Bill Text: WV HB4613 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Allowing the Division of Highways use money in the Gas Field Highway Repair and Horizontal Drilling Waste Study Fund
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-07 - On 2nd reading, House Calendar [HB4613 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2020-HB4613-Introduced.html
WEST virginia legislature
2020 regular session
Introduced
House Bill 4613
By Delegate Butler
(By Request of the Department of Transportation,
Division of Highways)
[Introduced January 30, 2020; Referred to the Committee on Technology and Infrastructure then Finance]
A BILL to amend and reenact §22-15-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to disbursement of the funds in the “Gas Field Highway Repair and Horizontal Drilling Waste Study Fund” for highway road repair; providing that money from the fund is to be expended within the district where gas field and horizontal drilling waste is deposited; and updating grammatical style throughout the section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 15. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ACT.
§22-15-11. Solid waste assessment fee; penalties.
(a) Imposition. — A solid waste assessment fee is hereby imposed upon the disposal of solid waste at any solid waste disposal facility in this state in the amount of $1.75 per ton or part thereof of solid waste. The fee imposed by this section is in addition to all other fees and taxes levied by law and shall be added to and constitute part of any other fee charged by the operator or owner of the solid waste disposal facility.
(b) Collection, return,
payment and records. — The person disposing of solid waste at the solid waste
disposal facility shall pay the fee imposed by this section, whether or not such
the person owns the solid waste, and the fee shall be collected by the
operator of the solid waste facility who shall remit it to the Tax
Commissioner.
(1) The fee imposed by this section accrues at the time the solid waste is delivered to the solid waste disposal facility.
(2) The operator shall remit the fee imposed by this section to the Tax Commissioner on or before the 15th day of the month next succeeding the month in which the fee accrued. Upon remittance of the fee, the operator is required to file returns on forms and in the manner as prescribed by the Tax Commissioner.
(3) The operator shall account to the state for all fees collected under this section and shall hold them in trust for the state until remitted to the Tax Commissioner.
(4) If any operator fails
to collect the fee imposed by this section, he or she is personally liable for such
the amount as he or she failed to collect, plus applicable additions to
tax, penalties and interest imposed by §11-10-1 et seq. of this code.
(5) Whenever any operator
fails to collect, truthfully account for, remit the fee or file returns with
the fee as required in this section, the Tax Commissioner may serve written notice
requiring such the operator to collect the fees which become
collectible after service of such the notice,
to deposit such the fees in a bank approved by the Tax
Commissioner, in a separate account, in trust for and payable to the Tax
Commissioner and to keep the amount of such the fees in such
account until remitted to the Tax Commissioner. Such The notice
remains in effect until a notice of cancellation is served on the operator or
owner by the Tax Commissioner.
(6) Whenever the owner of a solid waste disposal facility leases the solid waste facility to an operator, the operator is primarily liable for collection and remittance of the fee imposed by this section and the owner is secondarily liable for remittance of the fee imposed by this section. However, if the operator fails, in whole or in part, to discharge his or her obligations under this section, the owner and the operator of the solid waste facility are jointly and severally responsible and liable for compliance with the provisions of this section.
(7) If the operator or owner responsible for collecting the fee imposed by this section is an association or corporation, the officers thereof are liable, jointly and severally, for any default on the part of the association or corporation, and payment of the fee and any additions to tax, penalties and interest imposed by §11-10-1 et seq. of this code may be enforced against them as against the association or corporation which they represent.
(8) Each person disposing
of solid waste at a solid waste disposal facility and each person required to
collect the fee imposed by this section shall keep complete and accurate
records in such the form as the Tax Commissioner may require in
accordance with the rules of the Tax Commissioner.
(c) Regulated motor carriers. — The fee imposed by this section and §7-5-22 of this code is considered a necessary and reasonable cost for motor carriers of solid waste subject to the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission under Chapter 24A of this code. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, upon the filing of a petition by an affected motor carrier, the Public Service Commission shall, within 14 days, reflect the cost of said fee in said motor carrier's rates for solid waste removal service. In calculating the amount of said fee to said motor carrier, the commission shall use the national average of pounds of waste generated per person per day as determined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
(d) Definition of solid waste disposal facility. — For purposes of this section, the term “solid waste disposal facility” means any approved solid waste facility or open dump in this state, and includes a transfer station when the solid waste collected at the transfer station is not finally disposed of at a solid waste disposal facility within this state that collects the fee imposed by this section. Nothing herein authorizes in any way the creation or operation of or contribution to an open dump.
(e) Exemptions. — The following transactions are exempt from the fee imposed by this section:
(1) Disposal of solid waste
at a solid waste disposal facility by the person who owns, operates or leases
the solid waste disposal facility if the facility is used exclusively to
dispose of waste originally produced by such the person in such
person's his or her regular business or personal activities or by
persons utilizing the facility on a cost-sharing or nonprofit basis;
(2) Reuse or recycling of any solid waste;
(3) Disposal of residential
solid waste by an individual not in the business of hauling or disposing of
solid waste on such the days and times as designated by the
secretary is exempt from the solid waste assessment fee; and
(4) Disposal of solid waste
at a solid waste disposal facility by a commercial recycler which disposes of 30
percent or less of the total waste it processes for recycling. In order to
qualify for this exemption each commercial recycler must keep accurate records
of incoming and outgoing waste by weight. Such The records must
be made available to the appropriate inspectors from the division, upon
request.
(f) Procedure and administration. — Notwithstanding §11-10-3 section of this code, each and every provision of the “West Virginia Tax Procedure and Administration Act” set forth in §11-10-1 et seq. of this code shall apply to the fee imposed by this section with like effect as if said act were applicable only to the fee imposed by this section and were set forth in extenso herein.
(g) Criminal penalties. — Notwithstanding §11-9-2 of this code, §11-3-3 through §11-3-17 of this code shall apply to the fee imposed by this section with like effect as if said sections were applicable only to the fee imposed by this section and were set forth in extenso herein.
(h) Dedication of
proceeds. — The net proceeds of the fee collected by the Tax Commissioner
pursuant to this section shall be deposited at least monthly in an account
designated by the secretary. The secretary shall allocate $0.25 for each ton of
solid waste disposed of in this state upon which the fee imposed by this
section is collected and shall deposit the total amount so allocated into the “Solid
Waste Reclamation and Environmental Response Fund” to be expended for the
purposes hereinafter specified. The first $1 million of the net proceeds of the
fee imposed by this section collected in each fiscal year shall be deposited in
the “Solid Waste Enforcement Fund” and expended for the purposes hereinafter
specified. The next $250,000 of the net proceeds of the fee imposed by this
section collected in each fiscal year shall be deposited in the “Solid Waste
Management Board Reserve Fund”, and expended for the purposes hereinafter
specified: Provided, That in any year in which the Water Development
Authority determines that the Solid Waste Management Board Reserve Fund is
adequate to defer any contingent liability of the fund, the Water Development
Authority shall so certify to the secretary and the secretary shall then cause
no less than $50,000 nor more than $250,000 to be deposited to the fund: Provided,
however, That in any year in which the water development authority
determines that the Solid Waste Management Board Reserve Fund is inadequate to
defer any contingent liability of the fund, the Water Development Authority
shall so certify to the secretary and the secretary shall then cause not less
than $250,000 nor more than $500,000 to be deposited in the fund: Provided
further, That if a facility owned or operated by the State of West Virginia
is denied site approval by a county or regional solid waste authority, and if such
the denial contributes, in whole or in part, to a default, or drawing
upon a reserve fund, on any indebtedness issued or approved by the Solid Waste
Management Board, then in that event the Solid Waste Management Board or its
fiscal agent may withhold all or any part of any funds which would otherwise be
directed to such the county or regional authority and shall
deposit such the withheld funds in the appropriate reserve fund.
The secretary shall allocate the remainder, if any, of said net proceeds among
the following three special revenue accounts for the purpose of maintaining a
reasonable balance in each special revenue account, which are hereby continued
in the State Treasury:
(1) The “Solid Waste Enforcement Fund” which shall be expended by the secretary for administration, inspection, enforcement and permitting activities established pursuant to this article;
(2) The “Solid Waste Management Board Reserve Fund” which shall be exclusively dedicated to providing a reserve fund for the issuance and security of solid waste disposal revenue bonds issued by the solid waste management board pursuant to §22C-3-1 et seq. of this code;
(3) The “Solid Waste Reclamation and Environmental Response Fund” which may be expended by the secretary for the purposes of reclamation, cleanup and remedial actions intended to minimize or mitigate damage to the environment, natural resources, public water supplies, water resources and the public health, safety and welfare which may result from open dumps or solid waste not disposed of in a proper or lawful manner.
(i) Findings. — In addition to the purposes and legislative findings set forth in section one of this article, the Legislature finds as follows:
(1) In-state and
out-of-state locations producing solid waste should bear the responsibility of
disposing of said solid waste or compensate other localities for costs
associated with accepting such the solid waste;
(2) The costs of maintaining and policing the streets and highways of the state and its communities are increased by long distance transportation of large volumes of solid waste; and
(3) Local approved solid waste facilities are being prematurely depleted by solid waste originating from other locations.
(j) The “Gas Field Highway
Repair and Horizontal Drilling Waste Study Fund” is hereby created as a special
revenue fund in the State Treasury to be administered by the West Virginia
Division of Highways and to be expended only on the improvement, maintenance,
and repair of public roads of three lanes or less located in the watershed
from which the revenue was received Division of Highway’s district where
the waste is deposited that are identified by the Commissioner of Highways
as having been damaged by trucks and other traffic associated with horizontal
well drilling sites or the disposal of waste generated by such the
sites, and that experience congestion caused, in whole or in part, by such
the trucks and traffic that interferes with the use of said roads by
residents in the vicinity of such the roads: Provided, That
up to $750,000 from such the fund shall be made available to the
Department of Environmental Protection from the same fund to offset contracted
costs incurred by the Department of Environmental Protection while undertaking
the horizontal drilling waste disposal studies mandated by the provisions of §22-15-8(j)
of this code. Any balance remaining in the special revenue account at the end
of any fiscal year shall not revert to the General Revenue Fund but shall
remain in the special revenue account and shall be used solely in a manner
consistent with this section. The fund shall consist of the fee provided for in
subsection (k) of this section.
(k) Horizontal drilling waste assessment fee. — An additional solid waste assessment fee is hereby imposed upon the disposal of drill cuttings and drilling waste generated by horizontal well sites in the amount of $1 per ton, which fee is in addition to all other fees and taxes levied by this section or otherwise and shall be added to and constitute part of any other fee charged by the operator or owner of the solid waste disposal facility: Provided, That the horizontal drilling waste assessment fee shall be collected and administered in the same manner as the solid waste assessment fee imposed by this section, but shall be imposed only upon the disposal of drill cuttings and drilling waste generated by horizontal well sites.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow that the Division of Highways may use the money in the Gas Field Highway Repair and Horizontal Drilling Waste Study Fund in the Division of Highways district where the waste was generated or where the fee was received. Currently the money cannot be used because the agencies involved, Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Revenue, do not know the watershed where the waste was generated. This amendment allows the Division of Highways to use the money on roads in the DOH District where the fee is collected. The Division has records of the roads that are impacted by horizontal drilling operations and waste hauling and will be able to use the money to repair roads effected by these operations.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
