
dates, the commissioner, in cooperation with the chairman of the
public service commission, the director of the division of
environmental protection, county assessors and members of the oil
and gas conservation commission, shall provide for a single form
to be submitted to the commissioner annually by the oil and gas
producers and operators for the reporting of all information
related to oil and gas production, distribution, ownership
interest, income and bonafide future use required by the division
of tax and revenue, other agencies or commissions named in this
subsection and county assessors. The form shall be made
available for the reporting of required information by oil and
gas producers and operators in the year two thousand. The
commissioner may receive the reports and shall make the
information available in a timely manner to the other agencies
named herein and to appropriate county assessors. No producer or
operator who timely files the completed form with the
commissioner may be required to report the same information to
the other named agencies or assessors. The commissioner may propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with article
three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code and may promulgate
emergency rules pursuant to the provisions of section fifteen of
the article as necessary to carry out the provisions of this
subsection. Except as herein provided, any penalties provided
for in this chapter or elsewhere in this code relating to failure
to list any property or to file any return or report may be
applied to any owner of property required to make a return
pursuant to this section.
(c) The state tax commissioner shall value all industrial
property in the state at its fair market value within three years
of the approval date of the plan for industrial property required
in subsection (e) of this section. The commissioner shall
thereafter maintain accurate values for all such the property.
The tax commissioner shall forward each industrial property
appraisal to the county assessor of the county in which that
property is located and the assessor shall multiply each such
appraisal by sixty percent and include the resulting assessed
value in the land book or the personal property book, as
appropriate for each tax year. The commissioner shall supply
support data that the assessor might need to evaluate the
appraisal.
(d) Within three years of the approval date of the plan
required for natural resources property required pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, the state tax commissioner shall
determine the fair market value of all natural resources property
in the state. The commissioner shall thereafter maintain
accurate values for all such the property.
(1) In order to qualify for identification as managed
timberland for property tax purposes the owner must annually
certify, in writing to the division of forestry, that the
property meets the definition of managed timberland as set forth
in this article and contracts to manage property according to a
plan that will maintain the property as managed timberland. In
addition, each owner's certification must state that forest
management practices will be conducted in accordance with
approved practices from the publication "Best Management
Practices for Forestry". Property certified as managed
timberland shall be valued according to its use and productive
potential. The tax commissioner shall promulgate rules for
certification as managed timberland.
(2) In the case of all other natural resources property, the
commissioner shall develop an inventory on a county by county
basis of all such the property and may use any resources,
including, but not limited to, geological survey information;
exploratory, drilling, mining and other information supplied by
natural resources property owners; and maps and other information
on file with the state division of environmental protection and office of miners' health, safety and training. Any information
supplied by natural resources owners or any proprietary or
otherwise privileged information supplied by the state division
of environmental protection and office of miner's health, safety
and training shall be kept confidential unless needed to defend
an appraisal challenged by a natural resources owner. Formulas
for natural resources valuation may contain differing variables
based upon known geological or other common factors. The tax
commissioner shall forward each natural resources property
appraisal to the county assessor of the county in which that
property is located and the assessor shall multiply each such
appraisal by sixty percent and include the resulting assessed
value in the land book or the personal property book, as
appropriate, for each tax year. The commissioner shall supply
support data that the assessor might need to explain or defend
the appraisal. The commissioner shall directly defend any
challenged appraisal when the assessed value of the property in
question exceeds two million dollars or an owner challenging an
appraisal holds or controls property situated in the same county
with an assessed value exceeding two million dollars. At least
every five years, the commissioner shall review current
technology for the recovery of natural resources property to
determine if valuation methodologies need to be adjusted to
reflect changes in value which result from development of new recovery technologies.
(e) The tax commissioner shall develop a plan for the
valuation of industrial property and a plan for the valuation of
natural resources property. The plans shall include expected
costs and reimbursements, and shall be submitted to the property
valuation training and procedures commission on or before the
first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, for
its approval on or before the first day of July of such that
year. Such The plan shall be revised, resubmitted to the
commission and approved every three years thereafter.
(f) To perform the valuation duties under this section, the
state tax commissioner has the authority to contract with a
competent property appraisal firm or firms to assist with or to
conduct the valuation process as to any discernible species of
property statewide if the contract and the entity performing such
the contract is specifically included in a plan required by
subsection (e) of this section or otherwise approved by the
commission. If the tax commissioner desires to contract for
valuation services only in one county or a group of counties, the
contract must be approved by the commission.
(g) The county assessor may accept the appraisal provided,
pursuant to this section, by the state tax commissioner:
Provided,
That if the county assessor fails to accept the
appraisal provided by the state tax commissioner, the county assessor shall show just cause to the valuation commission for
the failure to accept such the appraisal and shall further
provide to the valuation commission a plan by which a different
appraisal will be conducted.
(h) The costs of appraising the industrial and natural
resources property within each county, and any costs of defending
same shall be paid by the state: Provided, That the office of
the state attorney general shall provide legal representation on
behalf of the tax commissioner or assessor, at no cost, in the
event the industrial and natural resources appraisal is
challenged in court.
(i) For purposes of revaluing managed timberland as defined
in section two of this article, any increase or decrease in
valuation by the commissioner does not become effective prior to
the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one. The
property owner may request a hearing by the director of the
division of forestry, who may thereafter rescind the
disqualification or allow the property owner a reasonable period
of time in which to qualify the property. A property owner may
appeal a disqualification to the circuit court of the county in
which the property is located.
CHAPTER 22. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES.
ARTICLE 6. OFFICE OF OIL AND GAS; OIL AND GAS WELLS;
ADMINISTRATION; ENFORCEMENT.
§22-6-2. Director -- Powers and duties generally; division
records open to public; inspectors.
(a) The director shall have as his or her duty the
supervision of the execution and enforcement of matters related
to oil and gas set out in this article and in articles eight and
nine of this chapter, and shall cooperate with the commissioner
of the division of tax and revenue to obtain information from oil
and gas producers and operators as provided in subsection (b),
section ten, article one-c, chapter eleven of this code. The
director may not require the reporting of duplicate information
by oil and gas producers or operators.
(b) The director is authorized to enact rules necessary to
effectuate the above stated purposes.
(c) The director shall have full charge of the oil and gas
matters set out in this article and in articles eight and nine
of this chapter. In addition to all other powers and duties
conferred upon him or her, the director shall have the power and
duty to:
(1) Supervise and direct the activities of the office of oil
and gas and see that the purposes set forth in subsections (a)
and (b) of this section are carried out;
(2) Employ a supervising oil and gas inspector and oil and
gas inspectors;
(3) Supervise and direct such the oil and gas inspectors and supervising inspector in the performance of their duties;
(4) Suspend for good cause any oil and gas inspector or
supervising inspector without compensation for a period not
exceeding thirty days in any calendar year;
(5) Prepare report forms to be used by oil and gas inspectors
or the supervising inspector in making their findings, orders and
notices, upon inspections made in accordance with this article
and articles seven, eight, nine and ten of this chapter;
(6) Employ a hearing officer and such clerks, stenographers
and other employees, as may be necessary to carry out his the
duties and the purposes of the office of oil and gas and fix
their compensation;
(7) Hear and determine applications made by owners, well
operators and coal operators for the annulment or revision of
orders made by oil and gas inspectors or the supervising
inspector, and to make inspections, in accordance with the
provisions of this article and articles eight and nine of this
chapter;
(8) Cause a properly indexed permanent and public record to
be kept of all inspections made by the director or by oil and gas
inspectors or the supervising inspector;
(9) Conduct such research and studies as the director shall
deem necessary to aid in protecting the health and safety of
persons employed within or at potential or existing oil or gas production fields within this state, to improve drilling and
production methods and to provide for the more efficient
protection and preservation of oil and gas-bearing rock strata
and property used in connection therewith;
(10) Collect a permit fee of two hundred fifty dollars for
each permit application filed: Provided,
That no permit
application fee shall be required when an application is
submitted solely for the plugging or replugging of a well. All
application fees required hereunder shall be in addition to any
other fees required by the provisions of this article;
(11) Perform all other duties which are expressly imposed
upon the director by the provisions of this chapter;
(12) Perform all duties as the permit issuing authority for
the state in all matters pertaining to the exploration,
development, production, storage and recovery of this state's oil
and gas;
(13) Adopt rules with respect to the issuance, denial,
retention, suspension or revocation of permits, authorizations
and requirements of this chapter, which rules shall assure that
the rules, permits and authorizations issued by the director are
adequate to satisfy the purposes of this article and articles
seven, eight, nine and ten of this chapter particularly with
respect to the consolidation of the various state and federal
programs which place permitting requirements on the exploration, development, production, storage and recovery of this state's oil
and gas: Provided,
That notwithstanding any provisions of this
article and articles seven, eight, nine and ten of this chapter
to the contrary, the environmental quality board shall have the
sole authority pursuant to section three, article three, chapter
twenty-two-b to promulgate rules setting standards of water
quality applicable to waters of the state; and
(14) Perform such acts as may be necessary or appropriate
to secure to this state the benefits of federal legislation
establishing programs relating to the exploration, development,
production, storage and recovery of this state's oil and gas,
which programs are assumable by the state.
(d) The director shall have authority to visit and inspect
any well or well site and any other oil or gas facility in this
state and may call for the assistance of any oil and gas
inspector or inspectors or supervising inspector whenever such
assistance is necessary in the inspection of any such well or
well site or any other oil or gas facility. Similarly, all oil
and gas inspectors and the supervising inspector shall have
authority to visit and inspect any well or well site and any
other oil or gas facility in this state. Any well operator, coal
operator operating coal seams beneath the tract of land, or the
coal seam owner or lessee, if any, if said the owner or lessee is
not yet operating said the coal seams beneath said the
tract of land may request the director to have an immediate inspection
made. The operator or owner of every well or well site or any
other oil or gas facility shall cooperate with the director, all
oil and gas inspectors and the supervising inspector in making
inspections or obtaining information.
(e) Oil and gas inspectors shall devote their full time and
undivided attention to the performance of their duties, and they
shall be responsible for the inspection of all wells or well
sites or other oil or gas facilities in their respective
districts as often as may be required in the performance of their
duties.
(f) All records of the office shall be open to the public.
CHAPTER 22C. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES; BOARDS,
AUTHORITIES, COMMISSIONS AND COMPACTS.
ARTICLE 9. OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION.
§22C-9-4. Oil and gas conservation commissioner and commission;
commission membership; qualifications of members; terms of members; vacancies on commission;
meetings; compensation and expenses; appointment and
qualifications of commissioner; general powers and duties.
(a) The "oil and gas conservation commission" shall be
composed of five members. The director of the division of
environmental protection and the chief of the office of oil and
gas shall be members of the commission ex officio. The remaining three members of the commission shall be appointed by the
governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and
may not be employees of the division of environmental protection.
Of the three members appointed by the governor, one shall be an
independent producer and at least one shall be a public member
not engaged in an activity under the jurisdiction of the public
service commission or the federal energy regulatory commission.
The third appointee shall possess a degree from an accredited
college or university in petroleum engineering or geology and
must be a registered professional engineer with particular
knowledge and experience in the oil and gas industry and shall
serve as commissioner and as chair of the commission.
(b) The members of the commission appointed by the governor
shall be appointed for overlapping terms of six years each,
except that the original appointments shall be for terms of two,
four and six years, respectively. Each member appointed by the
governor shall serve until the members successor has been
appointed and qualified. Members may be appointed by the
governor to serve any number of terms. The members of the
commission appointed by the governor, before performing any duty
hereunder, shall take and subscribe to the oath required by
Section 5, Article IV of the constitution of West Virginia.
Vacancies in the membership appointed by the governor shall be
filled by appointment by the governor for the unexpired term of the member whose office is vacant and such the appointment shall
be made by the governor within sixty days of the occurrence of
such the vacancy. Any member appointed by the governor may be
removed by the governor in case of incompetency, neglect of duty,
gross immorality or malfeasance in office. A commission member's
appointment shall be terminated as a matter of law if that member
fails to attend three consecutive meetings. The governor shall
appoint a replacement within thirty days of the termination.
(c) The commission shall meet at such times and places as
shall be designated by the chair. The chair may call a meeting
of the commission at any time, and shall call a meeting of the
commission upon the written request of two members or upon the
written request of the oil and gas conservation commissioner or
the chief of the office of oil and gas. Notification of each
meeting shall be given in writing to each member by the chair at
least fourteen calendar days in advance of the meeting. Three
members of the commission, at least two of whom are appointed
members, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any
business.
(d) The commission shall pay each member the same
compensation as is paid to members of the Legislature for their
interim duties as recommended by the citizens legislative
compensation commission and authorized by law for each day or
portion thereof engaged in the discharge of official duties and shall reimburse each member for actual and necessary expenses
incurred in the discharge of official duties.
(e) The commission is hereby empowered and it is the
commission's duty to execute and carry out, administer and
enforce the provisions of this article in the manner provided
herein. Subject to the provisions of section three of this
article, the commission has jurisdiction and authority over all
persons and property necessary therefor. The commission is
authorized to make such investigation of investigate records and
facilities as the commission deems proper: Provided, That the
commission shall cooperate with the commissioner of the division
of tax and revenue to obtain information from oil and gas
producers and operators as provided in subsection (b), section
ten, article one-c, chapter eleven of this code. The commission
may not require the reporting of duplicate information by oil and
gas producers or operators.
In the event of a conflict between
the duty to prevent waste and the duty to protect correlative
rights, the commission's duty to prevent waste shall be
paramount.
(f) Without limiting the commission's general authority, the
commission shall have specific authority to:
(1) Regulate the spacing of deep wells;
(2) Make and enforce reasonable rules and orders reasonably
necessary to prevent waste, protect correlative rights, govern the practice and procedure before the commission and otherwise
administer the provisions of this article;
(3) Issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and
subpoenas duces tecum for the production of any books, records,
maps, charts, diagrams and other pertinent documents, and
administer oaths and affirmations to such witnesses, whenever, in
the judgment of the commission, it is necessary to do so for the
effective discharge of the commission's duties under the
provisions of this article; and
(4) Serve as technical advisor regarding oil and gas to the
Legislature, its members and committees, to the chief of office
of oil and gas, to the division of environmental protection and
to any other agency of state government having responsibility
related to the oil and gas industry.
(g) The commission may delegate to the commission staff the
authority to approve or deny an application for new well permits,
to establish drilling units or special field rules if:
(1) The application conforms to the rules of the commission;
and
(2) No request for hearing has been received.
(h) The commission may not delegate its authority to:
(1) Propose legislative rules;
(2) Approve or deny an application for new well permits, to
establish drilling units or special field rules if the conditions set forth in subsection (g) of this section are not met; or
(3) Approve or deny an application for the pooling of
interests within a drilling unit.
(i) Any exception to the field rules or the spacing of wells
which does not conform to the rules of the commission, and any
application for the pooling of interests within a drilling unit,
must be presented to and heard before the commission.
CHAPTER 24. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.
ARTICLE 2. POWERS AND DUTIES OF PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.
§24-2-1b. Additional jurisdiction of commission.
(a) Effective the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-eight, in addition to all other powers and duties
of the commission as defined in this article, the commission
shall establish, prescribe and enforce rates and fees charged
by commercial solid waste facilities, as defined in section two,
article fifteen, chapter twenty-two of this code, that are owned
or under the direct control of persons or entities who are
regulated under section five, article two, chapter twenty-four-a
of this code. The commission shall establish, prescribe and
enforce rules providing for the safe transportation of solid
waste in the state.
(b) The public service commission shall study the
feasibility of incorporating and adopting guidelines for solid
waste collection fees that are based upon the volume of solid waste generated by any person. This report shall be submitted to
the governor and the members of the Legislature on or before the
first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three.
(c) The commission shall cooperate with the commissioner of
the division of tax and revenue to obtain information from oil
and gas producers and operators as provided in subsection (b),
section ten, article one-c, chapter eleven of this code and may
not require the reporting of duplicate information by oil and gas
producers or operators.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to reduce requirements on
oil and gas producers and well operators to report duplicate
information to various agencies and commissions at different
times of the year by requiring the director of the division of
tax and revenue, in cooperation with other agencies, commissions,
and county assessors to design and make available a form for
reporting information, to receive the completed forms, and to
share the information. Producers and well operators are exempt
from duplicate reporting requirements.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.