Chap. 207.—An ACT to prohibit the removal and carrying away of sand or
gravel from the fast land, beach or bluff abutting upon any of the rivers,
streams or other waters within the jurisdiction of ‘this Commonwealth or
from the beds of any such waters, or from land lying between high and
low water-mark of any such waters, and to repeal an act entitled an act
to punish stealing and taking away sand within this Commonwealth, on
the banks of the Potomac river, approved March 8, 1894. [H B 300]

Approved March 16, 1920.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That it
shall be unlawful for any person or corporation to dredge, dig or other-
wise remove and carry away any part of any deposit of sand or gravel,
or mixture of sand and gravel from any part of the fast land, or beach
or bluff, abutting upon any of the rivers, streams or other waters
within the jurisdiction of this Commonwealth, or from any part of
the bed of such rivers, streams or other waters between high and low
water marks.

In case any such deposit extends uninterruptedly from low water
mark out into the bed of such waters, it shall, except as hereinafter
provided, be unlawful to dig and carry away any part of such extended
deposit lying between such low water mark and the middle line of
the said waters.

Any person or corporation violating the provisions of this act shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be subject
to a fine of not exceeding three hundred dollars, or imprisonment
not exceeding six months, or both, in the discretion of the court.

That any owner of any such fast land or beach, bluff, or bed of
stream, between high and low water mark on which any such deposit
exists or from which it extends towards the middle line of the water,
as aforesaid, may, by appropriate proceedings brought by such owner,
have a perpetual injunction against any person or corporation remov-
ing and carrying away or attempting to remove and carry away any
such deposit or extension thereof, and may, in such proceeding, or
by separate action, recover against such violation of this act damages
in treble the value of the material removed.

The prohibitions of this act shall not apply to any owner of any
fast land, bluff, beach or bed of stream, upon or in front of which
such deposits may lie, nor to any person or corporation acting under
written permission from, or contract with such owner, nor to any per-
son or corporation, acting under the authority of the United States,
necessarily removing such deposit in the lawful improvement or regu-
lation of navigation of any waters subject to the authority of the
United States.

Provided, that none of the provisions of this act shall be deemed
to interfere in any manner with the provisions of any law of this
State relating to taking fish and oysters.

Be it further enacted, that an act entitled an act to punish stealing
and taking away sand within the Commonwealth, on the banks of the
Potomac river, approved March the eighth, eighteert hundred and
ninety-four, be, and the same is, hereby repealed.

The provisions of this act shall not apply to Princess Anne county
nor to Pulaski county or New river therein.