CHAPTER 554

An Act to amend and reenact § 15-764.12 of the Code of Virginia which
was enacted as § 5 of Chapter 577 of the Acts of Assembly of 1950,
approved April 11, 1950, relating to the powers of an authority under
the Virginia Water and Sewer Authorities Act. rH 867]

Approved April 5, 1954
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 15-764.12 of the Code of Virginia which was enacted as § 5
of Chapter 577 of the Acts of Assembly of 1950, approved April 11, 1950,
be amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 15-764.12. Each authority created hereunder shall be deemed to
be an instrumentality exercising public and essential governmental func-
tions to provide for the public health and welfare, and each such author-
ity is hereby authorized and empowered:

‘(a) To have existence for a term of fifty years as a corporation ;

(b) To adopt by-laws for the regulation of its affairs and the con-
duct of its business;

(c) To adopt an official seal and alter the same at pleasure;

(d) To maintain an office at such place or places as it may designate;

(e) To sue and be sued;

(f) To acquire, purchase, lease as lessee, construct, reconstruct,
improve, extend, operate and maintain any water system, or sewer
system, or sewage disposal system, or a garbage and refuse collection and
disposal system or any combination of such systems within or partly
within and partly without one or more of the political subdivisions or
subdivisions by action of whose governing body or governing bodies the
authority was created, and to acquire by gift, purchase or the exercise
of the right of eminent domain lands or rights in land or water rights
in connection therewith; and to sell, lease as lessor, transfer or dispose
of any property or interest therein at any time acquired by it; provided,
however, that the provisions of § 25-233 of the Code of Virginia, 1950,
shall apply as to any property owned by a corporation possessing the

wer of eminent domain that may be sought to be taken by condemna-
ion under the provisions of this chapter, and, provided, further, that no
property or any interest or estate therein owned by any county, city,
town or other political subdivision of the State shall be acquired by the
exercise of the power of eminent domain without the consent of the gov-
erning body of such county, city, town or political subdivision; except
as otherwise herein provided, each authority is hereby vested with the
same authority to exercise the power of eminent domain as is vested in
the State Highway Commissioner of Virginia.

(g) To issue revenue bonds of the authority, such bonds to be pay-
able solely from revenues to pay all or a part of the cost of a water
system, sewer system, or sewage disposal system, or a garbage and refuse
collection and disposal system, or any combination of such systems;

(h) To combine any water system, sewer system, sewage disposal
system, or garbage and refuse collection and disposal system as a single
system for the purpose of operation and financing;

(i) To fix, charge and collect rates, fees and charges for the use of
or for the services furnished by any system operated by the authority.
Such rates, fees, rents and charges may be charged to and collected from
any person contracting for the same, or from the owner or lessee or
tenant, or some or all of them, who uses or occupies any real estate which
is served by any such system; and in the case of a sewer system or
sewage disposal system such real estate from or on which originates,
sewage or industrial wastes, or either, which have entered the sewer or
sewage disposal system; and the owner or lessee or tenant of any such
real estate shall pay such rates, fees, rents and charges to the Authority,
or vt (gent, at the time when and place where the same may be due and
payable.

(j) To enter into contracts with the Federal Government, the Com-
monwealth of Virginia, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or with
any unit, private corporation, copartnership, association, or individual
providing for or relating to the furnishing of services and facilities of
any water system, sewer system, sewage disposal system, or garbage and
refuse collection and disposal system of the authority or in connection
with the services and facilities rendered by any such system owned or
controlled by the Federal Government or this Commonwealth, any agency
or instrumentality thereof, and any unit, private corporation, copartner-
ship, association or individual;

(k) To contract with any municipality, county, corporation, indi-
vidual or any public authority or unit of this or any adjoining state, on
such terms as the said authority shall deem proper, for the construction
and operation of any project which is partly in this Commonwealth and
partly in such adjoining state;

To make and enter into all contracts or agreements, as the
authority may determine, which are necessary or incidental to the per-
formance of its duties and to the execution of the powers granted by this
chapter, including contracts with any Federal agency or with any unit,
on such terms and conditions as the authority may approve, relating to
(1) the use by such agency or by such unit or the inhabitants thereof
of any water system, sewer system, sewage disposal system, or garbage
and refuse collection and disposal system acquired or constructed by the
authority under this chapter, or the services therefrom or the facilities
thereof, or (2) the use by the authority of the services or facilities of
any water system, sewer system, sewage disposal system, or garbage and
refuse collection and disposal system owned or operated by an owner
other than the authority. Any such contract shall be subject to such
provisions, limitations or conditions as may be contained in the resolu-
tion of the authority authorizing revenue bonds of the authority or the
provisions of any trust agreement securing such bonds. Any such con-
tract may provide for the collecting of fees, rates or charges for the
services and facilities rendered to a unit or to the inhabitants thereof,
by such unit or by its agents or by the agents of the authority, and for
the enforcement of delinquent charges for such services and facilities.
The provisions of any such contract and of any ordinance or resolution
of the governing body of a unit enacted pursuant thereto shall be irre-
pealable so long as any of the revenue bonds issued under the authority
of this chapter shall be outstanding and unpaid, and the provisions of
any such contract, and of any ordinance or resolution enacted pursuant
thereto shall be and be deemed to be for the benefit of such bondholders.
The aggregate of any fees, rates or charges which shall be required to be
collected pursuant to any such contract or any ordinance or resolution
enacted thereunder shall be sufficient to pay all obligations which may
be assumed by the other contracting party. Each water company, which
is a public utility supplying water to the owners, lessees or tenants of
real estate which is or will be served by any sewer or sewage disposal
system of an authority is authorized to act as the billing and collecting
agent of the authority for any rates, fees, rents or charges imposed by
the authority for the service rendered by such sewer or sewage disposal
system and shall furnish to the authority copies of its regular periodic
meter reading and water consumption records and other pertinent data
as may be required for the authority to act as its own billing and collect-
ing agent. The authority shall pay to such water company the reason-
able additional cost of clerical services and other expenses incurred by
the water company in rendering such services to the authority. Upon
the inability of an authority and such water company to agree upon the
terms and conditions under which the water company shall act as the
billing and collecting agent of the authority, either or both may petition
the State Corporation Commission for a determination of the terms and
conditions under which the water company shall act as the billing and
collecting agent of the authority. In the event that such water company
acts as the billing and collecting agent of an authority it shall set forth
separately on its bills the rates, fees, rents or charges imposed by the
authority, but both the water and sewage disposal charges shall be pay-
able to and collected by the water company, and payment of either shall
be refused unless both shall be paid. The authority shall pay to the water
company the cost of shutting off any water service on account of non-
payment of the sewage disposal charge. In the event of such discon-
tinuance of water service the same shall not be reestablished until such
time as the sewage disposal charge shall have been paid.

(m) To enter upon, use, occupy, and dig up any street, road, highway
or private or public lands necessary to be entered upon, used or occupied
in connection with the acquisition, construction or improvement, main-
tenance or operation of a water system, sewer system, sewage disposal
system, or garbage and refuse collection and disposal system, subject,
however, to such reasonable local police regulation as may be established
by the governing body of any unit having jurisdiction in the particular
respect. The governing body of any unit, notwithstanding any contrary
provision of law, is hereby authorized and empowered to transfer juris-
diction over, to lease, lend, grant or convey, to the authority upon the
request of the authority, upon such terms and conditions as the governing
body of such unit may agree with the authority as reasonable and fair,
such real or personal property as may. be necessary or desirable in con-
nection with the acquisition, construction, improvement, operation or
maintenance of a water system, sewer system, sewage disposal system or
garbage and refuse collection and disposal system by the authority includ-
ing public roads and other property already devoted to public use. The
Commonwealth of Virginia hereby consents to the use of all lands above
or under water and owned or controlled by it which are necessary for the
construction, improvement, operation or maintenance of any such system;
except that the use of any portion between the right of way limits of any
primary or secondary highway in this State shall be subject to the approval
of the State Highway Commissioner. * Whenever any railroad tracks,
pipes, poles, wires, conduits or other structures or facilities which are
located in, along, across, over or under any public road, street, highway,
alley or other public right of way shall become an obstruction to, interfere
with or be endangered by the construction, operation or maintenance of
any system of the authority the governmental unit having ownership,
control or jurisdiction over such public road, street, highway, ailey or other
public right of way may, as the exercise of an essential governmental
function, order the safeguarding, maintaining, relocating, rebuilding,
removing and replacing of such railroad tracks, pipes, poles, wires, con-
duits or other structures or facilities by the owner thereof at the expense
of the authority, and subject to the provisions of § 25-288 of the Code
of Virginia.

(n) In the event of any annexation by a municipality not a member
of the authority of lands, areas, or territory served by the authority, to
continue to do business, exercise its jurisdiction over its properties and
facilities in and upon or over such lands, areas or territory as long as any
bonds or indebtedness remain outstanding or unpaid, or any contracts or
other obligations remain in force.

An emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.