West Virginia Code 31-21-7 – Voluntary land stewardship program
(a) When the voluntary land stewardship program is implemented, remediation parties and site owners of IEC Sites will have the option, for a fee, to participate in this program. The fee shall be established by the corporation for services provided for an enrolled site as that term is defined in section four of this article. The fees once established may be revised from time to time in the discretion of the board.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 31-21-7
- board: means the board of directors of the corporation to be appointed under the provisions of section six of this article. See West Virginia Code 31-21-2
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Corporation: means the West Virginia Land Stewardship Corporation, a nonstock, nonprofit corporation to be established under the West Virginia Nonprofit Corporation Act, article two, chapter . See West Virginia Code 31-21-2
- Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
- DEP: means the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection or any successor agency. See West Virginia Code 31-21-2
- ECs: means physical controls or measures designed to eliminate the potential for human exposure to contamination by limiting direct contact with contaminated areas, or controlling contaminants from migrating through environmental media into soil, groundwater or off-site. See West Virginia Code 31-21-2
- Enrolled sites: means properties enrolled and accepted for participation in the voluntary Land Stewardship Program. See West Virginia Code 31-21-2
- ICs: means administrative and legal controls that do not involve construction or physically changing the site and are generally divided into four categories: 1) Government controls, 2) Proprietary controls, 3) Enforcement tools, and 4) Informational devices. See West Virginia Code 31-21-2
- IEC Sites: means sites in this state that have been remediated or closed under a federal or state environmental program, including, but not limited to, brownfields, underground storage tanks, closed landfills, open dumps, hazardous waste sites, and former mining sites with ongoing water treatment as part of mine reclamation efforts. See West Virginia Code 31-21-2
- 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
(b) The universe of sites or properties covered under this section of this article includes, but is not limited to, those IEC Sites remediated or closed under a federal or state environmental program, including brownfields, underground storage tanks, closed landfills, open dumps, hazardous waste sites, and former mining sites with ongoing water treatment as part of mine reclamation efforts.
(c) The corporation is further authorized to provide at a minimum the following voluntary land stewardship services for enrolled sites:
(1) Establish or maintain any ICs by filing the appropriate documents or updating such documents when the site is leased, conveyed, subdivided or when remediation occurs: Provided, That the corporation's responsibilities for those activities are expressly identified in agreements for the IEC Site that will be negotiated when a site is enrolled in the voluntary land stewardship program;
(2) Conduct physical inspections of the enrolled sites, including inspecting or monitoring any ECs (e.g., media treatment systems, fences, caps and other mechanisms used as part of the remedy at the IEC Site) and site activities to assure that the enrolled sites continue to comply with the IECs, such as maintenance of ECs and inspecting for compliance with restrictions of specific land uses;
(3) Monitor and operate any required media treatment systems and/or conduct routine surface water, groundwater and or gas monitoring and prepare any monitoring or inspection reports that may be part of the corporation's responsibilities under site enrollment agreements;
(4) Conduct periodic reviews of the county land records to monitor transfers or deed filings to assure that the records are consistent with the required IECs for the enrolled sites, and provide notices to the clerk of the county commission about the results of monitoring or tracking of such records;
(5) Develop administrative records concerning the remediation at enrolled sites in an electronic database, respond to inquiries and coordinate the sharing of such data among various stakeholders, including the DEP, current owners, the remediating parties if not the owners, other state or local agencies (such as county and regional economic development authorities), assessors, potential purchasers, landowners and tenants;
(6) Develop and maintain records and information about enrolled sites for posting on the DEP environmental registry, or any other registry that is used for tracking IECs for IEC Sites in West Virginia and provide for public access to such information; and
(7) Coordinate and share data with West Virginia Miss Utility, the "One-Call" System, including verifying the location of ECs on enrolled sites, providing information about remediation, and sharing any health and safety plans or soil management plans that may be associated with an enrolled site in order to assist any planned excavation at the enrolled site.