174/Maryland Manual

APPALACHIAN REGIONAL
COMMISSION

MARYLAND REPRESENTATIVES
Harry Hughes, State Member
Hans F. Mayer, Alternate

OFFICERS OF THE COMMISSION
Federal Co-Chairperson: Albert P. Smith
States' Washington Representative: Michael Wenger
Executive Director: Francis E. Moravitz

1666 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20235
Telephone: (202) 673-7835

By Chapter 415, Acts of 1965, the Governor
and the Board of Public Works were authorized
to appoint a State member and an alternate to
the Appalachian Regional Commission to imple-
ment the Federal Appalachian Regional Develop-
ment Act of 1965. Commission membership, in
addition, includes a regional representative select-
ed by the majority of the thirteen Appalachian
states (Code 1957, Art. 78A, sec. 13A).

The Commission was created by the Appala-
chian Regional Development Act of 1965 (P.L.
89-4) to plan and coordinate projects and pro-
grams authorized by the Act for the development
of the thirteen-state Appalachian Region, which
includes the Western Maryland counties of Wash-
ington, Allegany, and Garrett. The Commission
consists of a federal co-chairperson appointed by
the President and one member from each partici-
pating state who must be the Governor or his al-
ternate. A state co-chairperson is elected annually
by the governors.

Programs for Appalachian development autho-
rized by the Act include the construction of a de-
velopmental highway system, access roads, health
centers, vocational educational schools, and sew-
age treatment works; the development of land,
timber, and water resources; the rehabilitation of
areas damaged by strip and surface mining; and
the establishment of local development districts
to support economic development efforts at the
local level. The Act provides authority for the
Appalachian Regional Developmental Highway
System, a network of 2,700 miles of development
highways and 1,600 miles of access roads. The
Maryland portion of the highway system consists
of 79.8 miles.

The Commission is not an operating agency.
Its major function is the planning and coordina-

tion of programs and projects to be carried out
by the appropriate federal and State departments
and agencies. The Commission can act only on
those programs and projects that are submitted
to it by State members. Its decisions require the
affirmative vote of the federal co-chairperson and
of a majority of State members (Code 1957, Art.
78A, sec. 13).

TRI-COUNTY COUNCIL FOR
WESTERN MARYLAND, INC.

Chairperson; William M. Kenny
Vice-Chairperson: R. Lee Downey
Executive Director: Maurice E. Johnson
Secretary-Treasurer: Pat Fischetti

County Office Building
3 Pershing St.
Cumberland 21502 Telephone: 777-2158

The Tri-County Council for Western Mary-
land, Inc., was chartered as a nonprofit corpora-
tion on July 22, 1971, to serve Allegany,
Garrett.and Washington counties. The Council
replaces the Governor's Council for Appalachian
Maryland, originally established in 1968. The
Council consists of nineteen voting members and
two non-voting members. On August 9, 1971, the
Governor certified that the Council was an entity
eligible for designation as a Local Development
District under the provisions of Section 301, Title
III, of the Appalachian Regional Development
Act of 1965, as amended (P.L. 89-4).

The Council functions as a cooperative eco-
nomic, social, and cultural development agency
within Allegany, Garrett, and Washington coun-
ties by developing a comprehensive development
plan for the region; providing liaison with local,
State, and federal agencies; preparing data and
studies to support comprehensive development
planning, including the recommendation of proj-
ects and activities to meet public service needs of
the region; and providing assistance in the imple-
mentation of the State's Appalachian develop-
ment program in the region.

The Council is functioning under a grant from
the Appalachian Regional Commission covering
65 percent of its operating costs.

TRI-COUNTY COUNCIL FOR
SOUTHERN MARYLAND

Chairperson: James C. Simpson

Southern Maryland Legislative Delegation: J.
Ernest Bell; C. Bernard Fowler; Samuel C.