Chap. 322.—An ACT to repeal sections 2020, 2021 and 2022, and to amend and
re-enact sections 2008, 2009, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024, 2026, 2027 and
2036 of an act entitled an act creating a board of harbor commissioners
of Norfolk and Portsmouth, and for the preservation of the harbor of
Norfolk and Portsmouth, approved March 3, 1882, as amended and re
enacted by an act entitled an act amending and re-enacting sections
2008, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2021, 2022 and 2023, and repealing sections 2028,
2029, 2030 and 2031 of chapter 92 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the
duties of harbor commissioners of Norfolk and Portsmouth, approved
February 26, 1890.

Approved March 17, 1910.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That sections
twenty hundred and twenty, twenty hundred and twenty-one and twenty
hundred and twenty-two of chapter ninety-two of the Code of Virginia,
be, and the same are hereby, repealed.

2. Be it further enacted, That sections twenty hundred and eight,
iwenty hundred and nine, twenty hundred and sixteen, twenty hundred
and eighteen, twenty hundred and nineteen, twenty hundred and twenty-
three, twenty hundred and twenty-four, twenty hundred and twenty-six,
twenty hundred and twenty-seven, and twenty hundred and thirty-six
of said chapter ninety-two of the Code be, and the same are hereby,
amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

§2008. Harbor commissioners for Norfolk, Portsmouth and Norfolk
county.—For the purpose of preserving and improving the harbor of
Norfolk, Portsmouth and Norfolk county, there shall be appointed a
board of harbor commissioners to consist of seven persons, three of whom
shall be appointed by the councils of the city of Norfolk, two by the
councils of the city of Portsmouth, and two by the judge of the circuit
court of the county of Norfolk.

§2009. Their term; election of officers; quorum.—The said commis-
sioners shall respectively hold their office for the term of four years, com-
mencing on the first day of January, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight.
They shall be known as the “board of harbor commissioners of Norfolk,
Portsmouth and Norfolk county,” and a majority shall constitute a
quorum. They shall elect one of their number president, and such other
officers as they deem necessary. Any vacancy occurring in the board
shall be filled by the same authority which made the appointment.

§2010. The jurisdiction of said board for the purpose of this chapter,
shall extend to the Elizabeth river and all the branches and tributaries
thereof, along the water front of the cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth and
Norfolk county. They shall have power to fix, regulate and define the
lines along said river and the branches and tributaries thereof within
which riparian owners may erect wharves, piers, docks and other proper
structures and fixtures for commercial and manufacturing purposes:
provided, that whenever any harbor lines have been or may be hereafter
established under authority of Congress by any proper officer of the
United States, in any of said waters, the power herein conferred upon
the said board of harbor commissioners shall only be exercised within the
lines so established, but they may regulate such structures as may be
erected and prevent all encroachments upon said lines.

§2011. They shall have authority to cause the removal of any wharf,
dock, wreck or other obstruction to navigation, or that may, in their
cpinion, be injurious to the harbor, or that may cause shoaling at any
point in the channel of said river, its branches or tributaries, at the ex-
pense of the owner or party causing the obstruction: provided, the rights
of any owner of a wharf whose lines have been heretofore fixed by au-
thority of law shall in no way be disturbed.

$2012. Employment of engineers.—The said board, if in their judg-
ment expedient, mav employ the services of a competent engineer at any
time, who may make a survey of any waters lying within their jurisdic-
tion and perform such other duties as the board may require of him.

$2013. Dredging.—When any dredging is done in any of the waters
aforesaid, the board shall have power to designate the place at which the
dredging material shall be dumped.

$2014. Preservation of harbor.—The board shall have power to make
and enforce such rules and regulations for the preservation of the harbor,
its police government and the better use of the wharf, mooring and other
facilities thereof, as they may from time to time deem proper.

82015. The said board shall appoint annually three harbor-masters,
one of whom shall be a resident of the city of Norfolk, one of the city
of Portsmouth, and one of Norfolk county, to act as such within the juris-
diction of said board, and whose jurisdiction shall be coextensive with
the jurisdiction of the board. They may prescribe their duties, fix their
compensation and remove them at pleasure.

§2016. Expenses of board; their compensation.—For the purpose of
defraying the necessary expenses incurred by the board in exercising the
powers hereby conferred, the county of Norfolk shall be assessed and shall
pay fifteen hundred dollars of the estimated expenses thereof, the city of
Portsmouth, fifteen hundred dollars, and the city of Norfolk the balance
thereof; but the said commissioners shall receive no compensation for
their services, except it be allowed by their respective corporations and
the board of supervisors of Norfolk county, in which case the corporations
or board of supervisors making such allowance shall provide for the pay-
ment of the same.

§2017. Penalty for building wharves when not authorized.—No per-
son shall build any wharf or other obstruction beyond the lines fixed by
said board of commissioners, or by authority of the United States govern-
ment, and any person so doing shall pay the sum of twenty dollars for
every such offense, and shall, moreover, be fined twenty dollars for every
day such wharf or other obstruction shall remain, and no person shall
build or extend any wharf or other obstruction in or upon the waters of
the harbor of Norfolk or Portsmouth, Elizabeth river, or branches or
tributaries thereof, without first obtaining in writing from said board a
permit for so doing, under a penalty of twenty dollars for every day such
wharf or obstruction shall remain, and said board shall prosecute for the
fines and penalties imposed under the provisions of this chapter relating
to the waters under their jurisdiction before any justice of the peace in
Norfolk, Portsmouth or Norfolk county.

§2018. Examination and repair of docks.—It shall be a duty of the
board, or a committee thereof, to examine from time to time all the docks,
wharves, bulkheads and other improvements along the water front, pub-
lic and private, in Norfolk and Portsmouth, and Norfolk county, under
control of said board, and when, in their opinion, any dock, wharf or
bulkhead or other improvement is not in proper condition for the pur-
pose for which it was designated and used, then they shall cause a notice
to be served upon the owner or occupier thereof, who shall thereupon
repair or deepen the same, and if such owner or occupier neglect or re-
fuses to attend to such dock, wharf, bulkhead or other improvement
after twenty days’ notice, he shall forfeit twenty dollars, and the further
sum of five dollars for each day he shall neglect or refuse so to do, and
shall moreover pay all expenses incurred by reason of such neglect or re-
fusal.

§2019. Annual report.—The board shall publish an annual report of
their proceedings, and furnish a printed copy of the same to the governor,
judge of the Norfolk county court and to the councils of the cities of Nor-
folk and Portsmouth.

82023. Their terms and jurisdiction—Every harbor-master so ap-
pointed shall hold his office at the pleasure of the appointing power.

§2024. Duties of harbor-masters; port regulations.—EKach harbor-
master shall cause every vessel coming within his jurisdiction to moor as
yoon a8 may be, and at such place as he may judge best for the general
safety, not being within fifty fathoms of any wharf or other vessel; he
shall not permit any square-rigged vessel to ride at signal anchor longer
than one tide, and shall require the master of all vessels, as soon as may
be, after coming to anchor or hauling into any wharf; if he deem it
necessary (not exceeding twenty-four hours), to rig in his jib-booms and
all fore and aft spars, and to top or brace up sharp his lower and topsail
yards, so that the passage of other vessels and steamboats or ferryboats
shall not be obstructed; he shall attend to the unmooring of any vessel,
and if by stress of weather or any accident any vessel be driven from her
mooring, he shall attend to the remooring of her.

§2026. Harbor-masters to keep registers ——The harbor-masters shall
keep a register of the denomination, name, burthen and master’s name of
each vessel coming within his control as such, and the port to which she
belongs, and that from which she last came, which register he shall sub-
mit to the inspection of any applicant.

§2027. No fees shall be charged by the harbor-masters for the harbor
of Norfolk, Portsmouth and Norfolk county. The fees of harbor-mas-
ters of other ports or places in the State shall be prescribed by the court,
council or other authority appointing them. When a question arises as
to which harbor-master is entitled to collect the fee, the papers of the
vesse] and declaration of the captain shall determine the proper port of
destination at which the fee shall be paid.

§2033. It shall be unlawful for any vessel, lighter or other boat to lie
across the county dock in Norfolk or Portsmouth, or before any wharf, so
as to obstruct the passage of any ferryboat or steamers of regular lines,
under the penalty of twenty dollars for each offense.

82036. Penalties for violations by masters of vessels; presentments
by grand jury.—If any master of any vessel, steamer, boat or other craft
violate any section of this chapter, he shall be fined not less than twenty-
five nor more than fiftv dollars; and it shall, moreover, be the duty of the
harbor-master to present every person who disobeys any legal order given
him, before the next grand jury of his city or county; and, upon convic-
tion, the person so violating shall pay such additional fine as a jury may
assess for such masters or other persons so obstructing such harbor-master
in the discharge of his duty.

§2037. Harbor-master punished.—If any harbor-master fail to per-
form any duty imposed on him by any provisions of this chapter, he shall
be fined not exceeding fifty dollars.