CODE OF VIRGINIA

DAMS AND FISHWAYS (§ 29.1-532)

Any dam or other object in a watercourse, which obstructs navigation or the
passage of fish, shall be deemed a nuisance, unless it is used to work a mill,
factory or other machine or engine useful to the public, and is allowed by law
or order of court. Any person owning or having control of any dam or other
obstruction in the streams of the Commonwealth which may interfere with the free
passage of anadromous and other migratory fish, shall provide every such dam or
other obstruction with a suitable fishway unless the Board considers it
unnecessary. The purpose of such a fishway is for anadromous and other migratory
fish to have free passage up and down the streams during March, April, May and
June, and down the streams throughout the remaining months. “Suitable
fishway” means a fishway which passes significant numbers of the target
fishes, as determined by the Board.Owners of such dams or other authorized
obstructions shall maintain and keep fishways operational, in good repair, and
restore them in case of destruction.Owners of dams or other obstructions which
are not authorized by law must have the obstacles removed at their expense when
the Board determines that the obstacles interfere with the free passage of
anadromous and other migratory fish within the streams of the Commonwealth.The
circuit court of the county or city in which the dam is situated, after
reasonable notice to the parties or party interested and upon satisfactory proof
of the failure to comply, may order any necessary construction or destruction to
be initiated or put in good repair at the expense of the owner of the dam or
other obstruction. All such construction or destruction must be initiated within
one year of the court order and completed within three years of the court
order.Any person failing to comply with this section shall pay as a penalty a
percentage of the estimated cost of construction or destruction equal to the
percentage specified on the judgment rate of interest pursuant to § 6.2-302,
and the Board shall provide construction or destruction cost estimates.Penalties
collected pursuant to this section shall be directed to the Department of Game
and Inland Fisheries.This section shall not apply to the Meherrin River within
the Counties of Brunswick and Greensville, nor to the Meherrin River within or
between the Counties of Lunenburg and Mecklenburg, nor to the Nottoway River
between the Counties of Lunenburg and Nottoway, nor to Abram’s Creek in
Shawnee district, Frederick County, nor to the James River between the City of
Lynchburg and the County of Amherst, nor to the James River within the City of
Richmond and between the City of Richmond and Henrico County, except that the
exemption for those dams west of Virginia Route 161 which are located on the
James River within the City of Richmond and between the City of Richmond and
Henrico County shall expire on January 1, 1990, nor any streams within the
Counties of Augusta, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Louisa, Buckingham, Halifax,
Montgomery, Pulaski, Franklin, Russell, Tazewell, Giles, Bland, Craig, Wythe,
Carroll and Grayson, nor to that part of any stream that forms a part of the
boundary of Halifax and Franklin Counties. Furthermore, no fish ladders shall be
required on dams twenty feet or more in height. The City of Richmond shall
continue to work with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries toward
implementing and funding a plan for breaching dams to provide fishways for the
passage of anadromous and other migratory fish.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 29-151; 1950, p. 891; 1958, c. 607; 1987, c. 488; 1988,
c. 487.