West Virginia Code 22-11-27 – Existing rights and remedies preserved; article for benefit of state only
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, or any act done by virtue of this article, be construed as estopping the state, municipalities, public health officers, or persons as riparian owners or otherwise, in the exercise of their rights to suppress nuisances or to abate any pollution now or hereafter existing, or to recover damages.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 22-11-27
- Board: means the environmental quality board, provided in article three, chapter . See West Virginia Code 22-11-3
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Director: means the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection or his or her designee. See West Virginia Code 22-1-2
- Pollution: means the man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical, biological and radiological integrity of the waters of the state. See West Virginia Code 22-11-3
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- waters: means any and all water on or beneath the surface of the ground, whether percolating, standing, diffused or flowing, wholly or partially within this state, or bordering this state and within its jurisdiction, and includes, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, natural or artificial lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, branches, brooks, ponds (except farm ponds, industrial settling basins and ponds and water treatment facilities), impounding reservoirs, springs, wells, watercourses and wetlands. See West Virginia Code 22-11-3
The provisions of this article inure solely to and are for the benefit of the people generally of the State of West Virginia, and this article is not intended to in any way create new, or enlarge existing rights of riparian owners or others. An order of the director or of the board, the effect of which is to find that pollution exists, or that any person is causing pollution, or any other order, or any violation of any of the provisions of this article shall give rise to no presumptions of law or findings of fact inuring to or for the benefit of persons other than the State of West Virginia.