Chapter 22, Chapter 22

(a) The provisions of this article do not apply to activities of the West Virginia Department of Transportation or any legally constituted public governing entities including municipal corporations or other political subdivisions, including the federal government, or to activitie…

Unless the context in which it is used clearly requires a different meaning, as used in this article: (1) "Abandoned quarry" or "abandoned quarry lands" means: (A) A quarry which was operated and abandoned without proper reclamation prior to the effective date of this article; or…

The Director of the Division of Environmental Protection is vested with jurisdiction over all aspects of quarrying and with jurisdiction and control over land, water and soil aspects pertaining to quarry operations, and the restoration and reclamation of quarries and areas affect…

(a) It is unlawful for any person to engage in quarrying without having first obtained from the division a permit as required by this article. The application shall fully state the information required by the director. Each new quarry permit shall be issued for a term of five yea…

(a) The director shall, upon receipt of an application for a permit, determine if the application is complete and contains the information required in the application. The director has thirty days to review the application for technical completeness. An application is complete wh…

(a) The director may deny a permit application, modification or transfer for one or more of the following reasons: (1) Any requirement of federal or state environmental law, rule or regulation would be violated by the proposed permit. (2) The proposed quarry operation will be loc…

The Legislature finds that there are certain areas in the State of West Virginia which are impossible to reclaim either by natural growth or by technological activity and that if quarrying is conducted in these certain areas such operations may naturally cause stream pollution, l…

(a) Any valid permit issued pursuant to this article carries with it the right of successive renewal upon expiration with respect to areas within the boundaries of the existing permit. All permittees shall publish a Class I legal advertisement in accordance with the provisions of…

It is hereby declared to be the public policy of this state and the purpose of this article to achieve and maintain such levels of air quality as will protect human health and safety, and to the greatest degree practicable, prevent injury to plant and animal life and property, fo…

(a) All air quality data, emission data, permits, compliance schedules, orders of the director, board orders and any other information required by a federal implementation program (all for convenience hereinafter referred to in this section as "records, reports, data or informati…

(a) Unless otherwise specifically provided in this article, no person shall construct, modify or relocate any stationary source of air pollutants without first obtaining a construction, modification or relocation permit as provided in this article. (b) The secretary shall by rule…

(a) With respect to the modifications of nonmajor stationary sources, or modifications which are not major modifications to existing major stationary sources, the following activities are authorized in advance of permit issuance. Any authorized activities undertaken by or on beha…

(a) This section applies to natural gas electric generation facilities as identified and communicated to the secretary by the Secretary of the Department of Economic Development as sites that may be suitable for one or more natural gas electric generation facilities in accordance…

(a) This section applies to coal electric generation facilities as identified and communicated to the Secretary by the West Virginia Department of Economic Development as sites that may be suitable for one or more coal electric generation facilities in accordance with §5B-2O-1 et…

No person may operate a stationary source of air pollutants without first obtaining an operating permit as provided in this section. The director shall promulgate legislative rules, in accordance with chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, which specify classes or categories of stat…

For permits required by sections eleven and twelve of this article, the director may incorporate the required permits with an existing permit or consolidate the required permits into a single permit.

Any person whose interest may be affected, including, but not necessarily limited to, the applicant and any person who participated in the public comment process, by a permit issued, modified or denied by the secretary, or construction authorization pursuant to section eleven-a o…

(a) As the state of knowledge and technology relating to the control of emissions from motor vehicles may permit or make appropriate and in furtherance of the purposes of this article, the director may provide by legislative rule for the control of emissions from motor vehicles. …

The secretary of the Department of Commerce, labor, and environmental resources shall establish a small business stationary source technical and environmental compliance assistance program which meets the requirements of Title V of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, 42 U.S.C. …

(a) This section of the Air Pollution Control Act may be referred to as the Interstate Ozone Transport Oversight Act. (b) The Legislature hereby finds that: (1) The federal Clean Air Act, as amended, contains a comprehensive regulatory scheme for the control of emissions from mob…

(a) The director shall propose legislative rules for promulgation in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, to the full extent allowed by federal and state law, one or more rules establishing a voluntary emissions trading and banking program that provi…

(a) The secretary shall establish a program to inventory greenhouse gas emissions from major sources that are subject to mandatory federal greenhouse gases reporting requirements. The secretary shall obtain available emissions data directly from the appropriate federal entity, in…

The terms used in this article are defined as follows: (1) “Air pollutants” means solids, liquids, or gases which, if discharged into the air, may result in a statutory air pollution. (2) “Board” means the air quality board continued pursuant to the provisions of §22B-2-1 et seq.…

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection shall propose a legislative rule for promulgation in accordance with §29A-3-1 of this code to implement the Affordable Clean Energy rule, consisting of Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas, Emissions from Existing Electri…

It is unlawful for any person to cause a statutory air pollution, to violate the provisions of this article, to violate any rules promulgated pursuant to this article to operate any facility subject to the permit requirements of the director without a valid permit, or to knowingl…

(a) The director is authorized: (1) To develop ways and means for the regulation and control of pollution of the air of the state; (2) To advise, consult and cooperate with other agencies of the state, political subdivisions of the state, other states, agencies of the federal gov…

If, from any investigation made by the director or from any complaint filed with him or her, the director is of the opinion that a person is violating the provisions of this article, or any rules promulgated pursuant thereto, he or she shall make and enter an order directing the …

(a) Any person who violates any provision of this article, any permit or any rule or order issued pursuant to this article or article one, chapter twenty-two-b of this code is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each day of such violation, which penalty shall be …

The director may seek an injunction against any person in violation of any provision of this article or any permit, rule or order issued pursuant to this article or article one, chapter twenty-two-b of this code. In seeking an injunction, it is not necessary for the director to p…

Whenever air pollution conditions in any area of the state become such as, in the opinion of the director, to create an emergency and to require immediate action for the protection of the public health, the director may, with the written approval of the Governor, so find and ente…

Nothing in this article affects or limits the powers or duties heretofore conferred by the provisions of chapter sixteen of this code upon the Secretary of the Department of Health, the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health, county health boards, county health officers, mu…

This article shall be known and cited as the Horizontal Well Act.

As used in this article: (a) "Casing" means a string or strings of pipe commonly placed in wells drilled for natural gas or petroleum or both; (b) "Cement" means hydraulic cement properly mixed with water; (c) "Chair" means the chair of the West Virginia shallow gas well review b…

(a) The Legislature finds the following: (1) Exploration for and development of oil and gas reserves in this state must coexist with the use, agricultural or otherwise, of the surface of certain land and that each constitutes a right equal to the other. (2) The surface owner of l…

(a) Prior to filing a permit application, the operator shall provide notice of planned entry on to the surface tract to conduct any plat surveys required pursuant to this article. Such notice shall be provided at least seven days but no more than forty-five days prior to such ent…

(a) All persons described in subsections (a) and (b), section nine of this article may file comments with the director as to the location or construction of the applicant's proposed well work within fifteen days after the application is filed with the director. (b) Prior to the i…

Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary, all notices required by this article shall be delivered by the method set forth in subsection (b), section ten of this article, which notice shall provide that further information may be obtained from the department's…

The director shall review each application for a well work permit and shall determine whether or not a permit shall be issued. No permit shall be issued less than fifteen days after the filing date of the application for any well work except plugging or replugging; and no permit …

(a) All persons described in subsection (b), section ten of this article may file written comments with the secretary as to the location or construction of the applicant's proposed well work within thirty days after the application is filed with the secretary. (b) The applicant s…

(a) Before drilling for oil or gas, or before fracturing or stimulating a well on any tract of land, the well operator shall have a plat prepared by a licensed land surveyor or registered engineer showing the district and county in which the tract of land is located, the name and…

(a) Wells may not be drilled within two hundred fifty feet measured horizontally from any existing water well or developed spring used for human or domestic animal consumption. The center of well pads may not be located within six hundred twenty-five feet of an occupied dwelling …

Before fracturing any well the well operator shall, by registered or certified mail, forward a notice of intention to fracture such well to the director and to each and every coal operator operating coal seams beneath said tract of land, who has mapped the same and filed such map…

The secretary shall propose legislative rules for promulgation to govern the procedures for plugging horizontal wells, including rules relating to the methods of plugging the wells and the notices required to be provided in connection with plugging the wells.

(a) Before drilling a well for the introduction of liquids for the purposes provided for in section twenty-five of this article or for the introduction of liquids for the disposal of pollutants or the effluent therefrom on any tract of land, or before converting an existing well …

(a) The operator of a horizontal well shall reclaim the land surface within the area disturbed in siting, drilling, completing or producing the well in accordance with the following requirements: (1) Except as provided elsewhere in this article, within six months after a horizont…

(a) When a proposed deep well drilling site or oil well drilling site or any site is above a seam or seams of coal, then the coal operator operating said coal seams beneath the tract of land, or the coal seam owner or lessee, if any, if said owner or lessee is not yet operating s…

(a) No permit may be issued pursuant to this article unless a bond as described in subsection (d) of this section which is required for a particular activity by this article is or has been furnished as provided in this section. (b) A separate bond as described in subsection (d) o…

(a) When a well is proposed to be drilled or converted for the purposes provided for in section fourteen of this article, and is above a seam or seams of coal, then the coal operator operating said coal seams beneath the tract of land, or the coal seam owner or lessee, if any, if…

(a) The provisions of article seven of this chapter do not apply to horizontal wells governed by this article. In lieu thereof, the provisions of article six-b of this chapter shall provide for the compensation of surface owners for damage caused by drilling horizontal wells. (b)…

When a proposed shallow well drilling site is above a seam or seams of coal, then the owner of any such coal seam may, within fifteen days from the receipt by the director of the plat and notice required by section twelve of this article, file objections in writing (forms for whi…