H. B. 4425

(By Delegates Kuhn, Perdue, Paxton, Hrutkay,
Dempsey, Caputo and Butcher)
[Introduced February 6, 2002; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]

A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article three-a, chapter twenty-two of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the office of explosives and blasting and specifying certain certification and refresher training requirements for blasters to be proposed in rules.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article three-a, 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 3A. OFFICE OF EXPLOSIVES AND BLASTING.
§22-3A-4.

Legislative rules on surface-mining blasting;
disciplinary procedures for certified blasters.
(a) The office of explosives and blasting shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, for the purposes of implementing this article. The rules shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) A procedure for the review, modification and approval, prior to the issuance of any permit, of any blasting plan required to be submitted with any application for a permit to be issued by the director pursuant to article three of this chapter, which sets forth procedures for the inspection and monitoring of blasting operations for compliance with blasting laws and rules, and for the review and modification of the blasting plan of any operator against whom an enforcement action is taken by the division of environmental protection;
(2) Specific minimum requirements for pre-blast surveys, as set forth in section thirteen-a, article three of this chapter;
(3) A procedure for review of pre-blast surveys required to be submitted under section thirteen-a, article three of this chapter;
(4) A procedure for the use of seismographs for production blasting which shall be made part of the blasting log;
(5) A procedure to warn of impending blasting to the owners or occupants adjoining the blasting area;
(6) A procedure to limit the type of explosives and detonating equipment, the size, the timing and frequency of blasts based upon the physical conditions of the site so as to: (A) Prevent injury to persons; (B) prevent damage to public and private property outside the permit area; (C) prevent adverse impacts on any underground mine; (D) prevent change in the course, channel or availability of ground or surface water outside the permit area; and (E) reduce dust outside the permit area;
(7) Provisions for requiring mining operators to publish the planned blasting schedule in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality of the mining operation; and
(8) Provisions for requiring mining operators to provide adequate advance written notice of the proposed blasting schedule to local governments, owners and occupants living within the distances prescribed in subsection (a), section thirteen-a, article three of this chapter.
(b) The office of explosives and blasting shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The rules shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) Provisions for establishing a process for the education, training, examination and certification of blasters working on surface-mining operations which require, at a minimum, satisfactory completion of forty hours of training prior to certification and completion of a total of eight hours of refresher training for each year that a blaster's certification is in effect; and
(2) Provisions for establishing disciplinary procedures for all certified blasters responsible for blasting on surface-mining operations conducted within this state in violation of any law or rule promulgated by the division of environmental protection to regulate blasting.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.