Title 62.1, Title 62.1. Waters of the State, Ports and Harbors

The Executive Director shall employ or retain such other agents or employees subordinate to the Executive Director as may be necessary, subject to the Board's approval. The Executive Director shall also exercise such of the powers and duties relating to ports conferred upon the B…

The Authority shall, in the Hampton Roads Area, have and maintain its principal office, at which all of its records shall be kept, and from which its business shall be transacted. It may, if necessary, establish a branch office or offices within or without the Commonwealth or the…

Any conflict between any authority granted to the several port cities and towns or other entities of this Commonwealth, or the exercise of that authority, and the exercise of the authority granted to the Board of Commissioners under this chapter shall be resolved in favor of the …

A. Except as provided in subsection B, the Authority is vested with the powers of a body corporate, including, without limitation, to: 1. Sue and be sued; 2. Make contracts; 3. Adopt and use a common seal, and alter such seal at its pleasure; 4. Procure insurance, participate in …

A. The Authority may issue periodicals and carry and charge for advertising therein. B. The Authority may compile and disseminate in a single publication all port charges, rules, and practices in effect at the several ports in the Commonwealth.

The Authority is empowered to adopt and enforce reasonable rules and regulations governing (i) the maximum and minimum speed limits of motor vehicles using Authority property, (ii) the kinds and sizes of vehicles which may be operated upon Authority property, (iii) materials whic…

The Authority may take such steps as necessary, not inconsistent with other provisions of law, to prevent and suppress fires on the waters of Hampton Roads, its tributaries and other waters in the vicinity of Hampton Roads, and on property adjacent to such waters which is accessi…

A. The Authority may appoint and employ special police officers to enforce the laws of the Commonwealth and rules and regulations adopted pursuant to § 62.1-132.11 on property owned, leased, or operated by the Authority or any of its subsidiaries. By agreement with the locality w…

The Authority may enter into agreements with private maritime cargo terminal operators that require services comparable to services provided by the Authority to permit special police officers appointed and employed by the Authority pursuant to § 62.1-132.12 to provide and enforce…

The Authority is empowered to cooperate with, and to act as an agent for, the United States of America or any agency, department, corporation or instrumentality thereof in the maintenance, development, improvement, and use of harbors and seaports of the Commonwealth, and in any o…

The Authority, in addition to such other state agencies as the Governor may designate, is empowered, on behalf of and as an agent for the Commonwealth, with the approval of the Governor and after review by the Attorney General, to enter into contractual agreements, known as agree…

The Authority may apply for and accept grants or loans of money or property from any federal agency for any purpose authorized in this chapter. It may expend or use such money or property in accordance with any directions, requirements, or conditions which may be imposed by the a…

Under such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by law, the Authority may fix, alter, charge, and collect tolls, fees, rentals, and any other charges for the use of, or for services rendered by, any Authority facility. The Authority may impose, levy, and collect such other f…

Persons, counties, cities, and towns are hereby authorized to grant, and the Authority is empowered to accept, funds and property to use, within the scope of other powers and duties of the Authority, as stipulated by the grantor.

A. The Authority is authorized to acquire, construct, maintain, equip, and operate marine terminals, port facilities, wharves, docks, ships, piers, quays, elevators, compressors, refrigeration storage plants, warehouses, and other structures necessary for the convenient use of th…

A. Except as provided in subsection D, the Authority is empowered to rent, lease, buy, own, acquire, construct, reconstruct, and dispose of harbors, seaports, port facilities, and such property, whether real or personal, as it may find necessary or convenient and issue revenue bo…

The Authority shall have the power to adopt, alter, and repeal bylaws, rules, and regulations governing the manner in which its business shall be transacted and the manner in which the powers of the Authority shall be exercised and its duties performed. Such bylaws, rules, and re…

A. No agency of the Commonwealth, including the Virginia Port Authority, shall have the authority to expand the Craney Island Disposal Area northward or westward. However, the Commonwealth and the Virginia Port Authority are authorized to expend state funds for the construction a…

It shall be the duty of the Authority, on behalf of the Commonwealth, to foster and stimulate the commerce of the ports of the Commonwealth and related facilities by serving as the United States Eastern Seaboard gateway for the global import and export of freight throughout the w…

A. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund that is a subfund of the Commonwealth Port Fund, known as the Port Opportunity Fund, referred to in this section as "the Fund." The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All funds ap…

A. From such funds as may be appropriated by the General Assembly and any gifts, grants, or donations from public or private sources, and any funds transferred at the request of the Executive Director from the Port Opportunity Fund created pursuant to § 62.1-132.3:1, there is her…

A. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Port of Virginia Economic Development Grant Fund (the Fund), to be administered by the Virginia Port Authority. The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All funds…

A. As used in this section, unless the context requires a different meaning: "Fund" means the Port of Virginia Economic Development Grant Fund established by § 62.1-132.3:2.1. "New, permanent full-time position" means a job of an indefinite duration, created by a qualified compan…

A. As used in this section, unless the context requires a different meaning: "Affiliated companies" means two or more companies related to each other so that (i) one company owns at least 80 percent of the voting power of the other or others or (ii) the same interest owns at leas…

A. As used in this section: "Agricultural entity" means a person engaged in growing or producing wheat, grains, fruits, nuts, or crops; tobacco, nursery, or floral products; forestry products, excluding raw wood fiber or wood fiber processed or manufactured for use as fuel for th…

A. As used in this section: "Barge and rail cargo volume" means the total amount of (i) net tons of noncontainerized cargo, (ii) TEUs of cargo, or (iii) units of roll-on/roll-off cargo actually by barge or rail rather than by trucks or other motor vehicles on the Commonwealth's h…

The Authority shall have power to establish a traffic bureau or other office to investigate and seek improvement in any rates, rate structures, practices, and charges affecting or tending to affect the commerce of the ports of the Commonwealth. Notwithstanding any provision of la…

The Authority shall initiate and further plans for the development of the ports of the Commonwealth, and, to this end, shall keep informed as to the present requirements and likely future needs of those ports.

A. The Authority shall have the power to perform any act or carry out any function not inconsistent with state law, whether included in the provisions of this chapter, which may be, or tend to be, useful in carrying out the provisions of this chapter. The provisions of the Virgin…

A. The Authority may appoint, employ, dismiss, and fix and pay compensation to employees, officers, agents, advisers, and consultants, including financial and technical advisers, engineers, and public accountants within and without the Commonwealth and the United States without r…

The Authority shall effect consolidation of the water terminals of the several cities within the ports of the Commonwealth. It, specifically, shall bring about the centrally directed operation of all state-owned port facilities at Hampton Roads by such means as may prove necessar…

The Authority is empowered to develop, maintain, and operate foreign trade zones under such terms and conditions as are or may be prescribed by law.

A. The Authority shall analyze the shipment of coal through the ports of the Commonwealth for the purpose of expediting such shipments. For this purpose, the Authority shall be authorized to collect, analyze, and require the furnishing of information, which is maintained in the o…

The Authority is hereby vested with the power of eminent domain to acquire property or any interest therein, however held, but not property of the Commonwealth or its agencies, and may exercise the same for the purposes set forth in §§ 62.1-132.18 and 62.1-132.19 in the manner an…

Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed as affecting the powers and duties now conferred by law upon the State Corporation Commission.

A. The accounts and records of the Authority showing the receipt and disbursement of funds from whatever source derived shall be in a form prescribed by governmental generally accepted accounting principles. Such accounts shall correspond as nearly as possible to the accounts and…

A. As used in this section and in §§ 62.1-141 through 62.1-146, the term "port facility" means harbors, seaports and all facilities used in connection therewith and shall include all those facilities named in §§ 62.1-132.18 and 62.1-132.19. The term "cost" as used in this chapter…

In the discretion of the Authority any bonds issued under the provisions of this chapter may be secured by a trust agreement by and between the Authority and a corporate trustee, which may be any trust company or bank having the powers of a trust company within or without the Com…

The Authority is hereby authorized to fix and revise charges for the use of the port facilities under its control and the different parts or sections thereof, and to contract with any person, partnership, association or corporation desiring the use of any part thereof, and to fix…

All moneys received pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, whether as proceeds from the sale of revenue bonds or refunding bonds or as revenues, shall be deemed to be trust funds to be held and applied solely as provided in this chapter. The Authority shall, in the resolutio…

Any holder of bonds, notes, certificates or other evidences of borrowing issued under the provisions of this chapter or of any of the coupons appertaining thereto, and the trustee under any trust agreement, except to the extent the rights herein given may be restricted by such tr…

The exercise of the powers granted by this chapter shall be in all respects for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Commonwealth, for the increase of their commerce, and for the promotion of their safety, health, welfare, convenience, and prosperity, and as the operation and ma…

Bonds issued by the Authority under the provisions of this chapter are hereby made securities in which all public officers and public bodies of the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions, all insurance companies, trust companies, banking associations, investment companies, e…

Bonds and refunding bonds issued under the provisions of this chapter shall not be deemed to constitute a debt of the Commonwealth or of any political subdivision thereof or a pledge of the faith and credit of the Commonwealth or of any such political subdivision, but shall be pa…

Any bonds issued to refund bonds or other obligations of the Authority prior to the adoption of the amendments in this chapter relating to refunding bonds which could now be taken under this chapter are hereby approved, validated and ratified by the legislature of the Commonwealt…

The provisions regulating the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (§ 2.2-2005 et seq.) shall not apply to the Authority in the exercise of any power conferred under this chapter.