Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024
Section 150-9-7 - Rules Applicable To Motor Carriers Transporting Solid Waste7.1. Application of rules. - The rules in this section shall apply to all motor carriers engaged in the transportation of solid waste.7.2. Conditions of service.7.2.1. With respect to a residential customer, a common carrier by motor vehicle of solid waste is not required to pick up solid waste unless the customer places the solid waste at curbside or roadside of a public highway or public access route serving the customer's premises. Provided, however, that a carrier shall make exceptions to this rule, upon prior request, for households solely occupied by individuals who are incapacitated by illness or disability or where circumstances make curbside or roadside placement of solid waste either impractical or unreasonable.7.2.2. Every motor carrier of solid waste shall maintain all motor vehicles used in the transportation of solid waste in a proper and sanitary operating condition.7.2.3. Every motor carrier of solid waste in residential service shall provide and maintain a regularly scheduled pickup service. The carrier shall give each residential customer the schedule of pickup service to be provided. Exceptions to the regularly scheduled pickup service shall only be for reasons beyond the carrier's control, including, but not limited to, dangerous road conditions, inclement weather, flooding and road closures. These exceptions shall be at the discretion of the motor carrier. A motor carrier shall report interruptions lasting longer than five (5) days to the Commission and the motor carrier and Commission Staff shall establish a contingency pick-up arrangement for the affected customers.7.2.4. To allow its customers to communicate with it, every motor carrier of solid waste shall be reachable by telephone during normal business hours and shall attempt to respond to telephone messages by customers within twenty-four (24) hours of any telephone message left by a customer during normal business hours. All telephone service from places within the carrier's certificated territory to the carrier's telephone number(s) shall be toll-free.7.2.5. A motor carrier of solid waste or its employees may, but are not required to, accept payment of bills along the operating route.7.2.6. Every motor carrier of solid waste shall establish at least two (2) payment options, including the United States Mail and a designated place convenient to a majority of the carrier's customer.7.2.7. Except as to the transportation of bulky goods, a common carrier by motor vehicle of solid waste may refuse to collect solid waste from a residential customer unless that solid waste is in a suitable, waterproof container with a loaded weight of thirty (30) pounds or less. For purposes of this rule, the term "container" shall include plastic bags and garbage cans.7.2.8. A motor carrier of solid waste may refuse to collect solid waste that was not generated by the individuals residing in the household of a subscribing residential customer.7.2.9. A motor carrier of solid waste may not impose a specific bag, quantity, or weight limit on waste generated by a residential customer without prior approval by the Commission.7.2.10. Motor carriers of solid waste are encouraged to apply for the Commission's approval of either optional or mandatory us age-sensitive rates (for example, a per-bag rate). If a carrier's Commission-approved tariff includes a usage-sensitive rate as a customer option, the carrier may be authorized to charge a flat rate covering the weekly pickup of the contents of a certain number of containers per customer household; in such cases, the customers would be required to pay usage-sensitive rates for weekly accumulations above the established container limit.7.2.11. A motor carrier of solid waste in residential service is not required to collect and transport automotive components, parts, or frames that weigh more than two hundred (200) pounds each. A residential customer should use an authorized wrecker company to transport such items to a salvage yard or other appropriate destination.7.2.12. A motor carrier of solid waste is not required to collect and transport from a subscribing residential customer household any construction and demolition debris that was not generated by projects located on the property of that subscribing residential customer household.7.2.13. The compensation for the collection and transportation of construction and demolition materials and tires with a radius greater than 16.5 inches from subscribing and non-subscribing residents shall be negotiated between the resident and the solid waste motor carrier.7.2.14. A motor carrier of solid waste is not required to empty containers in which burning has taken place.7.2.15. A motor carrier of solid waste is not responsible for cleaning up any solid waste spilled by it when making pickups.7.2.16. Nothing in Rule 7.2. shall be construed to require a motor carrier of solid waste to collect or transport materials that the solid waste facilities used by that carrier can lawfully refuse to accept.7.2.17. A motor carrier of solid waste may identify residential customers by use of identification stickers, provided that subscribing customers shall continue to receive service in the event an identification sticker becomes lost or stolen.7.2.18. Upon notice to its customers, a motor carrier of solid waste may require residential customers to properly dispose of hypodermic needles as a condition of service.7.3. Termination of service for nonpayment of bill.7.3.1. Unless otherwise provided in the tariff of a motor carrier of solid waste, a bill is due at the end of the period of service for which a bill, coupon, or voucher, as the case may be, has been issued. Upon providing written notice, as hereinafter set forth in this Rule, a motor carrier of solid waste may terminate service to any customer who has failed to pay any one bill within thirty (30) days after the due date.7.3.2. Notice of termination of service shall be in writing and shall be given by United States Mail at least seven (7) days prior to the termination of service. The notice shall specifically inform the customer that his service will terminate as of a specified date. The notice shall include a statement that West Virginia law requires citizens to properly dispose of solid waste by subscribing to solid waste collection service or by transporting their own solid waste to a solid waste facility.7.4. Participation in recycling programs.7.4.1. Every motor carrier of solid waste shall participate in a recycling program which attempts to address at least thirty (30) percent of the waste stream generated by the carrier's customers.7.4.2. To recover additional estimated costs associated with the recycling program, any motor carrier of solid waste may apply for the approval of a surcharge to apply to all of its customers.7.5. Furnishing list of customers, or of non-subscribing waste generators, to solid waste authorities.7.5.1. Every common carrier of solid waste shall, on an annual basis, provide a customer count to each county or regional solid waste authority having jurisdiction in the carrier's operating territory and to the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection Solid Waste Management Board. A listing of its industrial, commercial and residential customers, including names and service addresses or, in the alternative, a listing of the names and addresses of non-sub scribing waste generators in its service area shall be provided upon request by those agencies. The express purpose of this Rule is to assist such authorities in enforcing W. Va. Code §2204-10 and other applicable laws. If a carrier fails to comply with this requirement, a formal complaint may be filed.7.6. Establishment of monthly bulky goods collection service available to all households located in motor carrier's operating authority. 7.6.1. Every motor carrier of solid waste shall provide regularly scheduled monthly bulky goods collection service available to all households located in that carrier's operating territory.7.6.2. To recover additional estimated costs associated with implementation of bulky goods collection service, a carrier may apply to the Commission for approval of (a) surcharges to be applied to all of that carrier's regular residential customers and/or (b) a schedule of charges to be applied to all other individuals located in that carrier's operating territory who request bulky goods collection service from that carrier.7.6.3. A motor carrier of solid waste may propose a surcharge not to exceed one dollar ($1.00) per subscribing residential customer per month without filing the information required by Rule 42 of the commission's Tariff Rules. Proposed surcharges in excess of one dollar ($1.00) per subscribing residential customer per month must include the required Rule 42 information. The Commission may, by general order, raise this surcharge above one dollar ($1.00) per subscribing residential customer per month.7.6.4. To enable it to reasonably predict the number and size of bulky goods for collection on a monthly bulky goods collection date, a motor carrier of solid waste may require that customers place bulky goods on the curb side by 7:00 a.m. on the last day that it conducts its regular household waste collection that precedes the date of that carrier's monthly bulky goods collection. The carrier shall mail, on an annual basis, written notice of its bulky goods collection schedule to all existing residential customers and shall mail written notice of the schedule to each new customer as follows: "Your service includes monthly removal of oversized items including, but not limited to refrigerators, washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers, ovens, stoves, microwave ovens, and other appliances; televisions; home computers; air conditioners; bicycles; furniture; waste tires off the rim, having a radius of no more than 16.5 inches, from automobiles, from pickup trucks from motorcycles, from all-terrain, vehicles, and from farm tractors; and other items, not included in the above, that are at least three (3) feet in length, width, or height or at least fifty (50) pounds in weight. Bulky goods pickup in your neighborhood will occur each month on [carrier to insert day/week of the month].
The following items are not included in bulky goods service and your solid waste collector may refuse to pick them up:
(a) automotive components, parts, or frames that weigh at least two hundred (200) pounds each;(b) automotive parts, such as motors and transmissions, that have a high density;(d) items that can be easily divided and placed into bags, boxes, or other containers, less than three (3) feet high, long, or wide, that, with contents, weigh less than fifty (50) pounds each; and (e) construction and demolition debris generally. This service is designed to eliminate the illegal disposal of oversized items."
7.6.5. These provisions shall not preclude a customer and a carrier from negotiating a price for a collection of bulky or other goods on a date other than the carrier's regularly scheduled monthly bulky goods collection service.7.7. Annual written agreements between common carriers by motor vehicle of solid waste and their commercial customers. 7.7.1. Every common carrier by motor vehicle of solid waste shall, on an annual basis, enter into a written agreement with each of its commercial customers.7.7.2. Every agreement under Rule 7.7. shall be drafted in accordance with the Commission's general orders governing such agreements.7.7.3. Every agreement under Rule 7.7. shall state that the Commission has jurisdiction to ascertain the appropriate rate for the service described in the agreement upon application by the commercial customer, if there is a dispute about the appropriate rate and that the Commission may raise, lower, or modify the rates set forth in the agreement without permission from the commercial customer.