CHAPTER 116

AN ACT to amend and reenact Chapter 355 of the Acts of Assembly of
1954, approved April 2, 1954, which permitted certain counties to
acquire the property of certain public service corporations so as to
extend such authorization to certain other counties. (H 256]

Approved February 23, 1956

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia: .

1. That Chapter 355 of the Acts of Assembly of 1954, approved April 2,
1954, be amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 1. For the purpose of making provision for an adequate water
supply or of acquiring, maintaining or enlarging a water works system
or for the further purpose of providing for an adequate system of
sewage disposal or of acquiring, maintaining or enlarging a sewage dis-
posal system, within the county or any part thereof, the board of super-
visors of any county adjoining a city with a population of more than two
hundred twenty-five thousand, and the governing body in any county
having a population in excess of ninety-eight thousand but not in excess
of one hundred twenty-five thousand, in addition to other powers conferred
by law, shall have the power to acquire within the limits of the county, by
purchase, condemnation, lease or otherwise, the property within the
county, in whole or in part, whensoever acquired, of any private or public
service corporation operating a water system or a sewer system or char-
tered for the purpose of acquiring or operating such a system, whether
such property, or any part thereof is essential to the purposes of the cor-
poration or not; however any county condemning property hereunder
shall rest under the same obligation in respect of furnishing water or
sewer service to such customers of any water or sewer company whose
property is condemned as that under which such companies rested before
such proceedings were taken and had; provided that no county shall
take by condemnation proceedings any property belonging to any cor-
poration possessing the power of eminent domain, unless, after
hearing all parties in interest, the State Corporation Commission shall
certify that a public necessity or that an essential public convenience
shall so require, and shall give its permission thereto; and provided
further that this act shall not apply to the property owned or operated
by any corporation subject to regulation by the Interstate Commerce

ommission.