S.B. 357, updating the Logging Sediment Control Act (LSCA) and combining civil and criminal penalties, has been signed into law by the governor and will be effective June 5, 2014. This legislation will in no way change the WVDOF enforcement and management of the LSCA program. It will continue to be West Virginia Division of Forestry's (WVDOF) intent to keep loggers working, and they will do everything possible to take care of problems or potential problems as in the past. The WVDOF will now be able to issue a citation for failure to reclaim to the BMP standards in addition to the original four (no license, no notification, no certified logger, no sign). A civil penalty will now be applied to each citation in the amount of $500 in addition to the fine of $250 minimum and up to a $500 maximum plus court costs. The civil penalty will now be administrated by the court thus reducing cost to the WVDOF to bring forth a lawsuit.
[prepared by Greg Cook, Deputy State Forester, WVDOF]

We have reprinted here (with attributions) an opinion piece that bears witness to the need for educating citizens about our businesses. There is much in this op-ed that bears-out the assistance that the author - and others - could use to better understand what we do...

State's Slash-and-Burn Story in a Nutshell
By Jim Sconyers
The Charleston Gazette, p. 4A, May 23, 2014

"Slash and Burn, Plunder and Pillage. That’s my nomination for the new state motto. Let me tell you why.

Part The First - The Forest - In the beginning was the forest. And it was good. All was harmony. Birds tweeted, fish frolicked, bobcats purred, trees grew to mighty size and died an honorable, dignified death. Native peoples lived simply, keeping their carbon footprints small.

Last week, we published here a list of meetings with locations and dates. We will continue to publish this list to emphasize their importance and to update the list as necessary. These meetings are planned throughout West Virginia and concern themselves with a proposed rule from the Environmental Protection Agency.

This proposed rule would effectively eliminate the word "navigable" from the decades old language of the Clean Water Act’s jurisdiction over "navigable waters of the U.S." This possibility is real and could lead to the expansion of federal regulation of forest management, even though West Virginia is one of the few states to have mandated Best Management Practices to prevent water pollution and the CWA carries a "silvicultural exemption."

WVFA is a part of the "Friends of Firewood" network. This network also includes the WVU-Appalachian Hardwood Center and firewood producers throughout the state. The mission of "Friends of Firewood" is to provide information to firewood producers that promote safety, efficiency and profitability within their businesses. Fact sheets have been developed on topics such as preventing the spread of invasive species and minimizing injuries when operating a chainsaw; the fact sheets are available for download at the WVFA website. Workshops on these and other topics have been held over the last years and a new WVFA category of membership is available. If you would like additional information on these workshops or the "Friends of Firewood" network, please contact the WVFA. To visit the Friends of Firewood website click here.