Senate Bill No. 568
(By Senator White)
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[Introduced March 12, 2009; referred to the Committee on Energy,
Industry and Mining; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §22-11-8 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the Water Pollution Control Act;
prohibiting new permits or modifications of existing permits
for underground injection of coal slurry; and requiring
submission of certain studies to the Legislature.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §22-11-8 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 11. WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT.
§22-11-8. Prohibitions; permits required.
(a) The chief may, after public notice and opportunity for
public hearing, issue a permit for the discharge or disposition of
any pollutant or combination of pollutants into waters of this
state upon condition that such discharge or disposition meets or will meet all applicable state and federal water quality standards
and effluent limitations and all other requirements of this article
and article three, chapter twenty-two-b of this code.
(b) It is unlawful for any person, unless the person holds a
permit therefor from the division, which is in full force and
effect, to:
(1) Allow sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes, or the
effluent therefrom, produced by or emanating from any point source,
to flow into the waters of this state;
(2) Make, cause or permit to be made any outlet, or
substantially enlarge or add to the load of any existing outlet,
for the discharge of sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes, or
the effluent therefrom, into the waters of this state;
(3) Acquire, construct, install, modify or operate a disposal
system or part thereof for the direct or indirect discharge or
deposit of treated or untreated sewage, industrial wastes or other
wastes, or the effluent therefrom, into the waters of this state,
or any extension to or addition to such disposal system;
(4) Increase in volume or concentration any sewage, industrial
wastes or other wastes in excess of the discharges or disposition
specified or permitted under any existing permit;
(5) Extend, modify or add to any point source, the operation
of which would cause an increase in the volume or concentration of
any sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes discharging or flowing into the waters of the state;
(6) Construct, install, modify, open, reopen, operate or
abandon any mine, quarry or preparation plant, or dispose of any
refuse or industrial wastes or other wastes from any such mine or
quarry or preparation plant:
Provided, That the division's permit
is only required wherever the aforementioned activities cause, may
cause or might reasonably be expected to cause a discharge into or
pollution of waters of the state, except that a permit is required
for any preparation plant:
Provided, however, That unless waived
in writing by the chief, every application for a permit to open,
reopen or operate any mine, quarry or preparation plant or to
dispose of any refuse or industrial wastes or other wastes from any
such mine or quarry or preparation plant shall contain a plan for
abandonment of such facility or operation, which plan shall comply
in all respects to the requirements of this article. Such plan of
abandonment is subject to modification or amendment upon
application by the permit holder to the chief and approval of such
modification or amendment by the chief;
(7) Operate any disposal well for the injection or reinjection
underground of any industrial wastes, including, but not limited
to, liquids or gases, or convert any well into such a disposal
well or plug or abandon any such disposal well: Provided, That
effective May 1, 2009, new permits or modifications of existing
permits may not be approved for the underground injection of coal slurry until the studies required by Committee Substitute for
Senate Concurrent Resolution 15, dated March 9, 2007, are submitted
to the Legislature and it determines that the injection of coal
slurry underground is not harmful to human health and the
environment.
(c) Where a person has a number of outlets emerging into the
waters of this state in close proximity to one another, such
outlets may be treated as a unit for the purposes of this section,
and only one permit issued for all such outlets.
(d) For water pollution control and national pollutant
discharge elimination system permits issued for activities
regulated by the office of mining and reclamation and the office of
oil and gas, the chief of the office of water resources may
delegate functions, procedures and activities to the respective
chiefs of those offices. Permits for such activities shall be
issued under the supervision of and with the signature and approval
of the chief of the office of water resources who shall review and
approve all procedures, effluent limits and other conditions of
such permits.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit new permits or
modifications of existing permits for underground injection of coal
slurry
until the studies required by Senate Concurrent Resolution
15, dated March 9, 2007, are submitted to the Legislature and a
determination is made that the injection of coal slurry underground
is not harmful to human health and the environment.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.