New SERC Legislation

Enr. CS for HB 3048

 

 

 

AN ACT to amend and reenact §15-5A-5 of the Code of 1 West Virginia, 1931, as amended,

 

2 relating to increasing the cap for Tier II fees for chemical inventories from a maximum of

 

3 $100 annually to $2,500 annually.

1 That §15-5A-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and

 

2 reenacted to read as follows:

1 The commission shall have and may exercise the following powers and authority and shall

 

2 perform the following duties:

 

3 (a) Designate emergency planning districts;

 

4 (b) Appoint local emergency planning committees for each emergency planning district

 

5 and supervise and coordinate the activities of such committees;

 

6 (c) Revise any designations and appointments made under subsections (a) and (b) of this

8 emergency response commission to modify the membership of a local emergency planning

 

9 commission;

 

10 (d) Designate, if necessary, additional facilities which shall be subject to the requirements

 

11 of this article, provided such designation is made after public notice and opportunity for comment

 

12 as provided under article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of the code;

 

13 (e) Review the emergency response plans submitted by the local emergency planning

 

14 committees and make recommendations to the local committees on revisions of the plan that may

 

15 be necessary to ensure coordination of such plan with the plans of other emergency planning

 

16 districts and other existing state and local emergency response plans;

 

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(f) Enter into cooperative agreements with other state a 17 gencies designating specific

 

18 responsibilities to be performed by such state agencies to implement the provisions of this article;

 

19 (g) Promulgate procedural rules in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter

 

20 twenty-nine-a of this code, establishing rules of practice before the commission;

 

21 (h) Promulgate procedural rules in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter

 

22 twenty-nine-a of this code, establishing procedures for receiving and processing requests from

 

23 the public for information in accordance with the provisions of 42 U.S.C. §11001, et seq., and this

 

24 article, and prescribing forms and instructions for requesting such information;

 

25 (i) Promulgate procedural rules in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter

 

26 twenty-nine-a of this code, prescribing forms and instructions for the submission and receipt of

 

27 confidential information;

 

28 (j) Promulgate rules establishing the following fees which shall be deposited in a special

 

29 account for the administration of this act and which shall be reasonably calculated to recover the

 

30 necessary expenses incurred by the Office of Emergency Services in the administration of this

 

31 article:

 

32 (1) An emergency planning notification fee not to exceed $100 to be paid by a facility when

 

33 it makes the emergency planning notification required under SARA, Title III, sections 301 through

 

34 303;

 

35 (2) An inventory form fee not to exceed $2,500 to be paid annually by a facility when it

 

36 submits the emergency and hazardous chemical inventory forms or material safety data sheet

 

37 required under SARA, Title III, sections 311 and 312; and

 

38 (3) A surcharge fee not to exceed twenty percent of the fee otherwise payable to be paid

 

39 by facilities which fail to pay the fees in paragraphs (1) and (2) in a timely manner;

 

40 (k) Establish an emergency planning grant program to be administered by the commission.

 

41 The grant programs will be funded by fees collected to administer this act pursuant to subdivision

 

42 (j) of this section. The commission shall promulgate rules which establish the method of awarding

 

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such grants to local emergency planning committees to assist 43 them in performing their

 

44 responsibilities under this article;

 

45 (l) Promulgate legislative rules in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter

 

46 twenty-nine-a of this code necessary to implement the provisions of this article; and

 

47 (m) The chairman of the commission may order a facility owner or operator to comply with

 

48 the requirements of applicable federal law, this article and any rules or regulations promulgated

 

49 thereunder. When the chairman has reasonable cause to believe that there exists a failure to

 

50 comply with the provisions of applicable federal law, this article or any rule or regulation

 

51 promulgated thereunder or any order entered by the chairman, he or she may request the Attorney

 

52 General to commence an action for civil penalties, injunctive relief or other appropriate relief to

 

53 enforce such provisions, rules and regulations or order. Such action may be brought in any federal

 

54 district court having jurisdiction, or in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County or the county where

 

55 the facility or a major portion thereof is located.