SPIRO T. AGNEW, Governor                       1647

any other agreement concerning any matter deemed by the Commis-
sion to be necessary, advisable, or expedient for the proper construc-
tion, maintenance, and operation of the water supply, sewerage, or
drainage systems under its control, or those under the control of any
municipality or county or other governmental agency. The Commis-
sion is further empowered, subject to the approval of the Board, to
enter into contracts with any municipality for the joint acquisition,
construction, ownership, and operation of any water supply, sewer-
age, or drainage system or any portion thereof. All such contracts
shall be approved by the Board.

439H.

(a)    Before any plumbing, water works, or sewer construction is
done in any building or upon any private property within the county,
the person, firm, or corporation doing the construction shall first ob-
tain a permit from the Commission and pay therefor such reason-
able sum as the Commission may prescribe. The work shall be done
under and pursuant to such rules, regulations, and requirements as
the Commission may from time to time formulate, and subject to
such inspection as it may deem necessary; provided that, to avoid
duplication of supervision, the Commission may waive this provision
if the Department of Health issues the permits and makes the in-
spections required by this subsection in a manner satisfactory to the
Commission.

(b)    The Commission shall have full and complete jurisdiction
over all fire hydrants connected with its water system; and no person,
firm or corporation may operate, use, or make connection with the
system without the written authority of the Commission, except that
no restriction shall apply to any bona fide fire department in the dis-
charge of its duties. No person, firm, or corporation may tamper
with, deface, damage, or obstruct any fire hydrant. A violation of
any of the provisions of this section is a misdemeanor, punishable
under Section 439X of this subtitle.

(c)    Nothing in this section is applicable within any municipal-
ity or to any sanitary system operated by a municipality. UNLESS
AUTHORIZED IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 439C OF
THIS SUBTITLE.

439-I.

The Commission shall provide for each and every property abut-
ting upon a street or right-of-way in which a water main or sewer is
laid, when service to such property is feasible, a water service pipe
and sewer connection, which shall be extended as required from the
water and sewer mains to the property line of the abutting lot. The
water service pipe and the connection with the sewer shall be con-
structed by and at the expense of the Commission, subject to any
charge for said connection as provided in Section 439U of this sub-
title, which charge shall be paid by all property owners at the office
of the Commission. When any water main or sewer is declared by
the Commission to be complete and ready for the delivery of water
or the reception of sewage, every abutting property owner, after
due notice, shall make a connection of all spigots or hydrants, toilets
and waste drains with the water main or sewer within the time pre-
scribed by the Commission. If these fixtures do not exist or are of