H. B. 2936
(By Delegate Louisos)
[Introduced January 6, 2010; referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §19-1B-15; and to
amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated
§22-3-33, all relating to restoring or keeping intact scenic
views by coal and timber operators; allowing residents to
petition county commissions to revoke part of permits; and
requiring state agencies to cooperate in enforcing intent.
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 §19-1B-15; and that
said code be amended by adding thereto a new section designated
§22-3-33, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 22. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES.
ARTICLE 3. SURFACE COAL MINING AND RECLAMATION ACT.
§22-3-33. Scenic view required to be kept intact or restored.
Notwithstanding any provision of this article or code to the
contrary, any person conducting surface coal mining operations in
the state must keep scenic views intact at any such surface coal
mining operation or restore a scenic view after completing a
surface coal mining operation. Residents, in the vicinity of a
surface coal mining operation that may or does affect a scenic
view, may petition the county commission of the county of their
residence and the surface coal mining operation for a partial
revocation of the permit for surface coal mining operation to
assure that the scenic view is kept intact or restored to at least
the view it presented prior to the surface coal mining operation.
The county commission shall take the necessary steps to accomplish
this and the Director of the Division of Environmental Protection
shall cooperate to ensure that the intent of this section is met.
CHAPTER 19. AGRICULTURE.
ARTICLE 1B. SEDIMENT CONTROL DURING COMMERCIAL TIMBER HARVESTING
OPERATIONS.
§19-1B-15. Scenic view required to be kept intact or restored.
Notwithstanding any provision of this article or code to the
contrary, any person conducting timbering operations in the state
must keep scenic views intact at any such timbering operation or
restore a scenic view after completing a timbering operation.
Residents, in the vicinity of a surface coal mining operation that
may or does affect a scenic view, may petition the county commission of the county of their residence and the timbering
operation for a partial revocation of the permit for timbering
operation to assure that the scenic view is kept intact or restored
to at least the view it presented prior to the timbering operation.
The county commission shall take the necessary steps to accomplish
this and the Director of the Division of Forestry of the Department
of Commerce, Labor and Environmental Resources shall cooperate to
ensure that the intent of this section is met.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require restoring or
keeping intact scenic views by coal and timber operators operating
in those areas. It allows residents to petition county commissions
to revoke part of permits to enforce the intent of the statutes
and requires the appropriate state agencies to cooperate in
enforcing intent.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.