COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 580
(By Senator Unger)
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[Originating in the Committee on Health and Human Resources;
reported February 21, 2003.]
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A BILL to amend article one, chapter sixteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated section nine-c,
relating to inspections of individual water supply systems and
individual wastewater systems; defining terms; providing for
certification of inspectors; and requiring the department of
health and human resources to propose legislative rules
related to inspections and certifications.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article one, chapter sixteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section nine-c,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. STATE PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM.
§16-1-9c. Inspections of individual water supplies and wastewater systems; definition of terms; certification of
inspectors; administrative rules for certification.
(a) Inspections of individual water supply systems or
individual wastewater systems shall only be performed by an
authorized representative of the bureau for public health, an
authorized representative of a local board of health or an
inspector certified by the commissioner of the bureau of public
health.
(b) As used in this section:
(1) "Individual water supply system" means any method or
system of water supply, for a single unit of property, for which a
permit is required pursuant to section nine of this article and
which is not part of a public water system as defined in section
nine-a of this article; and
(2) "Individual wastewater system" means any method or system
of drainage, discharge or disposal of wastewater, sewage or
excreta, including cesspools, septic systems and mechanical sewage
systems, for which a permit is required pursuant to section nine of
this article and which is not integrated into a public sanitary or
sewer system.
(c) The commissioner of the bureau for public health shall
administer and oversee the certification of inspectors of
individual water supply and individual wastewater systems and shall
promote and provide for reasonable uniformity in the inspection and
evaluation of individual water supply and wastewater systems by
private inspectors.
(d)
On or before the first day of July, two thousand three,
the secretary shall prepare and propose
rules for legislative
approval, in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
establishing the criteria to be
used in evaluating and inspecting an individual water supply system
or an individual wastewater system.
(e)
On or before the first day of July, two thousand three,
the secretary shall prepare and propose
rules for legislative
approval, in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
establishing the standards for
certification of inspectors, which shall include, at a minimum, the
following:
(1) Minimum educational requirements
for applicants for
certifications;
(2) Provisions for testing and evaluating the knowledge and
competence of each applicant;
(3) The duration of a certification and requirements for
recertification on a regular basis;
(4) Continuing education requirements to maintain or renew a
certification;
(5) Reasonable fees for application, testing and
recertification; and
(6) Administrative procedures and grounds for the suspension
or revocation of certifications.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to identify the persons
qualified to perform inspections of individual water supply and
wastewater systems, provide uniform criteria and methods for such
inspections and provide for the certification of inspectors
qualified to carry out such inspections.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.)
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FINANCE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
On page two, section nine-c, by striking out all of subsection
(a) and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (a), to read as
follows:
(a) An authorized representative of the bureau for public
health, an authorized representative of a local board of health, or
an inspector certified by the commissioner of the bureau for public
health shall perform inspections of individual water supply systems
or individual wastewater systems.;
On page three, section nine-c, line one, after the word "and"
by inserting the word "individual";
And,
On page three, section nine-c, line twenty-three, after the
word "testing" by inserting a comma and the word "certification".