Chap. 72.—An ACT to establish a Board of River and Harbor Com-
missioners for Nansemond river.

Approved February 9, 1882.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
it shall be the duty of the judge of the county court of
Nansemond county, at the May term of the said court, in
the year eighteen hundred and eighty-two, and annually
thereafter, toa point five competent persons, who shall be
known as the Board of River and Harbor Commissioners for
the Nansemond river.

2. It shall be the duty of the said board, and they shall
have the power to establish certain lines for building wharves
and piers at the port of Suffolk, or at any other point on the
said river, and for this purpose, if in their discretion they
shall think it necessary, they may employ a surveyor or civil
engineer: provided the cost of the same shall not exceed two
dollars per day for the time actually employed in establish-
ing such lines or making necessary surveys, which said com-
pensation shall be paid out of the county treasury.

3. It shall be the duty of every corporation, company, or
individual, before building any wharf, pier, or bridge on the
said river, or before setting any fish- weir, or driving any
piles, or placing any obstruction whatever in the said river,
to obtain permission, in writing, from the said board of com-
missioners, after having submitted to the said commissioners
a plat or plan of what is proposed to be done; and it shall
be the duty of the said commissioners, after having received
the said plat or plan, to take immediate action thereon, and
report to the party making the application, whetber the said
application is granted or refused; and if refused, the reasons
for such refusal: provided, however, that this act shall not
apply to any improvements made in said river by appropria-
tion from, and under the authority of the United States gov-
ernment. Any person whose application to the said board of
commissioners for the purposes above set forth, shall be
refused, shall have the right to appeal from the decision of
the said board, and the said appeal shall be tried by the judge
of the county court of Nansemond county, in a summary
way, upon proper pleadings, in writing, at the next term of
the said court after said refusal.

4. Any corporation, company, or individual who shall
build, or attempt to build, any wharf, pier, or bridge on the
said river, or who shall drive any piles, or set any weirs, or
a other obstruction whatever in the said river, without
ret obtaining written permission of the said commissioners,
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not less than ten nor more than five
hundred dollars; and the county court of Nansemond county
shall have jurisdiction to try all cases under this act.

5. All permissions granted by the said board of commis-

sioners under this act, shall be duly recorded in the clerk’s
office of Nansemond county court.
_ 6. The said board of commissioners shall have power,
where owners of wharf property, by neglect or otherwise,
allow their wharves and piers to rot or waste away, and fill
up the harbor, to order the said owners to repair or remove
the same, so as to prevent the said filling up; and if the
said owners refuse or neglect to make said repairs or removal
within a reasonable time, the said board shall have the same
done at the expense of the owner; and if the owner refuse
to pay the expense, the property shall be sold by the said
board to pay the same.

7. The said commissioners shall provide a place for all ves-
sels arriving in ballast to ‘discharge the same, and any cap-
tain or master of a vessel failing to obey the orders of the
said commissioners in this respect, shall be fined not less than
ten nor more than fifty dollars.

8. No compensation shall be allowed to the said board of
commissioners for their services under this act, except for
actual traveling-expenses, whenever it shall be necessary for
the said board to make a trip down said river for the purpose
of viewing the location for a proposed wharf, pier, or bridge,
in which case the said expenses shall be paid out of the
county treasury.

9. A majority of the members of the said board shall con-
stitute a quorum for the transaction of all business, but it
shall require a unanimous vote of all the members present at
any meeting to grant an application made hereunder.

10. This act shall be in force from its passage.

Chap. 72.—An ACT to establish a Board of River and Harbor Com-
missioners for Nansemond river.

Approved February 9, 1882.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
it shall be the duty of the judge of the county court of
Nansemond county, at the May term of the said court, in
the year eighteen hundred and eighty-two, and annually
thereafter, toa point five competent persons, who shall be
known as the Board of River and Harbor Commissioners for
the Nansemond river.

2. It shall be the duty of the said board, and they shall
have the power to establish certain lines for building wharves
and piers at the port of Suffolk, or at any other point on the
said river, and for this purpose, if in their discretion they
shall think it necessary, they may employ a surveyor or civil
engineer: provided the cost of the same shall not exceed two
dollars per day for the time actually employed in establish-
ing such lines or making necessary surveys, which said com-
pensation shall be paid out of the county treasury.

3. It shall be the duty of every corporation, company, or
individual, before building any wharf, pier, or bridge on the
said river, or before setting any fish- weir, or driving any
piles, or placing any obstruction whatever in the said river,
to obtain permission, in writing, from the said board of com-
missioners, after having submitted to the said commissioners
a plat or plan of what is proposed to be done; and it shall
be the duty of the said commissioners, after having received
the said plat or plan, to take immediate action thereon, and
report to the party making the application, whetber the said
application is granted or refused; and if refused, the reasons
for such refusal: provided, however, that this act shall not
apply to any improvements made in said river by appropria-
tion from, and under the authority of the United States gov-
ernment. Any person whose application to the said board of
commissioners for the purposes above set forth, shall be
refused, shall have the right to appeal from the decision of
the said board, and the said appeal shall be tried by the judge
of the county court of Nansemond county, in a summary
way, upon proper pleadings, in writing, at the next term of
the said court after said refusal.

4. Any corporation, company, or individual who shall
build, or attempt to build, any wharf, pier, or bridge on the
said river, or who shall drive any piles, or set any weirs, or
a other obstruction whatever in the said river, without
ret obtaining written permission of the said commissioners,
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not less than ten nor more than five
hundred dollars; and the county court of Nansemond county
shall have jurisdiction to try all cases under this act.

5. All permissions granted by the said board of commis-

sioners under this act, shall be duly recorded in the clerk’s
office of Nansemond county court.
_ 6. The said board of commissioners shall have power,
where owners of wharf property, by neglect or otherwise,
allow their wharves and piers to rot or waste away, and fill
up the harbor, to order the said owners to repair or remove
the same, so as to prevent the said filling up; and if the
said owners refuse or neglect to make said repairs or removal
within a reasonable time, the said board shall have the same
done at the expense of the owner; and if the owner refuse
to pay the expense, the property shall be sold by the said
board to pay the same.

7. The said commissioners shall provide a place for all ves-
sels arriving in ballast to ‘discharge the same, and any cap-
tain or master of a vessel failing to obey the orders of the
said commissioners in this respect, shall be fined not less than
ten nor more than fifty dollars.

8. No compensation shall be allowed to the said board of
commissioners for their services under this act, except for
actual traveling-expenses, whenever it shall be necessary for
the said board to make a trip down said river for the purpose
of viewing the location for a proposed wharf, pier, or bridge,
in which case the said expenses shall be paid out of the
county treasury.

9. A majority of the members of the said board shall con-
stitute a quorum for the transaction of all business, but it
shall require a unanimous vote of all the members present at
any meeting to grant an application made hereunder.

10. This act shall be in force from its passage.