                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DAMS AND FISHWAYS (§ 29.1-532)

Any dam or other object in a watercourse, which obstructs navigation or the
passage of fish, shall be deemed a nuisance, unless it is used to work a mill,
factory or other machine or engine useful to the public, and is allowed by law
or order of court. Any person owning or having control of any dam or other
obstruction in the streams of the Commonwealth which may interfere with the free
passage of anadromous and other migratory fish, shall provide every such dam or
other obstruction with a suitable fishway unless the Board considers it
unnecessary. The purpose of such a fishway is for anadromous and other migratory
fish to have free passage up and down the streams during March, April, May and
June, and down the streams throughout the remaining months. &#8220;Suitable
fishway&#8221; means a fishway which passes significant numbers of the target
fishes, as determined by the Board.
		Owners of such dams or other authorized obstructions shall maintain and keep
fishways operational, in good repair, and restore them in case of destruction.
		Owners of dams or other obstructions which are not authorized by law must have
the obstacles removed at their expense when the Board determines that the
obstacles interfere with the free passage of anadromous and other migratory fish
within the streams of the Commonwealth.
		The circuit court of the county or city in which the dam is situated, after
reasonable notice to the parties or party interested and upon satisfactory proof
of the failure to comply, may order any necessary construction or destruction to
be initiated or put in good repair at the expense of the owner of the dam or
other obstruction. All such construction or destruction must be initiated within
one year of the court order and completed within three years of the court order.
		Any person failing to comply with this section shall pay as a penalty a
percentage of the estimated cost of construction or destruction equal to the
percentage specified on the judgment rate of interest pursuant to § 6.2-302,
and the Board shall provide construction or destruction cost estimates.
		Penalties collected pursuant to this section shall be directed to the
Department.
		This section shall not apply to the Meherrin River within the Counties of
Brunswick and Greensville, nor to the Meherrin River within or between the
Counties of Lunenburg and Mecklenburg, nor to the Nottoway River between the
Counties of Lunenburg and Nottoway, nor to Abram&#8217;s Creek in Shawnee
district, Frederick County, nor to the James River between the City of Lynchburg
and the County of Amherst, nor to the James River within the City of Richmond
and between the City of Richmond and Henrico County, except that the exemption
for those dams west of Virginia Route 161 which are located on the James River
within the City of Richmond and between the City of Richmond and Henrico County
shall expire on January 1, 1990, nor any streams within the Counties of Augusta,
Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Louisa, Buckingham, Halifax, Montgomery, Pulaski,
Franklin, Russell, Tazewell, Giles, Bland, Craig, Wythe, Carroll and Grayson,
nor to that part of any stream that forms a part of the boundary of Halifax and
Franklin Counties. Furthermore, no fish ladders shall be required on dams twenty
feet or more in height. The City of Richmond shall continue to work with the
Department toward implementing and funding a plan for breaching dams to provide
fishways for the passage of anadromous and other migratory fish.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 29-151; 1950, p. 891; 1958, c. 607; 1987, c. 488; 1988,
c. 487; 2020, c. 958.