SB679 H JUD AM 3-8 #1
The Committee on the Judiciary moves to amend the bill on page
two, following the enacting clause, by striking out the remainder
of the bill and inserting in lieu thereof the following language:
That §22-26-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 26. WATER RESOURCES PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT ACT.
§22-26-3. Waters claimed by state; water resources protection
survey; need for study; registration requirements;
agency cooperation; information gathering.
(a) The waters of the state of West Virginia are hereby
claimed as valuable public natural resources held by the state for
the use and benefit of its citizens. The state shall manage the
quantity of its waters effectively for present and future use and
enjoyment and for the protection of the environment. Therefore, it
is necessary for the state to determine the nature and extent of
its water resources, the quantity of water being withdrawn or
otherwise used and the nature of the withdrawals or other uses:
Provided, That no provisions of this article may be construed to
amend or limit any other rights and remedies created by statute or
common law in existence on the date of the enactment of this
article.
(b) The secretary shall conduct a an ongoing water resources
survey of consumptive and nonconsumptive surface water and groundwater withdrawals in this state. The secretary shall
determine the form and format of the information submitted,
including the use of electronic submissions. The survey shall
collect information covering the years two thousand three, two
thousand four and two thousand five shall be updated at a minimum
of every five years. The secretary shall establish and maintain a
statewide registration program to monitor large quantity users of
water resources of this state beginning in two thousand six.
(c) Beginning in the year two thousand three, every person
utilizing the state's water resources whose withdrawal from a water
resource during any month exceeds seven hundred fifty thousand
gallons, except those who purchase water from a public or private
water utility or other service that is reporting its total
withdrawal, shall register with the Department of Environmental
Protection and provide all requested information regarding
withdrawals of the water resource. Multiple withdrawals of water
from a particular water resource that are made or controlled by a
single person and used at one facility or location shall be
considered a single withdrawal of water. Water withdrawals for
self-supplied farm use and private households will be estimated.
Water utilities regulated by the public service commission pursuant
to article two, chapter twenty-four of the code are exempted from
providing information on interbasin transfers to the extent those
transfers are necessary to provide water utility services within the state.
(d) The secretary shall make a good faith effort to obtain
survey and registration information from persons who are
withdrawing water from an in-state water resource but who are
located outside the state borders.
(e) All state agencies that have a regulatory, research or
other function relating to water resources, including, but not
limited to, the state geological and economic survey, the division
of natural resources, the public service commission, the bureau for
public health, the commissioner of the department of agriculture,
the office of emergency services Division of Homeland Security and
Emergency Management, Marshall university and West Virginia
university may enter into interagency agreements with the secretary
and shall cooperate by: (i) Providing information relating to the
water resources of the state; and (ii) providing any necessary
assistance to the secretary in effectuating the purposes of this
article. The secretary shall determine the form and format of the
information submitted by these agencies.
(f) Persons required to participate in the survey and
registration shall provide any reasonably available information on
stream flow conditions that impact withdrawal rates.
(g) Persons required to participate in the survey and
registration shall provide the most accurate information available
on water withdrawal during seasonal conditions and future potential maximum withdrawals or other information that the secretary
determines is necessary for the completion of the survey or
registration: Provided, That a coal-fired electric generating
facility shall also report the nominal design capacity of the
facility, which is the quantity of water withdrawn by the
facility's intake pumps necessary to operate the facility during a
calendar day.
(h) The secretary shall, to the extent reliable water
withdrawal data is reasonably available from sources other than
persons required to provide data and participate in the survey and
registration, utilize that data to fulfill the requirements of this
section. If the data is not reasonably available to the secretary,
persons required to participate in the survey and registration are
required to provide the data. Registered persons that report
withdrawals on an annual basis for a period of three consecutive
years are not required to register further withdrawals unless the
amount withdrawn annually varies by more than ten percent from the
three year average. Altering locations of intakes and discharge
points that result in an impact to the withdrawal of the water
resource by an amount of ten percent or more from the consecutive
three year average shall also be reported.
(i) The secretary shall report regularly to the joint
legislative oversight commission on state water resources to advise
the commission of the progress of the survey as well as any problems that may be encountered in conducting the survey and to
make recommendations on policy and statutory changes that may be
needed.
(j) (i) Upon completion of the each quinquenial survey, the
secretary shall file a final report with the joint committee on
government and finance Joint Legislative Commission on State Water
Resources no later than the thirty-first day of December, two
thousand six thirtieth day of November of the survey year. In
preparing the final report the secretary shall consult with the
commissioner of the department of agriculture, the bureau for
public health, the division of natural resources and the public
service commission. The final Each quinquenial survey report shall
include update the following:
(1) To the extent the information is available, the location
and quantity of all surface water and groundwater resources in this
state;
(2) A discussion of the consumptive and nonconsumptive
withdrawals of surface water and groundwater in this state;
(3) A listing of each person whose consumptive or
nonconsumptive withdrawal during any single month during the
calender year exceeds seven hundred fifty thousand gallons,
including the amount of water used, location of the water resource,
the nature of the use, location of each intake and discharge point
by longitude and latitude where available and, if the use involves more than one watershed or basin, the watersheds or basins involved
and the amount transferred;
(4) A discussion of any area of concern regarding historical
or current conditions that indicate a low flow condition or where
a drought or flood has occurred or is likely to occur that
threatens the beneficial use of the surface water or groundwater in
the area;
(5) Current or potential in-stream or off-stream uses that
contribute to or are likely to exacerbate natural low flow
conditions to the detriment of the water resource;
(6) Discussion of a potential groundwater well network that
provides indicators that groundwater levels in an area are
declining or are expected to decline excessively;
(7) Potential growth areas where competition for water
resources may be expected;
(8) Any occurrence of two or more withdrawals that are
interfering or may reasonably be expected to interfere with one
another;
(9) Discussion of practices or methods persons have
implemented to reduce water withdrawals; and
(10) Any other information that may be beneficial in providing
adequate and accurate survey information, adequately assessing
water availability and withdrawal and in determining the need for
and the preparation of water resources plans.
(k) (j) In addition to any requirements for completion of the
survey established by the secretary, the survey must accurately
reflect both actual and maximum potential water withdrawal. Actual
withdrawal shall be established through metering, measuring or
alternative accepted scientific methods to obtain a reasonable
estimate or indirect calculation of actual use.
(l) Upon completion of the survey, the secretary shall make
recommendations to the joint legislative oversight commission
created in section five of this article relating to the need to
implement a water quantity management strategy for the state or
regions of the state where the quantity of water resources are
found to be currently stressed or likely to be stressed due to
emerging beneficial or other uses, ecological conditions or other
factors requiring the development of a strategy for management of
these water resources. The report shall include an analysis of the
costs and benefits upon persons potentially impacted by the
implementation of a water quantity management strategy.
(m) (k) The secretary may propose rules pursuant to article
three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code as necessary to implement
the survey and registration requirements of this article.
(n) (l) The secretary is authorized to enter into cooperative
agreements with the United States geological survey federal
agencies and private policy or research groups to obtain federal
matching funds, conduct research and analyze survey and registration data and other agreements as may be necessary to carry
out his or her duties under this article.