Campgrounds

Who permits and inspects my Campground for Safety?

Recreational Facilities, which are permitted in West Virginia under the Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau for Public Health General Sanitation with the regulatory authority being the Grafton Taylor County Health Department.  General Sanitation includes the following categories:

• Adult Day Care Center
• Bed & Breakfast Inns
• Body Piercing Studio
• Campgrounds
• Child Care and Family Care Centers
• Institutions and Schools
• Labor Camps
• Mass Gatherings, Fairs & Festivals
• Manufactured Home Community
• Motels and Tourist Cabins
• Organized Camps
• Parks and Playgrounds
• Producer Dairy Farm
• Recreational Water Facility
• Shelters and Group Home
• Tattoo Studio
• Other
• Public Restrooms (Nuisance Complaint Basis Only)

Campground Definitions:

• A campground, as one of the general sanitation categories, is defined as a tract of land established, maintained, and offered to the public for payment for the location or placement of two or more comping units.  
• A Camping Unit is any tent, camping vehicle, cabin, or similar vehicle or structure designed or intended to be used for camping purposes.  
• A “camping unit” means and includes, but is not limited to, tents, tent campers, fold down campers, pop up campers, travel trailers, camping vans, motor homes, pick up coach campers, or any other unit built or mounted on a vehicle or chassis and capable of being self-propelled or towed.  
• Campsites are any plot of land within a campground used or intended to be used for the location or placement of a comping unit.  
• Primitive Camping are campsites provide for temporary use by persons seeking a very basic outdoor experience, without amenities typically found in a campground. 
• Camping sites for primitive camping are not provided with water under pressure or electrical service. 
• The Operator is the person who has been granted a written permit, in accordance with this rule, to operate a facility governed by this rule.

Each of these General Sanitation categories are permitted and inspected by the Grafton Taylor Health Department’s environmental Sanitarians. 

These rules mandate that owners and operators of General Sanitation facilities have proper management of animals within permitted establishments; bedding & sleeping areas; prevention of communicable diseases; storage & disposal of garbage, refuse & solid waste; heating & ventilation; housekeeping & maintenance; laundry; lighting; noise; plumbing; establishment safety; sewage disposal; sizing & spacing; storage of toxins; structure & maintenance; establishment surroundings; toilet, hand washing & shower facilities; rodent & insect control; and sanitary water supply. 

So, How does the Owner or Operator have their Campground Permitted?

In Taylor County, WV any person that owns or operates a campground or organized camp that has not yet been permitted, or is new, being renovated, or has a change of ownership must fill out an application: 

Campground/Organized Camp Application

All one-page Applications to Operate a Campground must be completed and submitted to the Grafton Taylor Health Department with the appropriate fees for permit as set forth in Legislative Rule 64CSR30 at least fifteen (15) days before prior to the expiration date of the existing permit for all renewal permits.  

For new campground applications for permits they shall arrive at least fifteen (15) days before the actual or proposed operation of the facility is to be affected.  Applications for new campground permits will only be accepted after a proper Plan Review has been submitted and approved by the Grafton Taylor Health Department.  Plan Reviews are addressed under General Sanitation. 

Application fees for all fixed expiration date Permits will be calculated using the below formula from Legislative Rule 64CSR30H:

A late fee of 25 percent for all expired permits listed in this rule will be applied to the permit fee schedule.  Payment must be received within 10 days of the expiration date to avoid the late fee assessment.  All applications for permits that are received in less than 10 days from the expiration date must pay an additional 25% fee on top of the accessed normal fees for permit.

Any application received without the appropriate fees for permit will be denied and the application will be either returned or placed on hold until the fees are received at the health department.  Applications may be mailed or hand delivered to the following address:

Grafton Taylor Health Department
718 W Main St, Grafton, WV 26354

All campgrounds and organized camps must follow the West Virginia General Sanitation Regulations

64 CSR 18 General Sanitation Regulations

Once the application is properly received and approved, the operator must schedule an inspection day, time, and location with a Sanitarian. The Sanitarian will call you to arrange a day, time, and location for inspecting your campground or organized camp to make sure that it meets the General Sanitation Regulations and that it can be operated in a safe and sanitary manner.

Campgrounds and Organized Camps that will have food service or a pool, hot tub, or bathing beach must fill out separate plan review applications for those items.

Food Establishments     Recreational Water Facilities