CHAPTER 350

An Act to amend and reenact § 28.1-147 of the Code of Virginia, relating
to the dredging of channels in certain navigable streams of the Com-
monwealth and the dredging of a ship channel in the James River,
so as to authorize the Governor, to the extent necessary or expedient,
to grant consent to such dredging on behalf of the Commonwealth
for the purpose of deepening, widening or relocating such channels and
making related improvements; to prescribe the conditions upon which
such consent may be given by the Governor with respect to channels
in navigable streams and a ship channel in the James River; and to
appropriate funds to the Commission of Fisheries for certain re-
search purposes.

fS 310}

Approved March 31, 1964

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 28.1-147 of the Code of Virginia be amended and reenacted
as follows:

§ 28.1-147. * (a) To the extent that the approval, consent or author-
ization of the Commonwealth is necessary or expedient for any person,
firm, corporation, association or government, or for any agency of any
or all of the foregoing, or any combination thereof, to dredge a channel
of any navigable stream, the bed of which is owned by the Commonwealth,
for the purpose of deepening, widening or relocating such channel and
making related tmprovements, the Governor is authorized on behalf of
the Commonwealth to grant such approval, consent or authorization upon
such terms and conditions as he deems appropriate after the receipt
by him of advisory reports from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science,
the State Water Control Board, the Commission of Fisheries, the Com-
mission of Game and Inland Fisheries, the Board of Conservation and
Economic Development, the State Port Authority and the State High-
way Commission;

(b) Provided, however, that such approval, consent or authorization
to. deepen, widen or relocate the present ship channel in the area of the
James River between James River Bridge and Jamestown Island shall
not be granted by the Governor until he has received advisory reports
from the above-mentioned agencies and except with the consent of the
General Assembly. Such advisory reports shall be made available to the
Governor and the General Assembly by the above-mentioned agencies
not later than December 31, 1966. The Governor shall at the next succeed-
ing regular session of the General Assembly, or next succeeding special
session of the General Assembly called solely or partially for the purpose of
considering the same, whichever first occurs, transmit his recommenda-
tions to the General Assembly. If the Governor recommends the
deepening, widening or relocating of such ship channel, he shall in his
recommendation request the consent of the General Assembly to such
project. If each house of the General Assembly grants its consent, by
recorded vote of its members present and voting on the question, the
Governor shall be authorized to give the approval, consent or authori-
zation of the Commonwealth to such dredging; provided, however, that
if either house shall fail for any reason to vote upon the question of
consent, by recorded vote of its members present and voting on the
question, prior to the adjournment of the regular or special session at
which the Governor’s recommendation is received, such failure of either
house to so vote shall be deemed to grant the consent of that house as
if such house had expressly consented to such project. If either house
shall expressly decline to grant its consent, by recorded vote of its
members present and voting on the question, the Governor shall not be
authorized to give the approval, consent or authorization of the Com-
monwealth to such dredging.

2. There is hereby appropriated to the Commission of Fisheries from
the general fund of the State treasury $300,000 for appropriate research
into the possible effects of James River channel dredging or improvements
on the James River seed oyster beds between James River Bridge and
Jamestown Island. The results of such research shall be included in
the advisory report of the Commission of Fisheries to be made available
to the Governor and the General Assembly not later than 1 August,
1967, as required in Section 1 of this Act.

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