Title 56, Public Service Companies

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to or in any way affect any proceeding before the State Corporation Commission on or before July 1, 1950, and shall not confer on said Commission any jurisdiction not now vested in it with respect to any such proceeding. 1950, p. 601…

The owner or operator of any facility for the generation of electrical energy not subject to regulation under the Utilities Facilities Act but designed to generate electrical energy for the use by persons other than the owner or operator shall at his expense have the facility des…

This chapter may be cited as the Utility Facilities Act. 1950, p. 601.

(a) "Water system" as used herein means any privately owned connected system of mains, pipes, conduits, pumping stations, reservoirs and related facilities furnishing water to 50 or more subscribers for compensation when the person who furnishes the service is not subject to regu…

If fifty or more of the subscribers, but not more than one from any one household, who have contracts to purchase water from a water system or for sewerage service from a sewerage system file with the Commission a petition alleging that the service furnished by the system is inad…

Each person operating a sewerage system which includes one or more sewage treatment plants shall notify in writing, the Commission, the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality and each electric or natural gas utility supplying or distributing energy to such system tha…

The opinion of the Commission shall be furnished in writing to the petitioners and to the owners of the water or sewerage system and shall be admissible in evidence in any proceedings concerning contracts between such water sewerage system and its subscribers together with any ot…

No provision of this chapter shall apply to a corporation the principal business of which is the operation of a hotel and which may extend the use of its surplus water and sewerage facilities to a limited number of patrons.

This chapter may be cited as the "Small Water or Sewer Public Utility Act."

As used in this chapter: "Commission" shall mean the "State Corporation Commission." "Service" shall mean any product or commodity furnished by a small water or sewer utility, as well as its equipment, apparatus, appliances and facilities devoted to the functions in which that ut…

This chapter shall apply to every certificated water or sewer public utility company or water and sewer public utility company (i) with gross annual operating revenues of less than one million dollars or (ii) that is owned by the property owners' association of the subdivision se…

A small water or sewer utility shall be required to furnish reasonably adequate services and facilities, subject to the regulation of the Commission. The charges made by any small water or sewer utility for any service rendered shall be (i) uniform as to all persons or corporatio…

A. A small water or sewer utility shall make a copy of its current rates, charges, fees, rules and regulations available for public inspection during regular business office hours in its designated business office where bills can be paid. B. Unless a small water or sewer utility …

A. Upon application to the Commission by at least 25 percent of all customers affected by a rate change or by 250 affected customers, whichever number is lesser, or by the small water or sewer utility itself, or by the Commission, upon its own motion, a hearing shall be held afte…

A. The Commission may, either upon petition of two-thirds of the affected customers or upon petition of its staff or upon a petition of the Board of Health, appoint a receiver to operate a small water or sewer utility which is unable or unwilling to provide adequate service to it…

A. Every small water or sewer utility subject to this chapter shall be subject only to the following provisions: §§ 56-234.4, 56-236, 56-239, 56-245, 56-245.1, 56-246, 56-247.1 through 56-248, 56-249 through 56-249.2, 56-250, 56-254, 56-256 through 56-265, and Chapters 1 (§ 56-1 …

This chapter may be cited as the "Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act."

A. As used in this chapter: "Abandoned" means no longer in service and physically disconnected from a portion of the underground utility line that is in use for storage or conveyance of service. "Contract locator" means any person contracted by an operator specifically to determi…

Nothing in this chapter shall apply to: 1. Any hand digging performed by an owner or occupant of a property. 2. The tilling of soil for agricultural purposes. 3. Any excavation done by a railroad when the excavation is made entirely on the land which the railroad owns and on whic…

A. Every operator, including counties, cities and towns, but excluding the Department of Transportation, having the right to bury underground utility lines shall join the notification center for the area. B. Every notification center shall be certified by the Commission. The Comm…

A. No person shall make or begin any excavation or demolition without first submitting a locate request to the notification center. Submission of a locate request shall be deemed to be notice to each operator who is a member of the notification center. The notification center sha…

A. Each designer, who prepares drawings and plans for projects requiring excavation or demolition work, may notify the notification center and provide the center with the information required by § 56-265.18 and the designer's professional license number. B. If a designer notifies…

The project owner shall provide copies of those portions of the drawings that affect the respective operator with underground utility lines in the project area who have responded in accordance with § 56-265.17:3.

An operator, upon notification by a designer in accordance with § 56-265.17:1, shall: 1. Respond to the designer's request for underground utility line information within 15 working days in accordance with subdivisions 2, 3, and 4; 2. Provide designers with the operator's name, t…

Every locate request and designer notice served by any person on the notification center shall contain the following information: 1. The name of the individual serving such notice. 2. The specific location of the proposed excavation or demolition. If a specific description of the…

A. If a proposed excavation or demolition is planned in such proximity to the underground utility line that the utility line may be destroyed, damaged, dislocated, or disturbed, the operator shall mark the approximate horizontal location of the underground utility line on the gro…

A. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the protection of sewer system laterals and private sewer laterals shall be implemented as provided in this section. When an excavation is to take place within a public right-of-way or public sewer easement, the se…

Notwithstanding the provisions of § 56-257.1, any plastic or other nonmetallic utility lines installed underground on and after July 1, 2002, shall be installed in such a manner as to be locatable by the operator for the purposes of this chapter.

In marking the approximate location of underground utility lines or proposed excavation if required pursuant to subsection E of § 56-265.17 the American Public Works Association color codes shall be used.

A. The notification center shall, upon receiving notice by a person, notify all member operators whose utility lines are present in the area of the proposed project, excavation, or demolition. The notification center shall also indicate the names of those operators being notified…

A. Any person planning excavation or demolition in such proximity to the underground utility lines that the utility lines may be destroyed, damaged, dislocated, or disturbed may request a meeting with the operator whose underground utility lines are located in the area of the pro…

Employees of the Virginia Department of Transportation acting within the scope of their employment, and certain employees of those counties, cities, and towns which maintain their streets or roads in accordance with § 33.2-319 or § 33.2-366 performing street or roadway maintenanc…

A. No excavator shall begin any excavation or demolition before reviewing and heeding the positive response marking status of the excavation area. Any person excavating within two feet on either side of the staked or marked location of an operator's underground utility line or de…

Notwithstanding the provisions of § 56-265.15:1, any person, as defined in § 56-265.15, who knowingly and intentionally excavates after being notified by a representative of the Commission of a determination that such excavation constitutes an immediate threat to safety or proper…

A. 1. If any underground utility line is damaged as a proximate result of a person's failure to comply with any provision of this chapter, that person shall be liable to the operator of the underground utility line for the total cost to repair the damaged facilities as that cost …

Every operator having the right to install underground utility lines shall install such underground utility lines at depths required by accepted industry standards. Such standards shall include, as applicable, standards established by the National Electrical Safety Code, Bellcore…

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to abrogate the immunity from suit accruing to the Commonwealth, her political subdivisions, agencies, officers or employees, or the officers or employees of her political subdivisions and agencies, as exists prior to July 1, 1980.

Compliance with the provisions of this chapter shall not exempt any operator or person from the operation of any other applicable laws, ordinances, regulations, or rules of governmental and regulatory authorities having jurisdiction, unless exempted by such other laws, ordinances…

A. The Commission shall enforce the provisions of the Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act as set out in this chapter. The Commission may promulgate any rules or regulations necessary to implement the Commission's authority to enforce this chapter. B. Nothing in this chapter…

A. The Commission shall establish an advisory committee consisting of representatives of the following entities: Commission staff, utility operator, notification center, excavator, municipality, Virginia Department of Transportation, Board for Contractors, and underground line lo…

A. The Commission may, by judgment entered after a hearing on notice duly served on any person not less than 30 days before the date of the hearing, impose a civil penalty not exceeding $10,000 for each violation of subsection A of § 56-265.17 and $5,000 for all other violations …

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning: "Antenna" means communications equipment that transmits or receives electromagnetic radio signals used in the provision of any type of wireless communications services. "Co-locate" means to install, mount, …

A. No locality or the Department shall impose on wireless services providers or wireless infrastructure providers any restrictions or requirements concerning the use of the public rights-of-way, including the permitting process, the zoning process, notice, time and location of ex…

A. Upon application by a wireless services provider or wireless infrastructure provider, the Department shall issue a districtwide permit, consistent with applicable regulations that do not conflict with this chapter, granting access to public rights-of-way that it operates and m…

A. Upon application by a wireless services provider or wireless infrastructure provider, a locality may issue a permit granting access to the public rights-of-way it operates and maintains to install and maintain small cell facilities on existing structures. Such a permit shall g…

Subject to any applicable requirements of Article VII, Section 9 of the Constitution of Virginia, public right-of-way permits or agreements for the construction of wireless support structures issued on or after July 1, 2017, shall be for an initial term of at least 10 years, with…