Terms Used In Virginia Code > Title 18.2 > Chapter 4 > Article 1 - Homicide

• Abandoned: means no longer in service and physically disconnected from a portion of the underground utility line that is in use for storage or conveyance of service. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Authority: means the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority established pursuant to this chapter. See Virginia Code 45.2-2100
• Board: means the State Water Control Board. See Virginia Code 45.2-2000
• Board: means the board of directors of the Authority. See Virginia Code 45.2-2100
• Chief: means the Chief of the Division of Mines of the Department of Energy. See Virginia Code 45.2-100
• Commission: means the State Corporation Commission. See Virginia Code 56-1
• Consortium: means the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium established by the Authority pursuant to § 45. See Virginia Code 45.2-2100
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Contract locator: means any person contracted by an operator specifically to determine the approximate horizontal location of the operator's utility lines that may exist within the area specified by a locate request. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Damage: means any impact upon or removal of support from an underground facility as a result of excavation or demolition which according to the operating practices of the operator would necessitate the repair of such facility. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• demolition: means any operation by which a structure or mass of material is wrecked, razed, rendered, moved, or removed by means of any tools, equipment, or discharge of explosives which could damage underground utility lines. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Designer: means any licensed professional designated by the project owner who designs government projects, commercial projects, residential projects consisting of 25 or more units, or industrial projects, which projects require the approval of governmental or regulatory authorities having jurisdiction over the project area. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Emergency: means a sudden or unexpected occurrence involving a clear and imminent danger, demanding immediate action to prevent or mitigate loss of, or damage to, life, health, property, or essential public services. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• excavation: means any operation in which earth, rock, or other material in the ground is moved, removed, or otherwise displaced by means of any tools, equipment, or explosives and includes, without limitation, grading, trenching, digging, ditching, dredging, drilling, augering, tunneling, scraping, cable or pipe plowing and driving, wrecking, razing, rendering, moving, or removing any structure or mass of material. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Exigent circumstances: means circumstances outside of an operator's or contract locator's, as described in subsection D of § 56-265. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Geothermal resource: means the natural heat of the earth and the energy, in whatever form, that is present in, associated with, or created by, or that may be extracted from, such natural heat, as determined by the regulations of the Department. See Virginia Code 45.2-2000
• Geothermal system: means any aquifer, pool, reservoir, or other geologic formation containing geothermal resources. See Virginia Code 45.2-2000
• Hand digging: means any excavation involving nonmechanized tools or equipment. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
• Locate request: means the completed delivery of information to the notification center requesting markings for a specified area of excavation or demolition and receipt of the same by the notification center in accordance with this chapter. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Mail: includes electronic mail and other forms of electronic communication when the customer has requested or authorized electronic bill delivery or other electronic communications. See Virginia Code 56-1
• Member: means a member of the Consortium. See Virginia Code 45.2-2100
• notification: means the completed delivery of information to the person to be notified, and the receipt of same by such person in accordance with this chapter. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Notification center: means an organization whose membership is open to all operators of underground facilities located within the notification center's designated service area, which maintains a data base, provided by its member operators, that includes the geographic areas in which its member operators desire transmissions of notices of proposed excavation, and which has the capability to transmit, within one hour of receipt, notices of proposed excavation to member operators by electronic means. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Operator: means any person who owns, furnishes or transports materials or services by means of a utility line. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means any individual, operator, firm, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association, municipality, or other political subdivision, governmental unit, department or agency, and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
• Personal representative: includes the executor of a will or the administrator of the estate of a decedent, the administrator of such estate with the will annexed, the administrator of such estate unadministered by a former representative, whether there is a will or not, any person who is under the order of a circuit court to take into his possession the estate of a decedent for administration, and every other curator of a decedent's estate, for or against whom suits may be brought for causes of action that accrued to or against the decedent. See Virginia Code 1-234
• Positive response: means a code or phrase posted by an operator or locator to the notification center detailing the marking status of a locate request. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Positive response system: means the excavator-operator information exchange system that is required by subsection E of § 56-265. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Private sewer lateral: means a privately owned, legally authorized utility line that transports wastewater from one or more buildings to a sewer system utility line owned by a sewer system operator. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Sewer system: means a system of utility lines used for conveying wastewater, and includes sewer system laterals but does not include private sewer laterals. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Sewer system lateral: means a lateral utility line located in the public right-of-way or public sewer easement, owned by a sewer system operator, and used to transport wastewater to the operator's main sewer line. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Sewer system operator: means an operator of a sewer system. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Soft digging: means any excavation using tools or equipment that utilize air or water pressure as the direct means to break up soil or earth for removal by vacuum excavation. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Supreme Court: means the Supreme Court of Virginia. See Virginia Code 1-249
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• United States: includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-255
• Utility line: means any item of public or private property which is buried or placed below ground or submerged for use in connection with the storage or conveyance of water, sewage, telecommunications, electric energy, cable television, oil, petroleum products, gas, or other substances, and includes pipes, sewers, combination storm/sanitary sewer systems, conduits, cables, valves, lines, wires, manholes, attachments, and those portions of poles below ground. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Water system: means a system of utility lines used for supplying water, and does not include private water laterals. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Water system operator: means an operator of a water system. See Virginia Code 56-265.15
• Working day: means every day, except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal state and national holidays. See Virginia Code 56-265.15