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SB192 • 2026

State-owned bottomlands; localities, property interest.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to amend and reenact § 28.2-1200.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to state-owned bottomlands; localities; property interest.</p>

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Williams Graves
Last action
2026-02-12
Official status
Continued
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill text focuses on specific provisions for Norfolk, Virginia. The summary provided may not fully capture all details relevant to other localities beyond Norfolk's Coastal Storm Risk Management Project.

State-owned Bottomlands; Localities; Property Interest

This bill allows cities or counties involved in specific flood management projects with the U.S. Army to have a legal property interest in state-owned waters and soils for project construction.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows local governments that work on flood risk management programs with the Department of the Army to use state-owned water, bottomlands, and soil.
  • Requires these localities to sign agreements before they can claim property interests.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Cities and counties working on flood risk management programs with the U.S. Army
  • The Marine Resources Commission, which can convey property interests

Terms To Know

Phase I
A specific stage of a project that includes detailed maps and drawings.
Project Partnership Agreement
An agreement between local governments and the Department of the Army for flood or storm risk management projects.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how property interests are determined beyond requiring agreements.
  • It only applies to cities and counties involved in specific types of flood management programs with federal approval.
  • Details about Phase I maps and drawings are technical and may be hard for some readers to understand.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-12 Finance and Appropriations

    Continued to 2027 in Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)

  2. 2026-02-12 Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

    Committee substitute printed 26107590D-S1

  3. 2026-02-10 Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

    Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)

  4. 2026-02-10 Senate

    Senate committee offered

  5. 2026-01-23 Senate

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB192)

  6. 2026-01-09 Senate

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102448D

  7. 2026-01-09 Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

    Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

Official Summary Text

State-owned bottomlands; localities; property interest.
Provides that any city or county that is party to an executed project partnership agreement with the Department of the Army for a flood or storm risk management program, damage reduction project, or similar program specifically authorized by the United States Congress shall be deemed to hold a legal property interest in the use of state-owned waters, bottoms, or subsurface soils sufficient to qualify for any easements necessary for the construction or completion of the project or program.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SENATE BILL NO. 192

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE

(Proposed by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources

on February 10, 2026)

(Patron Prior to Substitute--Senator Williams Graves)

A BILL to authorize the Marine Resources Commission to convey certain easements and other legal interest to the City of Norfolk for certain property relating to the City of Norfolk's Coastal Storm Risk Management Project.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.
§ 1.
For purposes of this act "Phase I" means the following drawings
:
(i)
"
Norfolk CSRM State-Owned Bottom and Right-of-Way Map,
"
Map Number – 68 Phase IA, dated October 8, 2025, prepared by TKY; (ii) Drawing entitled
"
Grandy Village Living Shoreline Preliminary Bottom Impacts WSSI #36556.01,
"
Exhibit 1, prepared by Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc., a Davey Company; (iii) Drawing entitled
"
Richmond and Surrey Crescent Shoreline State Bottom Impacts
"
;
(iv)
"
Wetlands Impact Analysis Phase 1A-WS-1,
"
Map: Wetlands Impact Analysis (JPA), dated August 28, 2025, revised January 15, 2026, developed by JAO; (v)
"
Wetlands Impact Analysis Phase 1A-WS-2,
"
Map: Wetlands Impact Analysis (JPA), dated August 28, 2025, revised January 15, 2026, developed by JAO; (vi)
"
Wetlands Impact Analysis Phase 1A-PS-HP-1,
"
Map: Wetlands Impact Analysis (JPA), dated August 28, 2025, revised January 15, 2026, developed by JAO; (vii
)
"
Wetlands Impact Analysis Phase 1A-FD-1,
"
Map: Wetlands Impact Analysis (JPA)DDwithExcludedPermitAreaTable, dated August 28, 2025, revised January 22, 2026, developed by JAO; (viii)
"
Wetlands Impact Analysis Phase 1A-HP,
"
Map: Wetlands Impact Analysis (JPA)DDwithExcludedPermitAreaTable, dated August 28, 2025, revised January 27, 2026, developed by JAO; (ix)
"
Wetlands Impact Analysis Phase 1A-RR-1,
"
Map: Wetlands Impact Analysis (JPA), dated August 28, 2025, revised January 15, 2026, developed by JAO; (x)
"
Wetlands Impact Analysis Phase 1A-PS-NC-1,
"
Map: Wetlands Impact Analysis (JPA), dated August 28, 2025, revised January 15, 2026, developed by JAO; (xi)
"
Wetlands Impact Analysis Phase 1A-Sub-1,
"
Map: Wetlands Impact Analysis (JPA), dated August 28, 2025, revised January 15, 2026, developed by JAO; (xii)
"
Wetlands Impact Analysis Phase 1A-Sub-2,
"
Map: Wetlands Impact Analysis (JPA), dated August 28, 2025, revised January 15, 2026, developed by JAO; and (
xiii)
"
Wetlands Impact Analysis Phase No Impact,
"
Map: Wetlands Impact Analysis (JPA), dated August 28, 2025, revised January 15, 2026, developed by JAO.

§ 2. That, in consideration of the mutual promises of the parties and the payment of $1, and on terms otherwise acceptable to the Marine Resources Commission
(the Commission)
, the Commission is hereby authorized to convey to the City
of Norfolk
, in locations acceptable to the Commission, the following real property interests in subaqueous land that are necessary for Phase I, as generally shown on the Phase I drawings: permanent easement interests; temporary construction easements; and fee simple interests, pursuant to quitclaims
.

§ 3. That, in consideration of the mutual promises of the parties and the payment of $1, and on terms otherwise acceptable to the Commission, the Commission is hereby authorized to quitclaim to the City any interest that the Commonwealth may have in and to the property known as Newton Canal, a/k/a Mahone
'
s Canal, a/k/a Brambleton Canal, which property is located within the boundaries of City of Norfolk GPIN 1437339770.

§ 4. That the conveyances authorized herein shall be made in consultation with the Chief Resilience Officer of the Commonwealth and the Office of the Attorney General. The conveyances authorized herein shall be approved by the Governor and made in a form approved by the Office of the Attorney General. The appropriate officials of the Commonwealth are hereby authorized to prepare, execute, and deliver such deeds and other documents as may be necessary to accomplish the conveyances.