                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

 PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY USE FEE (§ 56-617)

A. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, there is hereby established a
public rights-of-way use fee to be charged in lieu of any and all fees of
general application, except for zoning, subdivision, site plan, and
comprehensive plan fees of general application, otherwise chargeable to a
renewable generator by the Department of Transportation or a locality in
connection with a permit for such occupation and use granted in accordance with
&#xA7; 56-615 or 56-616. The public rights-of-way use fee established by this
section is imposed on all renewable generators that occupy and use public
rights-of-way in order to (i) supply electricity generated at its renewable
energy facility to the electric distribution grid, (ii) distribute steam
generated at its renewable energy facility to customers, or (iii) supply
landfill gas to customers or to a natural gas distribution or transmission
pipeline.

B. The amount of the public rights-of-way use fee for a renewable generator
shall be $1,500 per mile or any portion thereof over which the renewable
generator has installed distribution facilities.

C. A renewable generator shall remit its required public rights-of-way use fee
to the locality or the Department of Transportation, as applicable, prior to
initiation of construction, as follows:

   1. The renewable generator shall remit directly to the applicable locality all
   public rights-of-way use fees billed in (i) cities, (ii) towns whose public
   streets and roads are not maintained by the Department of Transportation, and
   (iii) any county that has withdrawn or elects to withdraw from the secondary
   system of state highways under the provisions of &#xA7; 11 of Chapter 415 of
   the Acts of Assembly of 1932 and that has elected not to return.

   2. The public rights-of-way use fees in all other counties shall be remitted
   by each renewable generator to the Department of Transportation, and shall
   first be used to offset the administrative costs of processing the permit with
   the remaining fee being added to the secondary system construction improvement
   program funds of the counties where the facilities are located.

HISTORY: 2009, c. 807, § 67-1103; 2013, cc. 585, 646; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c.
387.