Zoning › State preemptions › West Virginia

Federal Protected Lands — New River Gorge NP, Monongahela NF, USACE Locks/Dams (WV)

Tracked preemption from the West Virginia overlay bundle.

Overview

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Effective
2020-12-27
Sunset
—
Authority
federal
Scope
state:WV
Other West Virginia preemptions
W. Va. Code §22-6A — Horizontal Well Control Act (Marcellus/Utica Preemption)W. Va. Code §8-1-5a — Municipal Home Rule Program (Authority Expansion)W. Va. Code Chapter 8A — Land Use Planning Act (Enabling + Dillon's Rule Cap)W. Va. Code §8A-7-8 — County Zoning Voter Referendum RequirementW. Va. Code §22-3 — Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act (SMCRA Primacy)WV Floodplain Management — NFIP Participation MandateW. Va. Code §8-12-5(16) — Manufactured Housing Nondiscrimination FloorWV SB 187 / HB 4115 (2026) — Housing Opportunity Act (Duplex By-Right, PENDING)

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

OR
  • parcel.within_new_river_gorge_np == True
  • parcel.within_monongahela_nf == True
  • parcel.within_usace_ohio_river_easement == True

Preempted fields

2 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
base_districts[*].local_jurisdiction_on_federal_landwaive—Federal land excluded from local zoning jurisdiction under federal supremacy
base_districts[*].usace_navigation_servitudeoverridefederal_supremacyUSACE navigation servitude along Ohio River locks/dams (Hannibal, Pike Island, New Cumberland, Willow Island, Belleville, Racine, R.C. Byrd, Robert C. Byrd L&D, Greenup) preempts inconsistent local riparian regulation

Citation

Authority source
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Act (P.L. 116-260, Div. FF, Title VIII, 2020); 16 U.S.C. (Monongahela NF); Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. §401 et seq., USACE navigation servitude)
§ Federal supremacy over federally-owned/managed lands
https://www.nps.gov/neri/

Research notes

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve (designated 2020 from former NRA), Monongahela National Forest (~919k acres across 10 eastern WV counties), and USACE-managed Ohio River locks/dams along WV's western border preempt local zoning on federal lands. Adjacent private parcels within Park/Forest viewshed or buffer zones remain subject to local zoning but may face NEPA review for federal-permit-touching projects.