Commission, together with the governments of Montgomery and Prince
George's Counties, are due considerable credit for accomplishment
in the development of sewage works, so that there has never been a
generalized problem of pollution of the Potomac River, originating
on the Maryland side.

Question: I would like to ask Mr. Tawes (and others) whether
they endorse federal assistance for pollution control under the Blatnick
Bill... plus reaction to whatever Mr. Eisenhower has done in the
meantime.

Answer: Maryland's experience with the construction grant features
of the Public Law 660 program has been extremely favorable. We
have no reservation at all that the construction grant program has
materially stimulated communities to undertake the construction of
needed sewage treatment works. The favorable effects of this program
have, of course, been heightened by the initiative of the Maryland
General Assembly in enacting a supplemental matching program
to be paid out of State funds. Should the Congress see fit to increase
the construction grant features of the P. L. 660 program as contem-
plated in the Blatnick Bill now before Congress, Maryland com-
munities currently interested in securing such assistance will be ready
to apply for these funds so that there will be little likelihood of their
not being used and consequently reverted to the federal treasury.
The latest information we have on the present Blatnick Bill before
the Congress is that the Congress recessed the present session without
enacting the bill, although it had been favorably reported by com-
mittees of both houses. It will, therefore, be carried over to the second
session of this Congress. We hope at that time it will be acted upon
favorably by the Congress and signed by the President.

Question: Also, how does Maryland react to the circumscribing
of the responsibility of the Army Engineers survey responsibilities.
What about Riverbend? What about a C&O Canal Park? And, a
variety of Other questions which are only indirectly related to
pollution.

Answer: The issues involving upstream impoundment of the Poto-
mac River include some major policy decisions. In our judgment,
the capacity of the Potomac River to serve as a source of public
water supply for the entire Washington metropolitan region must be
substantially supplemented by some sort of impounding arrangement.
The Corps of Engineers has now received funds which will permit
it to complete the studies it began some time ago and which will be
necessary to determine the exact nature of facilities to best meet water

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