Senate Bill No. 421

(By Senators Kessler, Bowman, Hunter and Edgell)

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[Introduced February 4, 1999;

referred to the Committee on Energy, Industry and Mining.]

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A BILL to amend article three, 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 thirty-a, relating to blasting requirements; requiring compliance with blasting laws; liability; and civil penalties.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article three, 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 thirty-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION ACT.

§22-3-30a. Blasting requirements; liability; civil penalties.
(a) Blasting of overburden and coal shall be done in accordance with the provisions of the rules pursuant to blasting. The division of environmental protection shall propose, for legislative approval, emergency rules amending existing rules to require preblast surveys to be seven tenths of a mile.
(b) Where inspection by the division of environmental protection establishes that the blasting was not in compliance with subsection (a) of this section and damage resulted as determined from examination of the preblast survey, the following penalties shall be imposed:
(1) For the first offense in any one permit year, the surface-mining operator shall be assessed a penalty of not less than five thousand dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars.
(2) For the second offense in any one permit year, the surface-mining operator shall be assessed a penalty of not less than ten thousand dollars nor more than twenty-five thousand dollars and shall be liable for all resulting damage as determined from the preblast survey within seven tenths of a mile of the surface-mining operation, but such liability can be challenged in court;
(3) For the third offense and any subsequent offense in any one permit year or for the failure to pay any assessment hereinabove set forth within a reasonable time established by the director, the surface-mining operator's permit shall be revoked and the surface-mining operator shall be liable for all resulting damage as determined from the preblast survey within seven tenths of a mile of the surface-mining operation.
(c) Where inspection by the division of environmental protection establishes that the blasting was not in compliance with subsection (a) of this section and no damage resulted the monetary penalties and revocation, as set out in subsection (b), apply.
(d) Where inspection by the division of environmental protection establishes that the blasting was done within five hundred feet of any occupied dwelling, public building, school, church, community or institutional building, public park or cemetery the monetary penalties and revocation, as set out in subsection (b), apply.
(e) All penalties and liabilities as set forth in this section shall be assessed by the director, collected by the director and deposited with the treasurer of the state of West Virginia, to the credit of the operating permit fees fund.
(f) The director shall propose rules for legislative approval pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code which shall provide for a warning of impending blasting to the owners, residents or other persons who may be present on property within seven tenths of a mile to the blasting area, and establish criteria for the inspectors and director to follow when assessing penalties and liability.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish blasting requirements and penalties and liability for noncompliance.

Section thirty-a 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.