10.1-2214 - Underwater historic property; penalty.
§ 10.1-2214. Underwater historic property; penalty.
A. "Underwater historic property" means any submerged shipwreck, vessel,cargo, tackle or underwater archaeological specimen, including any objectfound at underwater refuse sites or submerged sites of former habitation,that has remained unclaimed on the state-owned subaqueous bottom and hashistoric value as determined by the Department.
B. Underwater historic property shall be preserved and protected and shall bethe exclusive property of the Commonwealth. Preservation and protection ofsuch property shall be the responsibility of all state agencies including butnot limited to the Department, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, andthe Virginia Marine Resources Commission. Insofar as may be practicable,such property shall be preserved, protected and displayed for the publicbenefit within the county or city within which it is found, or within amuseum operated by a state agency.
C. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to conduct anytype of recovery operations involving the removal, destruction or disturbanceof any underwater historic property without first applying for and receivinga permit from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to conduct suchoperations pursuant to § 28.2-1203. If the Virginia Marine ResourcesCommission, with the concurrence of the Department and in consultation withthe Virginia Institute of Marine Science and other concerned state agencies,finds that granting the permit is in the best interest of the Commonwealth,it shall grant the applicant a permit. The permit shall provide that allobjects recovered shall be the exclusive property of the Commonwealth. Thepermit shall provide the applicant with a fair share of the objectsrecovered, or in the discretion of the Department, a reasonable percentage ofthe cash value of the objects recovered to be paid by the Department. Titleto all objects recovered shall be retained by the Commonwealth unless oruntil they are released to the applicant by the Department. All recoveryoperations undertaken pursuant to a permit issued under this section shall becarried out under the general supervision of the Department and in accordancewith § 28.2-1203 and in such a manner that the maximum amount of historical,scientific, archaeological and educational information may be recovered andpreserved in addition to the physical recovery of items. The Virginia MarineResources Commission shall not grant a permit to conduct operations atsubstantially the same location described and covered by a permit previouslygranted if recovery operations are being actively pursued, unless the holderof the previously granted permit concurs in the grant of another permit.
D. The Department may seek a permit pursuant to this section and § 28.2-1203to preserve and protect or recover any underwater historic property.
E. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of aClass 1 misdemeanor and, in addition, shall forfeit to the Commonwealth anyobjects recovered.
(1984, c. 750, § 10-262; 1988, c. 891, § 10.1-817; 1989, c. 656.)