                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

APPOINTMENT OF RECEIVER FOR CERTAIN PRIVATE WATERWORKS; GROUNDS FOR SUCH
APPOINTMENT; PETITION AND HEARING, ETC (§ 32.1-174.3)

A. In addition to the remedies provided in § 32.1-27 and this chapter for civil
and criminal penalties and injunctive or other relief, the Commissioner may
petition the circuit court for the jurisdiction in which any private waterworks
is located for the appointment of a receiver for such waterworks in accordance
with the provisions of this section. Such petition may be filed at any time that
the Commissioner finds that the waterworks is unable or unwilling to provide
adequate and safe service for any of the following reasons:

   1. The waterworks can no longer be depended upon to furnish pure water;

   2. The waterworks has inadequate capacity to furnish pure water to its
   customers;

   3. The owner has failed to comply with an order issued by the Commissioner;

   4. The owner has abandoned the waterworks and has discontinued supplying pure
   water to his customers;

   5. The owner is subject to a forfeiture order pursuant to &#xA7; 32.1-174.1;
   or

   6. The Commissioner has issued an emergency order because there is an imminent
   danger to the public health and welfare resulting from the operation of the
   waterworks or the source of the water supply.

B. Upon the filing of a petition for appointment of a receiver for a private
waterworks, the court shall hold a hearing within 10 days, at which time the
Commissioner and the owner of the waterworks may present evidence. The court may
grant the petition if it finds any one or more of the conditions identified in
subsection A and the court further finds that the conditions will not be
remedied and that the health and welfare of the owner&#8217;s customers will not
be protected unless the petition is granted.

C. Upon appointment the receiver shall take possession of the assets of the
waterworks and shall operate the waterworks in the best interests of the
customers. The receiver shall have such powers and duties to operate and manage
the waterworks as the court may grant and direct, including the filing of such
reports as the court may direct and the power to receive, conserve, protect, and
disburse funds; further, the provisions of Article 1 (&#xA7; 8.01-582 et seq.)
of Chapter 22 of Title 8.01 shall apply, mutatis mutandis.
			The court may grant injunctive relief as it deems appropriate to the
Commissioner or the receiver either in conjunction with or subsequent to the
granting of a petition for appointment of a receiver under this section.

D. Control of and responsibility for the waterworks shall remain in the
receivership until the waterworks can, in the best interest of the customers, be
returned to the owner, transferred to a new owner, or otherwise configured as
the court may determine to be in the best interests of the public and the
customers.

E. The court may terminate the receivership on the motion of the Commissioner,
the receiver, or the owner, upon finding, after a hearing, that the conditions
initiating the petition for the appointment of a receiver have been eliminated
or resolved. Within 30 days after such termination, the receiver shall file a
complete report of his activities with the court, including an accounting for
all property of which he took possession and all funds collected.
			A receiver appointed pursuant to this section shall be an officer of the
court, shall not be liable for the conditions of the waterworks that existed
prior to his receivership, and shall not be personally liable, except for his
own gross negligence or intentional acts, to injuries or damage to property
relating to the waterworks during his receivership.
			This subsection shall not, however, be construed to relieve any owner of any
duty imposed by law or of any civil or criminal liability incurred by reasons of
any act or omission of such owner.

HISTORY: 2003, c. 458.