H. B. 2071
(By Delegate Evans)
[Introduced January 9, 2003; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend article three, chapter twenty-two-b of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
four-a, relating to water use generally; defining the term
reasonable use; providing for the proposal of legislative
rules regarding reasonable use; and providing that the
environmental quality board implement a procedure to record
and monitor water use by volume and by user.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article three, chapter twenty-two-b of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section four-a,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY BOARD.
§22B-3-4a. Regulation of water use; reasonable use defined; authority to propose rules and record of water use
by board.
In order to ensure future and sustained supplies of water for
the reasonable use by existing users and new users and to protect
important natural resources, restrictions on the use of surface
water and groundwater in this state may be required. For the
purposes of this section, "reasonable use" means the amount of
groundwater or surface water, by volume, used each year, by any one
entity as determined on the effective date of this section. With
the exceptions provided for herein, any entity seeking to increase
the amount of water by volume over the reasonable use as determined
on the effective date of this section, and all new users, shall
obtain a permit therefore from the environmental quality board.
The environmental quality board shall give priority to applicants
for domestic use and livestock watering if there is a conflict with
other users or if the governor declares a drought in the water
source area.
In order to carry out the purposes of this section the
environmental quality board shall propose rules for legislative
approval in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the provisions of
this section and to provide for a permit system allowing water use
above the reasonable use level as defined in this section. Any
proposed rules shall include exemptions for natural springs, and where water use is not the primary intended activity including, but
not limited to, fire control, forest management and land management
and other uses which may benefit the citizens of this state as a
whole as determined by the environmental quality board
.
From funds appropriated therefore, the environmental quality
board
shall establish a system to monitor water use by volume
including implementation of a reporting system. Beginning on the
effective date of this section, municipal and industrial users
shall be the first users to report to the board the amount of water
by volume used by the municipal or industrial user from each source
of water during the calendar year. All other users shall report
water use as determined by the board. The amount of water reported
as used by each user in its first report shall be the reasonable
use level for that entity. Any entity seeking to increase the
level of use above the level first reported shall obtain a permit
therefore as provided in this section.
Any person, organization or entity violating the provisions of
this section by increasing water use without a permit therefore is
subject to an administrative fine of five hundred dollars for each
violation. The fine shall be levied by the environmental quality
board and shall be paid to that board to be deposited in the state
treasury.
Any person adversely affected by a fine or a decision of the
environmental quality board as provided in this section may appeal the fine or decision to the circuit court of the county in which
the violation or act, giving rise to the fine or decision,
occurred.
In proposing any rules under the provisions of this section,
the environmental quality board
shall seek to protect the public
health and welfare, wildlife, fish and aquatic life, and the
present and prospective future uses of such water for domestic,
agricultural, industrial, recreational, scenic and other legitimate
beneficial uses.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a system for
determining the reasonable use by volume of ground and surface
waters of this state and requiring that entities seeking to increase
water use above the reasonable use level obtain a permit from the
environmental quality board
. The bill provides that the board may
levy and collect an administrative fine for violations and it
requires certain water use records to be maintained.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.