§22-18-22. Appropriation of funds; Hazardous Waste Management Fund.

(a) The net proceeds of all fines, penalties and forfeitures collected under this article shall be appropriated as directed by section five, article XII of the Constitution of West Virginia. For the purposes of this section, the net proceeds of the fines, penalties and forfeitures are considered the proceeds remaining after deducting therefrom those sums appropriated by the Legislature for defraying the cost of administering this article. All permit application fees collected under this article shall be paid into the State Treasury into a special fund designated the Hazardous Waste Management Fund. In making the appropriation for defraying the cost of administering this article, the Legislature shall first take into account the sums included in that special fund prior to deducting additional sums as may be needed from the fines, penalties and forfeitures collected pursuant to this article.

(b) Effective on July 1, 2003, there is imposed an annual certification fee for facilities that manage hazardous waste, as defined by the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended. The secretary shall propose a rule for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code to establish the certification fee. The rule shall be a product of a negotiated rule-making process with the facilities subject to the rule. The rule shall, at a minimum, establish different fee rates for facilities based on criteria established in the rule. The total amount of fees generated raise no more funds than are necessary and adequate to meet the matching requirements for all federal grants which support the hazardous waste management program, but shall not exceed $700,000 per year.

(c) The revenues collected from the annual certification fee shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Hazardous Waste Management Fee Fund, which is continued. Moneys of the fund, together with any interest or other return earned on the fund, shall be expended to meet the matching requirements of federal grant programs which support the hazardous waste management program. Expenditures from the fund are for the purposes set forth in this article and are not authorized from collections, but are to be made only in accordance with appropriation by the Legislature and in accordance with the provisions of §12-3-1 et seq. of this code and upon the fulfillment of the provisions set forth in §5A-2-1 et seq. of this code. Amounts collected which are found, from time to time, to exceed the funds needed for purposes set forth in this article may be transferred to other accounts by appropriation of the Legislature.

(d) The fee provided in subsection (b) of this section and the fund established in subsection (c) of this section shall terminate on June 30, 2025. The department shall, by December 31 of each year, report to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance regarding moneys collected into the Hazardous Waste Management Fee Fund and expenditures by the agency, including any federal matching moneys received and providing an accounting on the collection of the fee by type of permit activity, funds being expended and current and future projected balances of the fund.