West Virginia Code 22-14-13 – Offenses and penalties
(a) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this article or any certificate of approval, order, rule or requirement of the secretary or department is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000, or incarcerated in a county or regional jail not more than six months, or both fined and incarcerated.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 22-14-13
- Certificate of approval: means the written approval issued by the secretary to a person who has applied to the secretary for a certificate of approval that authorizes the person to place, construct, enlarge, alter, repair or remove a dam and specifies the conditions or limitations under which the work is to be performed by that person. See West Virginia Code 22-14-3
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Dam: means an artificial barrier or obstruction, including any works appurtenant to it and any reservoir created by it, which is or will be placed, constructed, enlarged, altered or repaired so that it does or will impound or divert water and:
(A) Is or will be twenty-five feet or more in height from the natural bed of the stream or watercourse measured at the downstream toe of the barrier and which does or can impound fifteen acre-feet or more of water. See West Virginia Code 22-14-3
- Department: means the Department of Environmental Protection. See West Virginia Code 22-14-3
- Director: means the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection or his or her designee. See West Virginia Code 22-1-2
- Enlargement: means any change in or addition to an existing dam which: (1) Raises the height of the dam. See West Virginia Code 22-14-3
- Owner: means any person who:
(1) Holds legal possession, ownership or partial ownership of an interest in a dam, its appurtenant works or the real property the dam is situated upon. See West Virginia Code 22-14-3
- Person: means any public or private corporation, institution, association, society, firm, organization or company organized or existing under the laws of this or any other state or country. See West Virginia Code 22-14-3
- Secretary: means the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection. See West Virginia Code 22-14-3
(b) Any person who willfully obstructs, hinders or prevents the secretary or department or its agents or employees from performing the duties imposed on them by the provisions of this article or who willfully resists the exercise of the control and supervision conferred by the provisions of this article upon the secretary or department or its agents or employees or any owner or any person acting as a director, officer, agent or employee of an owner, or any contractor or agent or employee of a contractor who engages in the placement, construction, enlargement, repair, alteration, maintenance or removal of any dam who knowingly does work or permits work to be executed on the dam without a certificate of approval or in violation of or contrary to any approval as provided for by the provisions of this article; and any inspector, agent or employee of the department who has knowledge of and who fails to notify the secretary of unapproved modifications to a dam is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000, or incarcerated in the county jail not more than one year, or both fined and incarcerated.