WV Waste Management

West Virginia Solid Waste Authorities

West Virginia's fifty local Solid Waste Authorities (SWAs) were created in 1989 by W.Va. Code §22C-4. The Legislative intent was to protect the public health and welfare with a comprehensive program of solid waste collection, processing, recycling and disposal, managed for the most part, on the local level. Responsibilities of the authorities include but are not limited to acquisition, construction of and/or operation of solid waste facilities; local and/or regional solid waste planning; siting approval of commercial solid waste facilities; coordinating public education and awareness; solid waste and litter control project coordination/ management and many other thing consistent with W.Va. Code §22C-4.

The Solid Waste Management Board's Recycling, Market Development & Planning Section is responsible for publishing and providing periodic updates to the Solid Waste Authority Administrative Guide. The purpose of this document is to provide initial instruction to new SWA board members and provide a resource for SWA veterans detailing the operational aspects of their county and/or regional Solid Waste Authorities (SWAs).

Subjects covered in the guide include SWA administration, business procedures, solid waste planning, issuing certificates of siting approval for solid waste facilities, SWMB grants, recycling and market development, the role of education in solid waste management, cleaning up open dumps, enforcing mandatory disposal and operating and closing solid waste authority owned facilities.

The states fifty county and regional solid waste authorities are responsible for providing the Solid Waste Management Board with their Comprehensive Litter and Solid Waste Control Plan and Commercial Solid Waste Facility Siting Plan. These plans are to be updated every five years. Instructions for completing the plans can be found in the Solid Waste Authority Administrative Guide. The required format and content of both plans are denoted in detail in Title 54 Legislative Rules, Series 3 and 4:

• Series 3, Comprehensive Litter and Solid Waste Control Plans;
• Series 4, Commercial Solid Waste Facility Siting Plans;

Solid Waste Authority Member Training Material

The following material is from the New Member Training Workshop held at Blessed John XXIII Center, Charleston, WV on October 6, 2011

W.Va. Code §22C-4-10 requires that everyone in the state dispose of their garbage legally. W.Va. Code §22C-4 gives the SWAs the authority to promulgate rules to that effect and reads as follows:

W.Va. Code §22C-4-23(3): The authority board of directors shall promulgate rules to implement the provisions of sections nine and ten of this article and is authorized to promulgate rules for the purposes of this article and the general operation and administration of authority affairs.

State law requires households to do one of the following with their solid waste; 1.) subscribe to and use an approved solid waste collection service; 2.) have proof that your waste was disposed of...