                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

POWERS (§ 56-49)

In addition to the powers conferred by Title 13.1, each public service
corporation of this Commonwealth organized to conduct a public service business
other than a railroad shall have the power:

1. To cause to be made such examinations and surveys for its proposed line or
location of its works as are necessary to the selection of the most advantageous
location or route or for the improvement or straightening of its line or works,
or changes of location or construction, or providing additional facilities, and
for such purposes, by its officers and servants, to enter upon the lands or
waters of any person but subject to responsibility for all damages that are done
thereto, and subject to permission from, or notice to, the landowner as provided
in &#xA7; 25.1-203.

2. To acquire by the exercise of the right of eminent domain any lands or
estates or interests therein, sand, earth, gravel, water or other material,
structures, rights-of-way, easements or other interests in lands, including
lands under water and riparian rights, of any person, which are deemed necessary
for the purposes of construction, reconstruction, alteration, straightening,
relocation, operation, maintenance, improvement or repair of its lines,
facilities or works, and for all its necessary business purposes incidental
thereto, for its use in serving the public either directly or indirectly through
another public service corporation, including permanent, temporary, continuous,
periodical or future use, whenever the corporation cannot agree on the terms of
purchase or settlement with any such person because of the incapacity of such
person or because of the inability to agree on the compensation to be paid or
other terms of settlement or purchase, or because any such person cannot with
reasonable diligence be found or is unknown, or is a nonresident of the
Commonwealth, or is unable to convey valid title to such property. Such
proceeding shall be conducted in the manner provided by Chapter 2 (&#xA7;
25.1-200 et seq.) of Title 25.1 and shall be subject to the provisions of &#xA7;
25.1-102. However, the corporation shall not take by condemnation proceedings a
strip of land for a right-of-way within 60 feet of the dwelling house of any
person except (i) when the court having jurisdiction of the condemnation
proceeding finds, after notice of motion to be granted authority to do so to the
owner of such dwelling house, given in the manner provided in &#xA7;&#xA7;
25.1-209, 25.1-210, and 25.1-212, and a hearing thereon, that it would otherwise
be impractical, without unreasonable expense, to construct the proposed works of
the corporation at another location; (ii) in case of occupancy of the streets or
alleys, public or private, of any county, city or town, in pursuance of
permission obtained from the board of supervisors of such county or the
corporate authorities of such city or town; or (iii) in case of occupancy of the
highways of this Commonwealth or of any county, in pursuance of permission from
the authorities having jurisdiction over such highways. A public service
corporation which has not been (i) allotted territory for public utility service
by the State Corporation Commission or (ii) issued a certificate to provide
public utility service shall acquire lands or interests therein by eminent
domain as provided in this subdivision for lines, facilities, works or purposes
only after it has obtained any certificate of public convenience and necessity
required for such lines, facilities, works or purposes under Chapter 10.1
(&#xA7; 56-265.1 et seq.) of this title.
			And provided, further, that notwithstanding the foregoing nor any other
provision of the law the right of eminent domain shall not be exercised for the
purpose of acquiring any lands or estates or interests therein nor any other
property for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance or operation of any
pipeline for the transportation of coal.
			For the purposes of this section, the words &#8220;public service
corporation&#8221; shall include any Virginia limited liability company as
defined in &#xA7; 56-1 that has been issued a certificate of public convenience
and necessity authorizing it to furnish telecommunications services of a public
utility set forth in subdivision (b) of &#xA7; 56-265.1 and that seeks to
construct or acquire facilities for use in providing the certificated
telecommunications service.

HISTORY: 1944, p. 539; Michie Suppl. 1946, § 3866a; 1952, c. 497; 1956, c. 438;
1962, c. 222; 1972, c. 657; 1988, c. 649; 1990, c. 630; 1999, cc. 484, 531;
2003, c. 940; 2004, c. 1028.