W. Va. Code R. § 150-8-2
The present rules of the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration, governing the reporting of railroad accidents, together with any amendments or changes in said rules or forms which may hereafter be promulgated by said agency are hereby adopted as the rules and forms of this Commission governing the reporting of railroad accidents within the State of West Virginia.
The aforementioned Federal Rules and Forms to be used are listed in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Title 49 - Transportation, Part 225 - RAILROAD ACCIDENTS/INCIDENTS: REPORTS CLASSIFICATION AND INVESTIGATIONS. Whenever such reports are submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration, identical copies of each must be submitted simultaneously to this Commission.
Accident reports made by railroads in compliance with these rules shall be for the information of the Commission and shall not be open to public inspection except upon prior written approval by this Commission of an application, which shall state with full particularity how the information will be used and how such use will contribute to the promotion of safety in railroad operation. Each such request will be in substantially the form prescribed by the Federal Railroad Administration in 49 CFR Section 225.11, substituting the name of the Public Service Commission of West Virginia in the heading thereof. No such request will be granted until the Commission is satisfied that such inspection will not result in a violation of Section 4 of the Federal Accident Reports Act, as stated in 49 CFR Section 225.7 (b).
All previous orders of this Commission relating to railroad accident reports are hereby canceled and superseded.
W. Va. Code R. § 150-8-2