ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2421
(By Delegates Staggers, Perry, Shaver, Rodighiero, Moye,
Swartzmiller, Martin, Argento, Crosier, D. Poling, Manypenny
)
[Passed April 10, 2009; in effect ninety days from passage.
]
AN ACT
to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §8-19-22, relating to
fire hydrant
s; requiring the marking
of an inoperable fire
hydrant; setting requirements for the marking
; and defining
inoperable.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §8-19-22, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 19. MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY WATER WORKS AND ELECTRIC POWER
SYSTEMS.
§8-19-22. Identification requirement for fire hydrants that are
inoperable or unavailable for use in emergency situations.
(a) The owner or operator of a fire hydrant
or any device
having the appearance of a fire hydrant that is located in a place that an entity responsible for providing fire suppression services
in a fire emergency would expect a fire hydrant to typically be
located, shall mark the fire hydrant
or
device
, as set out in
subsection (b) of this section,
if the owner or operator has actual
knowledge that the
fire hydrant
or
device is inoperable or is
unavailable for use by an entity providing fire suppression
services in a fire emergency.
(b) To mark the fire hydrant
or
device,
the owner or operator
of the fire hydrant
or
device
shall:
(1) Paint the fire hydrant
or
device
black if the fire hydrant
or
device is
inoperable or unavailable for use
; or
(2) Place a black tarp over the fire hydrant
or
device if the
device is temporarily inoperable or temporarily unavailable for use
in a fire emergency, for a period not to exceed fourteen days.
(c) For the purposes of this section, the word "inoperable"
means a fire hydrant that does not produce water flow when
activated.