H. B. 4079


(By Delegate Wright (By Request))
[Introduced January 18, 2000; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]




A BILL to amend and reenact article one-b, chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to regulation of commercial timber harvesting operations including sediment control; short title and legislative purpose of article; definitions of certain terms; development by the division of natural resources of a sediment control program for commercial timber harvesting operations including adoption of best management practices; licensing; requiring submission to the division of forestry of registration forms prior to conducting commercial timber harvesting activities; procedure for approval of such registration forms by the division of forestry; requiring registration fees; notice; performance standards; bonds; release of bonds; training and certification of timber operators; inspections; review; enforcement of the article; and powers and duties of other law officers.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article one-b, chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1B. SEDIMENT CONTROL DURING COMMERCIAL TIMBER HARVESTING OPERATIONS.
§19-1B-1. Short title.
This article shall be known and cited as the "Logging Sediment Control Act."
§19-1B-2. Legislative findings, intent and purpose of article.
The Legislature hereby finds that the commercial harvesting of timber, in particular the construction of haul and skid roads and landings, is a significant contributor to sedimentation and further finds that sedimentation is a serious source of water pollution.
Further, the Legislature finds that unregulated logging operations may result in disturbances of surface land areas that burden and adversely affect commerce, public welfare and safety by destroying or diminishing the utility of land for commercial, industrial, residential, recreational, agricultural and forestry purposes; by causing erosion and landslides; by contributing to floods; by polluting the water and river and stream beds; by destroying fish, aquatic life and wildlife habitats; by impairing natural beauty; by damaging the property of citizens; by creating hazards dangerous to life and property; and by degrading the quality of life in local communities, all where proper logging is not practiced.
It is the policy of this state to strengthen and extend the present sediment control activities of this state and to regulate the commercial harvesting of timber by implementing, through the division of natural resources, a sediment control program to reduce the resulting sedimentation impacts from timbering to the waters of the state.
§19-1B-3. Definitions.
(a) "Best management practices" means sediment control measures, structural or nonstructural, used singly or in combination, to reduce soil runoff from land disturbances associated with haul and skid road construction and landings related to commercial timber harvesting.
(b) "Chief" means the chief of the section of water resources of the division of natural resources.
(c) "Commercial timber harvesting" means severing standing trees as a raw material for further manufacturing processes. Commercial timber harvesting does not include the severing of evergreens grown for and severed for the traditional Christmas holiday season, nor the severing of trees for maintaining existing rights-of-way for public utilities.
(d) "District office" means the various stations of the division of forestry located throughout this state designated as district offices by the division of forestry.
(e) "Division of natural resources" means the division of natural resources of the department of commerce, labor and environmental resources.
(f) "Division of forestry" means the division of forestry of the department of commerce, labor and environmental resources.
(g) "Equipment trail" means a road constructed or improved by the logger for the purpose of transporting equipment within a commercial timber harvesting operation.
(h) "Haul road" means a road constructed or improved by the logger for the purpose of transporting logs harvested during a commercial timber harvesting operation from a landing site or sites to its junction with a county, state or other public road.
(i) "Landing" means a collection point on the site of a commercial timber harvesting operation where logs are collected prior to transport for further processing.
(j) "Logger" means any person responsible for, and in direct control of, managing and supervising the actual harvest of trees in a commercial timber harvesting operation.
(k) "Log road workshop" means an organized session conducted by the division of forestry to instruct loggers in the proper techniques of planning, constructing and reclaiming road and landing systems for commercial timber harvesting operations.
(l) "Registration" means the form, or process, as indicated by the context in which the term is used, by which a logger provides certain information on the location of a commercial timber harvesting operation and the best management practices to be used during that operation.
(m) "Skip road" means a road constructed, used or improved by the logger to transport logs from the harvesting site to a landing.
(n) "Sediment" means solid particulate matter, usually soil, deposited by wind, rainfall or snowmelt into the waters.
(o) "Service forester" means an employee of the division of forestry.
(p) "Waters" means any and all waters on or beneath the surface of the ground, whether percolating, standing, diffused or flowing, wholly or partially within this state, or bordering this state and within its jurisdiction, and shall include, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, natural or artificial lakes, rivers, perennial or intermittent streams, creeks, branches, brooks, ponds (except farm ponds, industrial settling basins and ponds and water treatment facilities), impounding reservoirs, springs, wells, watercourses and wetlands.
§19-1B-4. Development of sediment control program for commercial timber harvesting operations.
(a) The director of the division of natural resources shall implement a sediment control program for commercial timber harvesting based upon certain existing sediment control provisions which are currently practiced on a voluntary basis, as regards commercial timber harvesting, in place under the joint efforts of the division of natural resources and the division of forestry, and made available to persons engaged in commercial timber harvesting in the form of a "Best Management Practices Manual." Such sediment control program shall be implemented through legislative rules promulgated by the director of the division of natural resources in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The Legislature expressly finds that legislative rules are the proper subject of emergency legislative rules which may be promulgated in accordance with the provisions of section fifteen, article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(b) The program shall provide for the adoption of best management practices to be used by the logger to reduce the impact of sediment to the state's waters during and after commercial timber harvesting operations. The best management practices shall be a guide for use by the logger in determining practices appropriate and adequate for reducing sedimentation during a commercial timber harvesting operation. The best management practices shall be reviewed and revised, as necessary, by the division of forestry, at least every five years to ensure that those practices reflect and incorporate current technologies.
(c) The program shall provide for technical assistance to the logger through the division of forestry's service foresters in determining appropriate and adequate best management practices for the commercial timber harvesting operation. The assistance shall be individually or through the establishment of regular workshops which shall instruct the logger in the proper use, including installation, repair and maintenance, of the best management practices.
§19-1B-5. License.
(a) No logger shall engage in commercial timber harvesting after the first day of July, two thousand, unless a license has been submitted to and approved by the division of forestry.
(b) The application form for a license shall be designed and provided by the director of the division of forestry. A fee of fifty dollars shall be submitted with each application and with each annual renewal of the license.
§19-1B-6. Registration; approval required.
(a) In addition to any other requirement of this article, no person may conduct timbering operations and no person may sever trees for sale unless the person notifies the director of the specific location on which the timbering operations or harvesting of timber are to be conducted, and obtain approval from the director of the division of forestry prior to the commencement of the timbering operation. A fee of ten dollars shall be submitted with each registration.
(b) The registration form submitted to the division of forestry shall include:
(1) Name, address and telephone number of the logger;
(2) Location of the commercial timber harvesting operation by county, topographic map and other pertinent information as may be required;
(3) Name and address of landowner;
(4) Name and address of each adjacent landowner;
(5) Sketch map of boundary of logging operation, including delineation of main haul roads, landings and stream crossings;
(6) Description of sediment control practices to be used by the logger during the commercial timber harvesting operation;
(7) Estimated starting and completion dates;
(8) Signature of responsible party;
(9) The name or names of the person or persons who will be supervising the timbering operations of the site of the operation and the certification number of the logger, obtained in compliance with this article: Provided, That no certification number shall be required until two years after the effective date of this article;
(10) The applicant's West Virginia business registration number or a copy of the current West Virginia business registration certificate;
(11) Prior to the issuance of any registration approval, the director of the division of forestry shall ascertain from the commissioner of the division of labor whether the applicant is in compliance with section fourteen, article five, chapter twenty-one of this code. Upon issuance of the approval, the director of the division of forestry shall forward a copy to the commissioner of the division of labor, who shall assure continued compliance under such permit;
(12) Prior to the issuance of any registration approval, the director of the division of forestry shall ascertain from the commissioner of the bureau of employment programs whether the applicant is in compliance with the provisions of section five, article two, chapter twenty-three of this code with regard to any required subscription to the workers' compensation fund, the payment of premiums to the fund, the timely filing of payroll reports and the maintenance of an adequate premium deposit. If the applicant is delinquent or defaulted, or has been terminated, then the permit shall not be issued until the applicant returns to compliance or is restored by the workers' compensation division under a reinstatement agreement: Provided, That in all inquiries the commissioner of the bureau of employment programs shall make response within fifteen calendar days, otherwise failure to respond timely shall be considered to indicate the applicant is in compliance and such failure will not be used to preclude issuance of the approval.
§19-1B-7. Certification of persons supervising timbering operations, timbering operations to be supervised, promulgation of rules.

(a) After the first day of July, two thousand, any individual supervising any timbering operation must be certified pursuant to this article.
(b) The director of the division of forestry is responsible for the development of standards and criteria for establishment of a regularly scheduled program of education, training and examination that all persons must successfully complete in order to be certified to supervise any timbering operation. The program for certified loggers shall provide, at a minimum, for education and training in the safe conduct of timbering operations, in first aid procedures, and in the use of best management practices to prevent, insofar as possible, soil erosion on timbering operations. The goals of this program will be to assure that timbering operations are conducted in accordance with applicable state and federal safety regulations in a manner that is safest for the individuals conducting the operations and that they are performed in an environmentally sound manner.
(c) The director of the division of forestry shall provide for such programs by using the resources of the division, other appropriate state agencies, educational systems, and other qualified persons. Each inspector under the jurisdiction of the chief shall attend a certification program free of charge and complete the certification requirements of this section.
(d) The director of the division of forestry shall promulgate legislative rules in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, which provide the procedure by which certification pursuant to this article may be obtained and shall require the payment of an application fee and an annual renewal fee of fifty dollars.
(e) Upon a person's successful completion of the certification requirements, the director of the division of forestry shall provide that person with proof of the completion by issuing a numbered certificate and a wallet-sized card to that person. The division of forestry shall maintain a record of each certificate issued and the person to whom it was issued.
(f) A certification granted pursuant to this section is renewable only for two succeeding years. For the third renewal and every third renewal thereafter, the licensee shall first attend a program designed by the director of forestry to update the training.
(g) After the first day of July, two thousand, every timbering operation must have at least one person certified pursuant to this section supervising the operation at any time the timbering operation is being conducted and all timbering operators shall be guided by the West Virginia forest practice standards and the West Virginia silvicultural best management practices in selecting practices appropriate and adequate for reducing sediment movement during a timber operation.
(h) The director of the division of forestry services shall, at no more than three-year intervals after the effective date of this article, convene a committee to review the best management practices so as to ensure that they reflect and incorporate the most current technologies. The committee shall, at a minimum, include a person doing research in the field of silvicultural best management practices, a person doing research in the field of silviculture, two loggers certified under this article, a representative of the office of water resources of the division of environmental protection, and a representative of an environmentally active organization. The director of the division of forestry shall chair the committee and may adjust the then current best management practices according to the suggestions of the committee in time for the next certification cycle.
§19-1B-8. Registration form approval required.
(a) The registration form shall be reviewed by the division of forestry which shall determine if the registration application is acceptable and shall:
(1) Approve the registration;
(2) Disapprove the registration; and
(3) Conditionally approve the registration with such conditions becoming part of the approved registration.
(b) The logger shall be notified of the results of the review within five working days after the date the registration form is received by the division of forestry.
(c) Every registration form submitted shall contain a statement acknowledging the chief's right to inspect the commercial timber harvesting operation by any enforcement officer authorized to enforce the provisions of this article under sections twenty and twenty-one of this article.
(d) Subsequent to approval, the division of forestry shall file the approved registration in the district office for the area where the commercial timber harvesting operation is located and provide a copy of the registration form to the water resources section of the division of natural resources and to the tax division of the department of tax and revenue.
(e) The registration form and all supporting documentation, if any, shall be public records. Upon the request of any member of the public, the division of forestry shall immediately make any approved registration form available for review by the public in the district office for the area where the commercial timber harvesting operation is located.
(f) At each site at which a commercial timber harvesting operation is to be conducted, and after registration is approved, the logger shall post a notice, in form and content as may be required by the division of forestry, which shall include, but not be limited to, the name of the logger, the logger's address and telephone number, and the location and telephone number of the district office for the area in which the site is located. The notice shall be posted at the entrance to the site, in a manner as to be clearly visible to passersby.
§19-1B-9. Performance standards.
No registration shall be approved unless the registration provides that the commercial timber harvesting operation will, at a minimum, meet the following standards:
(a) Except for stream crossings, no haul road, skid road, landing, or equipment trail shall be located within one hundred feet of any waters: Provided, That where site characteristics require placement within that limit, the logger shall develop a site-specific plan for the commercial timber harvesting operation, establishing appropriate practices to be used to minimize the impact to such waters: Provided, however, That the plan shall be approved by the director prior to locating the road, landing or trail within the limit.
(b) Haul roads shall have a slope no greater than ten percent, and skid roads shall have a slope no greater than fifteen percent: Provided, That where site characteristics require slopes in excess of these limits, the logger shall develop a site-specific plan for the commercial timber harvesting operation, establishing appropriate practices to be used to minimize any adverse effects which may result from exceeding such limits: Provided, however, That the plan shall be approved by the director of the division of forestry prior to constructing such haul road or skid road.
(c) Culverts, bridges or other drainage structures shall be used to cross intermittent or perennial streams. All stream crossings shall be perpendicular to the stream. All culvert openings shall be adequate to carry a ten-year, twenty-four hour rainfall event from the contributing watershed. Culverts shall extend a minimum of ten feet on each side of the road crossing. Sediment control devices shall be placed on each corner of the stream crossing.
(d) All slash, tree tops, and butt ends shall be removed from any waters or any location in close proximity to any waters that they might reasonably be expected to be washed into the waters.
(e) Water bars and ditches shall be installed on all haul roads, skid roads and equipment trails immediately upon completion of the entire commercial timber harvesting operation or upon the completion of any portion of the commercial timber harvesting operation for which the road or trail is intended to be used.
(f) A permanent vegetative cover shall be established on all landings, skid roads, haul roads and equipment trails as soon as possible after completion of use of those areas as part of a commercial timber harvesting operation. A temporary vegetative cover or appropriate mulch shall be used until a permanent vegetative cover can be established.
(g) Best management practices appropriate to the commercial timber harvesting operation shall be used.
§19-1B-10. Bonds; amount and method of bonding; bonding requirements; period of bond liability.

(a) After a registration application has been approved pursuant to this article, but before a registration approval has been issued, each operator shall furnish a penal bond, on a form to be prescribed and furnished by the director, payable to the state of West Virginia and conditioned upon the operator faithfully performing all of the requirements of this article and of the registration approval. The penal amount of the bond shall be five hundred dollars for each acre or fraction thereof. The bond shall cover the entire registration area.
(b) The period of liability for bond coverage begins with issuance of a registration approval and continues for the full term of the registration approval plus any additional period necessary to achieve compliance with the requirements in the reclamation plan required for the release of the bond in section eleven of this article.
(c) The form of the bond shall be approved by the director of the division of forestry and may include, at the option of the operator, surety bonding, collateral bonding (including cash and securities), establishment of an escrow account, self-bonding or a combination of these methods. If collateral bonding is used, the operator may elect to deposit cash, or collateral securities or certificates as follows: Bonds of the United States or its possessions, of the federal land bank, or of the homeowners' loan corporation; full faith and credit general obligation bonds of the state of West Virginia, or other states, and of any county, district or municipality of the state of West Virginia or other states; or certificates of deposit in a bank in this state, which certificates shall be in favor of the division of forestry. The cash deposit or market value of the securities or certificates shall be equal to or greater than the penal sum of the bond. The director of the division of forestry shall, upon receipt of any deposit of cash, securities or certificates, promptly place the same with the treasurer of the state of West Virginia whose duty it is to receive and hold the same in the name of the state in trust for the purpose for which the deposit is made when the permit is issued. The operator making the deposit is entitled from time to time to receive from the state treasurer, upon the written approval of the director of the division of forestry, the whole or any portion of any cash, securities or certificates so deposited, upon depositing with him or her in lieu thereof, cash or other securities or certificates of the classes herein specified having value equal to or greater than the sum of the bond.
(d) All bond releases shall be accomplished in accordance with the provisions of section eleven of this article.
§19-1B-11. Release of bond or deposits; application; notice; duties of director.

(a) The registrant may file a request with the director of the division of forestry for the release of a bond or deposit: Provided, That such request shall be accompanied by a reclamation plan.
(b) Upon receipt of the application for bond release, the director of the division of forestry, within thirty days, taking into consideration existing weather conditions, shall conduct an inspection and evaluation of the reclamation work involved.
(c) If the director of the division of forestry is satisfied that reclamation covered by the bond or deposit or portion thereof has been accomplished as required by this article, he or she may release said bond or deposit, in whole or in part, according to the following schedule:
(1) When the operator completes the regrading and drainage control of a bonded area in accordance with the performance standards set forth in section nine hereof, the release of sixty percent of the bond or collateral for the applicable bonded area;
(2) One year after the last augmented seeding, fertilizing, irrigation, drainage or other work to ensure compliance with section nine of this article, the release of an additional twenty-five percent of the bond or collateral for the applicable bonded area: Provided, That a minimum bond of five thousand dollars shall be retained after the release provided for in this subdivision; and
(3) When the operator has completed successfully all timbering and satisfied all performance standards, he or she is eligible for the release of the remaining portion of the bond;
(4) If the director disapproves the application for release of the bond or portion thereof, the director shall notify the operator, in writing, stating the reasons for disapproval and recommending corrective actions necessary to secure said release and notifying the operator of the right to a hearing.
§19-1B-12. Training and certification.
(a) After the first day of July, two thousand, no logger may engage in commercial timber harvesting operations in the state of West Virginia unless that logger has received training in sediment control and use of best management practices and has participated in and successfully completed a log road workshop sponsored by the division of forestry.
(b) The division of forestry shall establish a regular schedule of log road workshops at convenient locations throughout the state to provide training and instruction leading to certification. The log road workshops shall provide specific training in planning log road and landing layout, proper road construction, proper installation and maintenance of best management practices, proper reclamation techniques, and any other information pertinent to conducting commercial timber harvesting operations in compliance with the provisions of this article.
(c) Upon any person's successful completion of the log road workshop, the division of forestry shall provide that person with proof of the completion by issuing a numbered certificate to that person. The division of forestry shall maintain a record of each certificate issued and the person to whom it was issued.
§19-1B-13. Inspections.
(a) The chief may perform inspections of commercial timber harvesting operations to ensure compliance with this article and the approved registration and to determine whether the best management practices in the registration are effective in reducing sedimentation resulting from the commercial timber harvesting operation. The chief may perform inspections to the same extent as provided in chapter twenty, article five-a of the code of West Virginia. The chief shall take enforcement action, including imposition of appropriate civil administrative penalties, for any violation of this article or any noncompliance with the approved registration.
(b) If the director of the division of natural resources determines that the measures described in a previously approved registration form are not effectively controlling sediment from a commercial timber harvesting operation, the director of the division of natural resources shall require that the logger submit a modified registration form describing additional measures to control sediment. If the commercial timber harvesting operation is completed, and the director of the division of natural resources determines that the logger did not properly perform the measures described in the registration form, or that measures taken in compliance with the approved registration form were not adequate to control sediment from the commercial timber harvesting operation, the director of the division of natural resources may require the logger to reenter the site and institute appropriate measures to control sediment.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, the chief, any inspector and any authorized law-enforcement officer pursuant to sections twenty and twenty-one of this article, has the authority to issue a cessation order for any portion of a timbering operation when the person determines that any condition or practice exists, or that any permittee is in violation of any requirements of this article or any permit condition required by this article, which condition, practice or violation also creates an imminent danger to the health or safety of the public, or is causing or can reasonably be expected to cause significant, imminent environmental harm to land, air or water resources. The cessation order takes effect immediately. Operators who believe they are aggrieved by a cessation order may immediately appeal to the director of the division of natural resources, setting forth reasons why the operation should not be halted. The director of the division of natural resources forthwith shall determine when any of the operation or portion thereof may be resumed.
(d) The cessation order remains in effect until the director of the division of natural resources determines that the condition, practice or violation has been abated, or until modified, vacated or released by the director of the division of natural resources. Any cessation order issued pursuant to this section or any other provision of this article may be released by the person issuing the order or any inspector. An inspector shall be readily available to terminate a cessation order upon abatement of the violation.
§19-1B-14. Appeal and judicial review; citizen suits.
(a) Any person having an interest which is or may be adversely affected, or who is aggrieved by an order of the director of the division of forestry, or by the director of the division of natural resources, or by the chief, or by the approval or denial of a registration, may appeal to the water resources board in the same manner as appeals are taken under the water pollution control act, section fifteen, article five-a, chapter twenty of the code.
(b) Any party, having an interest which is or may be adversely affected, or who is aggrieved by an order of the director of the division of forestry, or by the director of the division of natural resources, or by the chief, or by the approval or denial of a registration, may appeal to the water resources board in the same manner as appeals are taken under the water pollution control act, section fifteen, article five-a, chapter twenty of the code.
(c) Any party, the director of the division of forestry, the director of the division of natural resources, or the chief adversely affected by an order made and entered by the water resources board may obtain judicial review thereof in the same manner as provided for under section sixteen, article five-a of the water pollution control act.
(d) Nothing in this section restricts any right which any person or class of persons may have under any statute or common law to seek enforcement of any of the provisions of this article and the rules thereunder or to seek any other relief.
(e) Any person or property who is injured through the violation by any operator of any rule, order or registration approval issued pursuant to this article may bring an action for damages, including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees, in any court of competent jurisdiction. Nothing in this subsection affects the rights established by or limits imposed under state workers' compensation laws.
§19-1B-15. Enforcement.
 (a) Persons violating this article shall be subject to the civil penalties and injunctive relief provided for in section seventeen, article five-a, chapter twenty of the code; and the criminal penalties provided for under section nineteen, article five-a, chapter twenty of the code. In seeking injunctive relief for any violation of this article for a logger's registration, it is not necessary for the chief to allege or prove, at any stage of the proceeding, that irreparable harm will occur if injunctive relief is not granted.
(b) Within six months of the effective date of this article, the director of the division of natural resources shall propose legislative rules in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, establishing civil administrative penalties, enforceable by the chief, to be used as an alternative enforcement mechanism to those civil penalties described in subsection (a) of this section: Provided, That proposed legislative rules which would establish civil administrative penalties shall not be promulgated as emergency legislative rules at any time prior to the time that the Legislature acts upon proposed legislative rules submitted to the Legislature during the regular session of the Legislature in the year two thousand. Such legislative rules shall include a provision which makes the failure to obtain registration approval before beginning a commercial timber harvesting operation subject to an administrative penalty of two thousand five hundred dollars, in addition to any other penalties, civil or criminal, which may be provided for by this article.
§19-1B-16. Timbering operations enforcement fund.

There is created in the state treasury a special revolving fund designated the "Timbering Operations Enforcement Fund." All fees collected pursuant to this article shall be deposited into the fund: Provided, That amounts deposited in the fund which are found from time to time to exceed the amounts necessary to effectuate the purposes of this article may be redesignated for other purposes by appropriation by the Legislature.
This fund shall be appropriated to the division of forestry and the division of natural resources to be used for the administration and enforcement of the provisions of this article and for no other purpose.
§19-1B-17. Right of entry.

The director of the division of forestry, the director of the division of natural resources, the chief, or any authorized enforcement officer pursuant to sections twenty and twenty-one of this article, has the right to enter upon any property for the purpose of making inspections to ensure that the provisions of this article and any rules promulgated pursuant thereto are being complied with.
§19-1B-18. Compliance orders, suspension of timbering operating license.

(a) Upon a finding by the chief that failure to use a particular best management practice is causing or contributing, or has the potential to cause or contribute, to soil erosion or water pollution, the chief shall notify the director of the division of natural resources of the location of the site, the problem associated with the site, and any suggested corrective action.
(b) Upon notification of the chief or upon a finding by the director of the division of natural resources that failure to use a particular best management practice is causing or contributing, or has the potential to cause or contribute, to soil erosion or water pollution, the director of the division of natural resources shall issue a written compliance order requiring the person conducting the timber operation to take corrective action. The order shall mandate compliance within a reasonable and practical time, not to exceed ten days.
(c) In any circumstance where observed damage or circumstances on a logging operation, in the opinion of the director, are sufficient to endanger life or result in uncorrectable soil erosion or water pollution, or if the operator is not licensed pursuant to this article, or if a certified logger is not supervising the operation, the director of the division of natural resources shall order the immediate suspension of the timber operation and the operation shall remain suspended until the corrective action mandated in the compliance order suspending the operation is instituted. The director of the division of natural resources shall not issue an order canceling the suspension order until compliance is satisfactory or until overruled on appeal. Failure to comply with any compliance order is a violation of this article.
(d) The director of the division of natural resources may suspend the license of any person conducting a timbering operation or the certification of any certified logger supervising a timbering operation, for no less than thirty nor more than ninety days, if the person is found in violation of this article or article eleven, chapter twenty-two of this code, for a second time within any two-year period: Provided, That one or more violations for the same occurrence is only one violation for purposes of this subsection.
(e) The director of the division of natural resources may revoke the license of any person conducting timbering operations or the certification of any certified logger if the person is found in violation of this article or article eleven, chapter twenty-two of this code, for a third time within any two-year period: Provided, That one or more violations for the same occurrence is only one violation for purposes of this subsection. A revoked license is not subject to reissue during the licensing period for which it was issued.
(f) The director of the division of natural resources shall notify the chief of any order issued or any suspension or revocation of a license pursuant to this section within three days of the date of the action by the director of the division of natural resources.
§19-1B-19. Effect on other laws.

Nothing in this article relieves any person conducting timbering operations from complying with any other provision of this code.
§19-1B-20. Powers and duties of conservation officers.
Conservation officers, as selected in accordance with the provisions of article seven, chapter twenty of this code are hereby authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
Conservation officers and all other persons authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter shall be under the supervision and direction of the director of the division of natural resources in the performance of their duties as herein provided. The authority, powers and duties of the conservation officers shall be statewide and they shall have authority to:
(1) Arrest on sight, without warrant or other court process, any person or persons committing a criminal offense in violation of any of the laws of this state, in the presence of such officer, but no arrest shall be made where any form of administrative procedure is prescribed by this chapter for the enforcement of any of the particular provisions contained herein;
(2) Carry such arms and weapons as may be prescribed by the director of the division of natural resources in the course and performance of their duties, but no license or other authorization shall be required of such officers for this privilege;
(3) Search and examine, in the manner provided by law, any boat, vehicle, automobile, conveyance or any other place of concealment, whenever they have reason to believe that they would thereby secure or discover evidence of the violation of any provisions of this chapter;
(4) Execute and serve any search warrant, notice or any process of law issued under the authority of this chapter or any law relating to timbering, forests and all other natural resources, by a magistrate or any court having jurisdiction thereof, in the same manner, with the same authority, and with the same legal effect, as any sheriff can serve or execute such warrant, notice or process;
(5) Summon aid in making arrests or seizures or in executing any warrants, notices or processes, and they shall have the same rights and powers as sheriffs have in their respective counties in so doing;
(6) Enter private lands or waters within the state while engaged in the performance of their official duties hereunder;
(7) Arrest on sight, without warrant or other court process, subject to the limitations set forth in subdivision (1) of this section, any person or persons committing a criminal offense in violation of any law of this state in the presence of any such officer on any state-owned lands and waters and lands and waters under lease by the division of natural resources and all national forest lands, waters and parks, and U.S. Corps of Army Engineers' properties within the boundaries of the state of West Virginia, and, in addition to any authority conferred in the other subdivisions of this section, execute all warrants of arrest on such state and national lands, waters and parks, and U.S. Corps of Army Engineers' properties, consistent with the provisions of article one, chapter sixty-two of this code;
(8) Arrest any person who enters upon the land or premises of another without written permission from the owner of the land or premises in order to cut, damage, or carry away, or cause to be cut, damaged, or carried away any timber, trees, logs, posts, fruit, nuts, growing plants or products of any growing plant. Any person convicted of the foregoing shall be liable to the owner in the amount of three times the value of the timber, trees, logs, posts, fruit, nuts, growing plants or products of any growing plant, which shall be in addition to and notwithstanding any other penalties by law provided by section thirteen, article three, chapter sixty-one of this code;
(9) Impose civil administrative penalties or issue a cessation order in accordance with this article; and
(10) Do all things necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this chapter.
§19-1B-21. Powers and duties of other law officers.
The sheriffs of the several counties of the state, police officers of any city and members of state police shall be vested, within their respective jurisdictions, with all of the powers and authority of conservation officers without requirement of any additional oath or bond. Immediately upon making any arrest or executing any process under provisions of this chapter, each such officer shall report thereon to the director of the division of natural resources.
§19-1B-22. Civil penalties.

The director of the division of natural resources may seek and recover a civil penalty for a violation of any provision of this article, any rule, regulation or order of the director of the division of natural resources in the circuit court of the county in which the violation occurred, in an amount not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars for the first offense and not exceeding five thousand dollars for any subsequent offense.
Any person aggrieved by a decision of the circuit court pursuant to this section may appeal the circuit court order to the supreme court of appeals.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to rewrite this article relating the regulation of commercial timber harvesting operations, including sediment control.

This article has been completely rewritten; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.