Chapter 20, Chapter 20

The director shall be charged with the duty and responsibility of enforcing the provisions of this chapter and to this end may call upon the Attorney General, the prosecuting attorneys of the several counties, the department of public safety and all other law-enforcement officers…

The director may cause complaints to be made and proceedings to be instituted and prosecuted against any violators of this chapter, without the sanction of the prosecuting attorney of the county wherein such proceedings are instituted, and in all such cases no security for costs …

(a) Neither the owner of a cave nor his authorized agents acting within the scope of their authority are liable for injuries sustained by any person using such features for recreational or scientific purpose if the prior consent of the owner has been obtained and if no charge has…

Any person who shields or conspires with another in the commission of a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, or who, upon inquiry, withholds information from enforcement officers, or who hinders, obstructs, interferes with, or impersonates, or attempts to hinder, o…

(a) Any officer, when he or she arrests or otherwise takes a person into custody for violating any provision or provisions of this chapter, may take and impound any property found in the possession of the accused and susceptible of use in committing the offense of which the perso…

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter or rules promulgated under the provisions of this chapter, the punishment for which is not prescribed, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall for each offense be fined not less than $20 nor m…

Whenever in this code and elsewhere in law the terms "the conservation commission of West Virginia," "conservation commission," "director of conservation" and similar and related terms are used and referenced, they shall be read, understood and construed in the light of the enact…

As of the effective date of this chapter, the records, funds, unexpended appropriations, facilities, equipment and real and personal properties and assets of every kind and character belonging to, owned by or in the custody and control of any governmental corporation, agency, off…

The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to effect the objects and purposes hereof. The provisions of the chapter shall be construed to be separable and severable and in the event any clause, sentence or provision hereof shall for any reason be construed or hel…

The provisions of this chapter shall become effective on July 1, 1961.

As used in this article: (1) "ABYC" means the American Boat and Yacht Council; (2) "Boat dock" means a man-made structure that protrudes into a body of water for the purpose of mooring a boat or for other water-related recreation, including boat liveries, and that is connected to…

All boat dock or marina owners or operators shall install permanent safety signage with print legible at eighty feet of distance and placed to give adequate notice, to persons using the boat dock or marina or swimming near the boat dock or marina, of the electric shock hazard ris…

All boat dock or marina owners or operators shall comply with the following requirements to prevent electrical shock, electrocution or injury to users of their facilities and the surrounding areas: (1) All electrical wiring involving 110 AC or 220 AC shall be installed by and mai…

Each boat dock and marina shall be in full compliance with this article by January 1, 2015. The penalties contained in section seven of this article apply only to conduct on or after January 1, 2015. Enforcement of sections three and four of this article regarding the work of ele…

The State Fire Marshal may promulgate emergency rules pursuant to the provisions of section fifteen, article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code and shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of thi…

(a) A boat dock or marina owner or operator who violates sections two or three of this article and the violation does not result in the injury or death of a person, shall, for the first offense, be issued a warning citation with no court appearance or penalty, and for a second or…

This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Conservation and Preservation Easements Act".

The West Virginia Legislature recognizes the importance and significant public benefit of conservation and preservation easements in its ongoing efforts to protect the natural, historic, agricultural, open-space and scenic resources of this state.

The following words and phrases when used in this article have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (a) "Conservation easement" means a nonpossessory interest of a holder in real property, whether appurtenant or in gross, impo…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this article, a conservation or preservation easement may be created, conveyed, recorded, assigned, released, modified, terminated or otherwise altered or affected in the same manner as other easements. (b) No right or duty of a holder, success…

(a) An action affecting a conservation or preservation easement may be brought by any of the following: (1) An owner of an interest in the real property burdened by the easement; (2) A holder of the easement; (3) A person having a third-party right of enforcement; or (4) A person…

(a) A conservation or preservation easement is valid even though: (1) It is not appurtenant to an interest in real property; (2) It can be or has been assigned to another holder; (3) It is not of a character that has been recognized traditionally as common law; (4) It imposes a n…

(a) This article applies to any interest created after the effective date of this article, whether designated as a conservation or preservation easement or as a covenant, equitable servitude, restriction, easement or otherwise. (b) This article applies to any interest created bef…

This article shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the laws with respect to the subject of this article among states enacting similar laws. Except as expressly otherwise provided, nothing contained in this article is intended to be const…

This article shall be known and cited as the "West Virginia Stream Partners Program Act."

The Legislature finds that efforts to restore, protect and utilize West Virginia's rivers and streams for public health, recreation, commercial and habitat uses are most successful when citizens work in partnership with state agencies to manage the state's rivers and streams by c…

Subject to annual appropriation of the Legislature, the program shall be jointly administered by the Division of Natural Resources, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Division of Forestry and the West Virginia State Soil Conservation Agency. The director, secretary o…

The West Virginia Stream Partners Program shall provide grants to groups comprised of representatives located in the immediate area of the stream or streams being addressed that are dedicated to achieving the purpose stated in section two of this article. The grants shall be awar…

In order to qualify for grants from the West Virginia Stream Partners Program, a group of representatives located in the immediate area of a stream or streams which qualify under section two of this article shall apply to the executive committee in accordance with the following r…

The administering agencies may provide staff and other resources as necessary to address the technical assistance and administrative needs of the West Virginia Stream Partners Program. This support may include the utilization of resources and formulation of policies to achieve th…

The West Virginia Legislature finds that there is a significant need within the state and throughout the eastern United States for well-managed facilities for trail-oriented recreation for off-highway motor vehicle enthusiasts. The Legislature further finds that under an appropri…

(a) Whenever the authority proposes to purchase or contract for commodities or services reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed $2,500 in cost, the purchase or contract shall be based on competitive bids. Where the purchase of particular commodities or services is reasonably an…

(a) No contract, change order to a prior contract or renewal of any contract may be awarded or entered by the authority to any vendor or prospective vendor when the vendor or prospective vendor is a member of the board or an employee of the authority, or a spouse, sibling, child …

The county commission of any participating county may challenge the validity of any contract or purchase entered, solicited or proposed by the authority in violation of section ten or eleven of this article by seeking declaratory or injunctive relief in the circuit court of the c…

The Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority shall be authorized to contract to build and maintain trails on privately owned property, with the consent of the private property owner. This authorization shall allow the authority to build and/or maintain motorized and nonmotori…

Unless the context clearly requires a different meaning, the terms used in this section have the following meanings: (a) “Authority” means the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreational Authority; (b) “Board” means the board of the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority; (c) “Cha…

(a) The public corporation, the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority, previously created by this section is hereby converted to a new public corporation created as a joint development entity of the participating counties for the purpose of enabling and facilitating the de…

The board is the governing body of the authority and the board shall exercise all the powers given the authority in this article. The board shall meet quarterly, unless a special meeting is called by its chairman: Provided, That at the first meeting of each fiscal year beginning …

(a) The authority shall contract for and obtain an annual financial audit to be conducted by a private accounting firm in compliance with generally accepted government auditing standards. When complete, the audit shall be transmitted to the board, the president of the county comm…

The authority, as a public corporation and joint development entity, may exercise all powers necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this article, including, but not limited to, the power: (1) To acquire, own, hold and dispose of property, real and personal, tangibl…

(a) A person may not enter or remain upon the Hatfield-McCoy Recreation Area without a valid, nontransferable user permit issued by the authority and properly displayed, except properly identified landowners or leaseholders or their officers, employees, or agents while on the lan…

(a) An owner of land used by, or for the stated purposes of, the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority, whether with or without charge, owes no duty of care to keep the premises safe for entry or use by others for recreational purposes or to give any warning of a dangerous…

The West Virginia Legislature finds that trail-oriented recreation for off-highway vehicle enthusiasts offered by the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority significantly contributes to the economy of West Virginia and is enjoyed by a large and growing number of residents a…

The terms in this article have the following meaning, unless the context clearly requires a different meaning: (1) “All-terrain vehicle” or “ATV” means any motor vehicle designed for off-highway use and designed to travel on not less than three low-pressure tires, having a seat d…

This article shall only apply to the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority, authorized outfitters or licensees and any participant as defined in section two of this article.

(a) Every authorized outfitter or licensee shall: (1) Mark for identification purposes all equipment and vehicles used in the business; (2) Maintain all equipment and vehicles used in the business in such condition that the equipment and vehicles are safe to operate or use as int…

(a) All participants: (1) Shall comply with any requirements established by law, including those in section one, article one, chapter seventeen-f of this code, which defines those acts prohibited by operators of all-terrain vehicles; (2) Shall comply with the rules or regulations…

(a) Any authorized outfitter or licensee is liable for injury, loss or damage caused by failure to follow the duties set forth in section four of this article where the violation of duty is causally related to the injury, loss or damage suffered. (b) An authorized outfitter or li…

Any participant is liable for injury, loss or damage resulting from violations of the duties established in section five of this article where the violation of duty is causally related to the injury, loss or damage suffered.

Every authorized outfitter or licensee shall carry public liability insurance in limits of not less than $300,000 per occurrence.