Senate Bill No. 144
(By Senators Ross, White, Weeks, Minear, Sharpe, Caldwell,
Sprouse, Fanning, Facemyer and Hunter)
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[Introduced January 13, 2003; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section fifteen, article thirteen,
chapter twenty-two of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to allowing
landowners to enter small streams and ditches for the purpose
of removing debris to prevent flooding without criminal or
civil liability.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fifteen, article thirteen, 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 13. NATURAL STREAMS PRESERVATION ACT.
§22-13-15. Exceptions as to criminal liabilities.
(a) The criminal liabilities provided for in section fourteen
of this article may not be imposed for any violation resulting from accident or caused by an act of God, war, strike, riot or other
catastrophe as to which negligence or willful conduct on the part
of such person was not the proximate cause.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, landowners are authorized to enter small streams and
ditches for the purpose of removing debris to prevent the flooding
of their homes and property without incurring criminal or civil
liabilities.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow landowners to
enter small streams and ditches for the purpose of removing debris
to prevent flooding of their property.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.