§22-15-21. Waste tire management.

(a) No person, except those persons who have received and maintained a valid permit or license from the state for the operation of a solid waste facility, waste tire monofill, waste tire processing facility, or other such permitted activities, shall accumulate waste tires without obtaining a license or permit from the Division: Provided, That persons who use waste tires for beneficial uses may in the discretion of the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection accumulate waste tires without a permit.

(b) No person shall dispose of waste tires in or upon any public or private land, any site or facility other than a site or facility which holds a valid permit issued by the Department for such disposal or usage.

(c) No person shall knowingly transport or knowingly allow waste tires under his or her control to be transported to a site or facility that does not have a valid permit or license to accept waste tires.

(d) No person shall engage in the open burning of waste tires.

(e) Persons who violate this article are subject to all enforcement actions available to the Secretary under the provisions of section fifteen, article fifteen, chapter twenty-two of this code.

(f) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (g) of this section, each retailer is required to accept one tire of comparable size for each new tire sold at retail. The retailer may charge a disposal fee to cover the actual costs of lawful waste tire disposal. No retail tire dealer may deliver any waste tire, or part thereof, to a person not authorized by the State of West Virginia to transport or accept waste tires.

(g) Any person purchasing a new tire from a retailer must provide a used or waste tire for each tire purchased or sign a waiver, provided to the tire retailer by the Department, acknowledging that he or she is retaining the waste tire and that he or she is legally responsible for proper disposal of each tire retained. These forms are to be kept by the retailer for three years. If the tire purchaser returns to the tire retailer with a signed form given to the purchaser by that retailer, the retailer must accept up to the total number of comparable size tires as previously retained by the purchaser: Provided, That persons having winter tires changed or buying new winter tires and keeping usable summer tires for later installation are not required to provide a used or waste tire or sign a waiver.

(h) Each tire retailer shall post in a conspicuous place a written notice, provided by the Department, that bears the following statements:

(1) "State law requires us to accept your (old) waste tires for recycling or proper disposal if you purchase new tires from us."

(2) "State law authorizes us to charge you no more than the actual cost of disposal of your waste tires even if you do not leave your tires with us."

(3) "It is a crime to burn, bury, abandon or throw away waste tires without authorization and or permits from the Department of Environmental Protection."

This notice must be at least eight and one-half inches wide and eleven inches high.

(i) Solid waste facilities shall accept whole waste tires and may charge a reasonable fee for acceptance of waste tires. All waste tires except those disposed of in a landfill shall be excluded from the calculation of monthly tonnage limits and from any solid waste disposal assessment fees imposed by section nineteen, article fifteen-a, chapter twenty-two; section eleven, article fifteen, chapter twenty-two; section four, article sixteen, chapter twenty-two; and section thirty, article four, chapter twenty-two-c of this code.

(j) Solid waste facilities shall accept and dispose of whole tires from state authorized tire remediation projects. All waste tires from state authorized tire remediation projects except those disposed of in a landfill shall be excluded from the calculation of monthly tonnage limits and from any solid waste disposal assessment fees imposed by section nineteen, article fifteen-a, chapter twenty-two; section eleven, article fifteen, chapter twenty-two; section four, article sixteen, chapter twenty-two; and section thirty, article four, chapter twenty-two-c of this code. For state-sponsored tire remediation projects, the state may negotiate with the solid waste facility for rates and charges for the disposal of waste tires regardless of the rates and charges established by the Public Service Commission pursuant to article one, chapter twenty-four of this code: Provided, That the disposal of whole tires in a solid waste facility is allowed only when the Department of Environmental Protection has determined there is no other reasonable alternative available.

(k) The Department shall propose for legislative promulgation emergency and legislative rules to effectuate the purposes of this section.