Senate Bill No. 33
(By Senator Anderson)
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[Introduced January 12, 2000; referred to the Committee
on Energy, Industry and Mining.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section three hundred nine, article
two-a, chapter twenty-two-a of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating
to the establishment of initial rules to address the
operation of diesel equipment in underground coal mines.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three hundred nine, article two-a, chapter
twenty-two-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 2A. USE OF DIESEL-POWERED EQUIPMENT IN UNDERGROUND COAL
MINES.
§22A-2A-309. Failure to promulgate initial rules; arbitration.
(a) Since the commission failed to finally adopt its initial
rules before the first day of April, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-eight, and the arbitration process established under this
section failed to materialize and furthermore, failed to meet the
statutory deadline of the fifth day of January, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-eight, the West Virginia diesel equipment
commission pursuant to section three hundred one, article two-a,
chapter twenty-two-a of the code of West Virginia, shall adopt,
as its initial rules, the federal standards relating to equipment
design, approval, operation, maintenance, safety land emission
control provisions as promulgated by the United States department
of labor, mine safety and health administration.
(b) For purposes of this section the term "federal standards
relating to equipment design, approval, operation, maintenance,
safety and emission control provisions as promulgated by the
"United States department of labor, mine safety and health
administration" means the final rules governing the approval,
exhaust gas monitoring, and safety requirements for the use of
diesel-powered equipment in underground coal mines as promulgated
by the United States department of labor, mine safety and health administration on the twenty-fifth day of October, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-six, and the final rules promulgated by the
United States department of labor, mine safety and health
administration governing diesel particulate matter for
underground coal mines originally proposed on the ninth day of
April, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight.
(c) Within twenty-eight days following the promulgation of
federal standards relating to the equipment design, approval,
operation, maintenance, safety and emission control provisions as
promulgated by the United States department of labor, mine safety
and health administration, the commission shall adopt the initial
rules conforming the initial rules to the federal standards
relating to the equipment design, approval, operation,
maintenance, safety and emission control provisions as
promulgated by the United States department of labor, mine safety
and health administration. The commission shall file a notice of
the final adoption in the state register and with the legislative
rule-making review committee. The initial rules are thereby
promulgated and have the effect of law without further action by
the commission or the Legislature. The initial rules shall be
published in the code of state rules and continue in effect until modified or superseded in accordance with the provisions of this
article, or by act of the Legislature.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to compel the West
Virginia Diesel Commission to adopt the federal standards for the
operation, approval safety and exhaust gases of Diesel Equipment.
This section has been completely rewritten; therefore,
strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.