Chapter 22, Chapter 22

The financial responsibility requirements applicable to all wells shall be as set forth in section twenty-six, article six of this chapter, except that the amount of financial responsibility through bonding or otherwise, as provided for in said section, for an individual well sha…

(a) The director shall promulgate legislative rules establishing a priority system by which available funds from the Oil and Gas Reclamation Fund, established pursuant to §22-6-29 of this code, will be expended to plug abandoned wells. The rules shall, at a minimum, establish thr…

(a) Upon twenty days' advance written notice, it shall be lawful for any interested person, the operator or the director to enter upon the premises where any abandoned well is situated and properly plug or replug such abandoned well, and to reclaim any area disturbed by such plug…

(a) If the interested person who plugs a well and the surface owner are unable to agree as to the adequacy of the repairs performed or the amount of compensation to which the surface owner may be entitled, either party upon written notice to the other may elect to have such issue…

(a) Any person who fails to plug an abandoned well within thirty days, or upon a showing of good cause, within a longer period as determined by the director not to exceed one hundred eighty days, from the date such plugging is ordered by the director, shall be liable for a civil …

(a) Legislative findings. — (1) The Legislature recognizes the prevalence of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has classified as contaminants. These chemicals are used in thousands of applications throug…

It is the purpose of this article to: (1) Foster, encourage, promote, and establish a legal and regulatory framework for the development and approval of underground carbon dioxide sequestration facilities; (2) Designate a state agency responsible for establishing standards and ru…

This article may be known and cited as the Water Pollution Control Act.

The secretary is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with other governments or government entities for the purpose of regulating carbon dioxide sequestration projects that extend beyond state regulatory authority under this article.

(a) The special revenue fund designated the Water Quality Management Fund established in the State Treasury on July 1, 1989, is continued. (b) The following shall be deposited into the Water Quality Management Fund: (i) permit application fees and annual permit fees established a…

The storage operator shall be the owner of the carbon dioxide injected into and stored in a storage reservoir approved under this article and shall maintain ownership and control until the secretary issues a Certificate of Underground Carbon Dioxide Storage Project Completion. Wh…

(a) The chief or his or her duly authorized representatives shall conduct such investigation as is deemed necessary and proper in order to determine whether any such application should be granted or denied. In making such investigation and determination as to any application pert…

(a) After carbon dioxide injections into a reservoir end, and the storage operator has fulfilled all requirements of its Class VI underground injection control permit including requirements related to post-injection site care and site closure, and upon application by the storage …

After issuance of the division's permit for any activity the director may make field inspections of the work on the activity, and, after completion thereof, may inspect the completed activity, and, from time to time, may inspect the maintenance and operation of the activity. To c…

(a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special revenue fund to be known as the Carbon Dioxide Storage Facility Administration Fund. Expenditures from the fund shall be made by the secretary for the purposes set forth in this article, and are not authorized from colle…

The director is hereby authorized to appoint voluntary water quality monitors to serve at the will and pleasure of the director. All such monitors appointed pursuant hereto shall be eighteen years of age or over and shall be bona fide residents of this state. Such monitors are au…

Permit applicants and operators seeking completion certificates shall pay the secretary an application fee, established by legislative rule, based upon each ton of carbon dioxide stored or to be stored at the facility. This fee shall be deposited in the Carbon Dioxide Storage Fac…

Any and all persons directly or indirectly discharging or depositing treated or untreated sewage, industrial wastes, or other wastes, or the effluent therefrom, into or near any waters of the state shall file with the director such information as the director may reasonably requi…

(a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special revenue fund to be known as the Carbon Dioxide Storage Facility Trust Fund. Expenditures from the fund shall be made by the secretary for the anticipated expenses associated with the long-term monitoring and management o…

If the director, on the basis of investigations, inspections and inquiries, determines that any person who does not have a valid permit issued pursuant to the provisions of this article is causing the pollution of any of the waters of the state, or does on occasions cause polluti…

(a) Storage operators shall pay the secretary a fee on each ton of carbon dioxide injected for storage. The fee shall be in the amount set by legislative rule. The amount shall be based on the contribution of the storage facility and the source of the carbon dioxide to the energy…

Any person upon whom any order of the director or any order of the board in accordance with the provisions of section fifteen of this article, or article one, chapter twenty-two-b of this code has been served shall fully comply therewith. When such person is ordered to take remed…

(a) The secretary, under procedures and criteria developed by legislative rule, shall determine the amount of injected carbon dioxide stored in a reservoir that has been or is being used for an enhanced oil or gas recovery project. The secretary may also make such a determination…

(a) When any person who is owner of an establishment is ordered by the director to stop or prevent pollution or the violation of the rules of the board or director or to take corrective or remedial action, compliance with which order will require the acquisition, construction or …

When any person is ordered to take remedial action and does not elect to cease operation of the establishment deemed to be the source of such pollution or when ceasing does not stop the pollution, such person shall immediately upon issuance of the permit required under section si…

(a) Title to pore space in all strata underlying the surface of lands and waters is vested in the owner of the overlying surface estate. (b) A conveyance of title to the surface of real property conveys the pore space in all strata underlying the surface of the real property. (c)…

Whenever the director finds that any discharge, release, escape, deposit or disposition of treated or untreated sewage, industrial wastes or other wastes into any waters within this state, when considered alone or in conjunction with other discharges, releases, escapes, deposits …

(a) If a storage operator does not obtain the consent of all persons who own the storage reservoir’s pore space to the construction and operation of an underground carbon dioxide storage facility, the commission may require that the pore space owned by nonconsenting owners be inc…

Unless the context in which used clearly requires a different meaning, as used in this article: (1) “Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances” or “PFAS” means non-polymeric perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances that contain at least two fully fluorinated carbon atoms…

Unless the context clearly requires a different meaning, as used in this article: (1) “Carbon dioxide” means carbon dioxide produced by anthropogenic sources which is of such purity and quality that it will not compromise the safety of geologic storage and will not compromise tho…

Unless the context in which used clearly requires a different meaning, as used in this article: (a) "Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection; (b) "Carbon dioxide sequestration" means the injection of carbon dioxide and associated constituents into subsurface …

(a) It is declared to be the public policy of the State of West Virginia to maintain reasonable standards of purity and quality of the water of the state consistent with: (1) Public health and public enjoyment thereof; (2) the propagation and protection of animal, bird, fish, aqu…

The storage operator shall hold all funds of unknown or unlocatable owners in trust in an interest bearing account and shall transfer said funds as unclaimed property to the State Treasurer pursuant to §36-8-1 et seq., the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act.

No right to violate the rules of the board or director or to continue existing pollution of any of the waters of the state exists nor may such right be acquired by virtue of past or future pollution by any person. The right and control of the state in and over the quality of all …

Any person aggrieved by a final decision of the department or the commission under this article is entitled to review of such final decision in accordance with the applicable provisions of §29A-1-1 of this code, State Administrative Procedures Act, §22-9-1 et seq. of this code, a…

Any person adversely affected by an order made and entered by the director in accordance with the provisions of this article, or aggrieved by failure or refusal of the chief to act within the specified time as provided in subsection (e) of section eleven of this article on an app…

(a) Any person who violates any provision of any permit issued under or subject to the provisions of this article, or §22-11A-1 et seq., or §22-11B-1 et seq. of this code is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 a day of such violation and any person who violates any p…

(a) Any person who holds a permit to operate a coal mining operation issued under article three of this chapter who violates any provision of any permit issued under or subject to the provisions of this article, or §22-11A-1 et seq. and §22-11B-1 et seq. of this code is subject t…

All applications under section twenty-two of this article and all proceedings for judicial review under article one, chapter twenty-two-b of this code shall take priority on the docket of the circuit court in which pending, and shall take precedence over all other civil cases. Wh…

(a) Any person who causes pollution or who fails or refuses to discharge any duty imposed upon him or her by this article, by §22-11A-1 et seq., or §22-11B-1 et seq. of this code or by any rule of the board or director, promulgated pursuant to the provisions and intent of this ar…

If any loss of game fish or aquatic life results from a person or persons' failure or refusal to discharge any duty imposed upon such person by this article, section seven, article six of this chapter, or §22-11A-1 et seq., or §22-11B-1 et seq. of this code, either the West Virgi…

The criminal liabilities may not be imposed pursuant to section twenty-four of this article for violations resulting from accident or caused by an act of God, war, strike, riot or other catastrophe as to which negligence or willful misconduct on the part of such person was not th…

It is the purpose of this article to provide additional and cumulative remedies to abate the pollution of the waters of the state and nothing herein contained shall abridge or alter rights of action or remedies now or hereafter existing, nor shall any provisions in this article, …

The director shall make surveys and investigations of the water resources of the state and shall maintain an inventory of the water resources of the state and to the extent practicable shall divide the state into watershed drainage areas in making this inventory. The director sha…

(a) The secretary may recover through civil action or cooperative agreements with responsible persons, the actual, reasonable and necessary amounts expended by the department for the purpose of responding to, evaluating or overseeing a response to a spill or accidental discharge …

(a) To identify and address sources of PFAS in raw water sources of public drinking water systems, DEP shall: (1) Write a PFAS action plan to identify and address sources of PFAS by July 1, 2024, for each of the 37 raw water sources for which the USGS study has measured PFOA, PFO…

(a) It is unlawful for any person to commence work on, or to operate, a carbon dioxide sequestration facility or storage site without first securing a Class VI underground injection control permit from the secretary or from the US EPA. (b) The injection of carbon dioxide for purp…

(a) The provisions of §22-11-1 et seq. of this code apply to all permits issued pursuant to this article except, where the express provisions of this article conflict with the provisions of §22-11-1 et seq. of this code, the express provisions of this article control. (b) Except …

Unless the context in which used clearly requires a different meaning, as used in this article: (1) "Activity" or "activities" means any activity or activities for which a permit is required by section seven of this article; (2) "Board" means the environmental quality board, prov…

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that: (1) The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are valuable natural resources providing both recreational and economic opportunities to citizens living in and around the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Eight West Virginia counties, and a collect…