SENATE
HOUSE
JOINT
BILL STATUS
STATE LAW
REPORTS
EDUCATIONAL
CONTACT
home
home
Introduced Version House Bill 2485 History

   |  Email
Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2485


(By Delegates DeLong, Mahan, Morgan,
Pino, Azinger and Hamilton)

[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]



A BILL to amend and reenact §7-1-3u of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §19-21A-4 of said code, all relating to flood plain management and flood debris generally; requiring flood plain management plans to prohibit or regulate placement of manufactured housing and storage of materials which may become flood debris or present additional flood hazards; requiring local governments establish penalties for violations of flood plain management plans; and authorizing the conservation agency to remove debris and other impediments during flood emergencies.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §7-1-3u of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that §19-21A-4 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 7. COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND OFFICERS.

ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
§7-1-3u. Authority of counties and municipalities to treat streams to prevent floods.

(a) To protect people and property from floods, counties and municipalities are hereby empowered to rechannel and dredge streams; remove accumulated debris, snags, sandbars, rocks and any other kinds of obstructions from streams; straighten stream channels; and carry out erosion and sedimentation control measures and programs.
(b) For stream treatment to prevent floods as provided in this section, counties and municipalities are hereby further empowered to levy, within all constitutional and statutory limitations; acquire property by purchase, exercise of the right of eminent domain, lease, gift or grant; accept any and all benefits, moneys, services and assistance which may be available from the federal and state government or any private source; issue and sell bonds within the constitutional and statutory limitations prescribed by law for the issuance and sale of bonds by counties and municipalities for public purposes generally. Any such levy shall be equal and uniform throughout the county or municipality.
(c) The power and authority granted in this section, may be exercised by any county or municipality in cooperation with each other or separately as provided in section three-i of this article. Any county or municipality which exercises any power or authority set forth in this section shall comply with all applicable provisions of federal and state laws and rules and regulations lawfully promulgated thereunder.
(d) Each county commission and municipal governing body shall, as part of its flood plain management plan, on before June 30, 2008, prohibit location of manufactured housing whether permanent or temporary, utilized for a residence, vacation home or camp and storage of hazardous or floatable materials, outbuildings, culverts, pipes and fuel oil and propane tanks within the regulated flood plain.
(1) The county commission or municipal governing body may, in lieu of a total prohibition, require such items to be elevated above the level of the one hundred year flood plain on reinforced piers, securely anchored to a fixed structure on a permanent foundation, relocated out of the regulated flood plain or utilize other appropriate measures designed to keep such items out of streams, resist expected flood waters and impact from debris.
(2) For purposes of this section "manufactured housing" means a structure, transportable in one or more sections, which is built and remains on a permanent chasse and designed to be used as a dwelling with or without a permanent foundation; the term includes any structure commonly referred to as factory built home, mobile home, house trailer, modular home and any camper, trailer or recreational vehicle located permanently or temporarily in a flood plain.
(3) Each county commission and municipal governing body shall establish penalties for violations of its flood plain management plan.
(e) The term "stream" as used in this section means any watercourse, whether natural or man-made, distinguishable by banks and a bed, regardless of their size, through which water flows continually or intermittently, regardless of its volume.
CHAPTER 19. AGRICULTURE.

ARTICLE 21A. CONSERVATION DISTRICTS.

§19-21A-4. State conservation committee; continuation.
(a) The State Conservation Committee is continued. It serves as an agency of the state and is to perform the functions conferred upon it in this article. The committee consists of the following ten members:
(1) Four citizen members;
(2) The following ex officio members;
(A) The Director of the State Cooperative Extension Service;
(B) The Director of the State Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station;
(c) The Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection;
(D) The State Commissioner of Agriculture, who is the chairperson of the committee;
(E) The Director of the Division of Forestry; and
(F) The President of the West Virginia Association of Conservation Districts.
(b) The Governor shall appoint, by and with the consent of the Senate, the four citizen members. Members shall be appointed for four-year terms, which are staggered in accordance with the initial appointments under prior enactment of this section. In the event of a vacancy, the appointment is for the unexpired term.
(c) The committee may invite the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States of America to appoint one person to serve with the committee as an advisory member.
(d) The committee shall keep a record of its official actions, shall adopt a seal, which shall be judicially noticed, and may perform those acts, hold public hearings and adopt or propose for legislative approval rules necessary for the execution of its functions under this article.
(e) The State Conservation Committee may employ an administrative officer, technical experts and other agents and employees, permanent and temporary, as it requires. The administrative officer and support staff shall be known as the West Virginia Conservation Agency. The committee shall determine their qualifications, duties and compensation. The committee may call upon the Attorney General of the state for legal services it requires. It may delegate to its chairperson, to one or more of its members, or to one or more agents or employees powers and duties it considers proper. The committee may secure necessary and suitable office accommodations and the necessary supplies and equipment. Upon request of the committee, for the purpose of carrying out any of its functions, the supervising officer of any state agency or of any state institution of learning shall, insofar as may be possible, under available appropriations and having due regard to the needs of the agency to which the request is directed, assign or detail to the committee, members of the staff or personnel of the agency or institution of learning and make special reports, surveys or studies required by the committee.
(f) A member of the committee holds office so long as he or she retains the office by virtue of which he or she is serving on the committee. A majority of the committee is a quorum and the concurrence of a majority in any matter within their duties is required for its determination. The chairperson and members of the committee may receive no compensation for their services on the committee, but are entitled to reimbursement of expenses, including traveling expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of their duties on the committee. The committee shall:
(1) Require the execution of surety bonds for all employees and officers who are entrusted with funds or property;
(2) Provide for the keeping of a full and accurate public record of all proceedings and of all resolutions, rules and orders issued or adopted; and
(3) Provide for an annual audit of the accounts of receipts and disbursements.
(g) In addition to other duties and powers conferred upon the State Conservation Committee, it may:
(1) Offer appropriate assistance to the supervisors of conservation districts, organized as provided in this article, in the carrying out of any of their powers and programs;
(2) Keep the supervisors of each of the several districts, organized under the provisions of this article, informed of the activities and experience of all other districts organized under this article and facilitate an interchange of advice and experience between the districts and cooperation between them;
(3) Coordinate the programs of the several conservation districts so far as this may be done by advice and consultation;
(4) Secure the cooperation and assistance of the United States and any of its agencies and of agencies of this state in the work of the districts;
(5) Disseminate information throughout the state concerning the activities and programs of the conservation districts and encourage the formation of the districts in areas where their organization is desirable;
(6) Accept and receive donations, gifts, contributions, grants and appropriations in money, services, materials or otherwise from the United States or any of its agencies, from the State of West Virginia or from other sources and use or expend the money, services, materials or other contributions in carrying out the policy and provisions of this article, including the right to allocate the money, services or materials in part to the various conservation districts created by this article in order to assist them in carrying on their operations; and
(7) Obtain options upon and acquire by purchase, exchange, lease, gift, grant, bequest, devise or otherwise any property, real or personal, or rights or interests in the property; maintain, administer, operate and improve any properties acquired; receive and retain income from the property and to expend the income as required for operation, maintenance, administration or improvement of the properties or in otherwise carrying out the purposes and provisions of this article; and sell, lease or otherwise dispose of any of its property or interests in the property in furtherance of the purposes and the provisions of this article. Money received from the sale of land acquired in the small watershed program shall be deposited in the special account of the State Conservation Committee and expended as provided in this article.
(8) To promulgate emergency and legislative rules to effectuate the provisions of this article as amended and reenacted by the Legislature during the regular session of the Legislature in the year two thousand seven.
(9) During and after a flood event agency employees, its agents or contractors may enter any water of the state for the purpose of removing debris and other obstructions which impede water flow and present additional flood hazards. The agency shall conduct this effort as part of its current stream recovery programs in cooperation with other federal, state and local entities. In exercising this emergency power agency employees, its agents and contractors are authorized to enter any property regardless of ownership when and where necessary to most efficiently carry out the tasks necessary to reduce additional flood hazards during a flood event. The exercise of this limited authority does not constitute taking of private property or trespass.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is enact measures to assist local and state authorities in flood plain management and flood clean up.


Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
This Web site is maintained by the West Virginia Legislature's Office of Reference & Information.  |  Terms of Use  |   Email WebmasterWebmaster   |   © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **


X

Print On Demand

Name:
Email:
Phone:

Print