The Legislature hereby finds and declares the following: (a) Coal mining has made and continues to make significant contributions to the economy of West Virginia. These contributions include the creation of quality jobs that pay high wages and provide good benefits; the consequent stimulation and support of mining contractors, suppliers of mining equipment and services, […]
(a) Based upon the information developed under sections eight and nine of this article, the office shall prepare an action report which shall make recommendations for achieving economic development initiatives, including identifying sources of potential funding. (b) The office shall prepare an annual status update of the action report which shall describe accomplishments and prospects […]
The office shall establish a procedure to assist property owners who desire voluntarily to sell their property to the operator or any person, firm or corporation directly or indirectly affiliated with the operator. The procedure developed shall be subject to the following: (1) The procedure only shall apply if all the following conditions are met:
The office shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to establish, implement and enforce the provisions of this article, which rules shall include, but not be limited to: (1) The development of standards for establishing the value of property by the office; and
(a) The provisions of this article shall apply to all surface-mining operations, except: (1) The surface operations and surface impacts incident to an underground coal mine; and
(a) For the purpose of this article: (1) “Department” means the Department of Environmental Protection established in article one, chapter twenty-two of this code;
(a) The Office of Coalfield Community Development is continued within the Department of Commerce. (b) The secretary may appoint a chief to administer the office, who serves at the will and pleasure of the secretary.
The office has and may exercise the following duties, powers, and responsibilities: (1) To establish a procedure for determining the assets that could be developed in and maintained by the community to foster its long-term viability as provided in §5B-2A-8 of this code and to administer the procedure so established;
(a) The office shall, no less frequently than quarterly, either consult with representatives of the departments Office of Mining and Reclamation or review the departments permit application database(s) to determine whether newly proposed surface mines or significant modifications to existing surface mining operations may present opportunities for mine operators to cooperate with local landowners and […]
(a) The office shall determine the community assets that may be developed by the community, county, or region to foster its viability when surface mining operations are completed. (b) Community assets to be identified pursuant to subsection (a) of this section may include the following: (1) Water and wastewater services;
(a) The office shall determine the land and infrastructure needs in the general area of the surface mining operations for which it makes the determination authorized in §5B-2A-6 of this code. (b) For the purposes of this section, the term “general area” shall mean the county or counties in which the mining operations are being […]
