674 /Intercounty Agencies

construction, maintenance, and operation of water
supply and sewerage systems in Prince George's and
Montgomery counties and regulates and inspects
plumbing and gas-fitting installations in both coun-
ties. The Commission also administers, maintains,
and operates the Anacostia River Flood Control
and Navigation Project.
The two major sources of water supply for the Com-
mission system are the Patuxent River, through the
Patuxent Filtration Plant, and the Potomac River, through
the Potomac River Filtration Plant. The Commission also
stores about 12 billion gallons of raw water at Rocky
Gorge Reservoir, in Prince George's and Montgomery
counties, and at Triadelphia Lake, in Montgomery
County Little Seneca Lake, in Montgomery County, and
the Jennings-Randolph Reservoir, in West Virginia, pro-
vide storage for an additional 17 billion gallons of water.
Much of the sewage from the Commission service
area is transported through trunk sewers into the
District of Columbia and is treated at the regional Blue
Plains Pollution Control Plant in Washington, DC.
Other sewage disposal plants operated by the Com-
mission are near Laurel, at Piscataway Bay; on the
western branch of the Patuxent River, at Seneca Creek
Basin; and in northern Montgomery County. The
Commission also runs several smaller waste water
plants and, in eastern Montgomery County, a 116-acre
composting facility that processes the Commission's
proportionate share of Blue Plains sludge.
Ten-Year Water and Sewer Plans for Montgomery
and Prince George's counties, formerly drafted by the
Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, now are
prepared by the respective county governments. The
Commission's annual budget is subject to joint ap-
proval by the governing bodies of the two counties.
The Commission sets customer rates for its suburban
Maryland service area.
Through its Office of Communications, the
Commission distributes free information on all fac-
ets of its operation. The Plumbing and Gas-Fitting
Regulations are available for a fee. An active speak-
ers' bureau also is managed by the Office.
The Commission consists of six members: three from
Montgomery County and three from Prince George's
County Each county's members are appointed to four-
year terms by the County Executive with County Council
consent. The Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson are cho-
sen annually by the Commission (Code 1957, Art. 29).

WASHINGTON SUBURBAN
TRANSIT COMMISSION

Chairperson: Carlton R. Sickles, Montgomery County

Appointed by Montgomery County Executive: Cleatus
E. Barnett; Graham J. Norton; Carlton R. Sickles.

Appointed by Prince George's County Executive: John
P. Davey; Hilda R. Pemberton; one vacancy.

Ex officio: Alexander J. Eckmann, designee of
Secretary of Transportation

Louis W. Farber, Executive Secretary-Treasurer

8720 Georgia Ave., Suite 904
Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301) 565-9665

The Washington Suburban Transit Commission was
created in 1965 (Chapter 870, Acts of 1965). The Com-
mission administers the Washington Suburban Transit
District and has powers to develop, on a bi-county basis,
a transportation system, including mass transit facilities,
for Montgomery and Prince George's counties.
The Commission acts as the financial conduit for
funding of mass transportation projects within
Montgomery and Prince George's counties. It co-
ordinates mass transit programs for the two coun-
ties with the two county governments, the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority,
and the Maryland Department of Transportation.
The Commission and the Washington Metropoli-
tan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), work together
to develop a regional rapid rail transit system. The
Commission appoints two of its members and two
alternates to the Authority's Board of Directors. The
Authority is the interstate agency that plans, finances,
and operates the regional rapid rail and bus transit
systems for the Washington metropolitan area.
The Commission consists of seven members. Three
are appointed by the Montgomery County Executive,
and three by the Prince George's County Executive.
The Secretary of Transportation (or designee) serves
ex officio. Commissioners who are appointed from
among the members of the elected governing bodies
serve at the pleasure of the County Executive, while
others serve three-year terms. The position of chair-
person alternates annually between Montgomery and
Prince George's counties.