578                                 Laws of Maryland                          Ch. 246

protected by such erosion control project where the owner or owners
of the land have rights of access to the land immediately abutting
such waters and where said owner or owners are parties to the
agreement referred to in subsection 758A(a).

(d)    The costs of maintenance of shore erosion control projects
shall be the sole responsibility of the benefited property owner or
owners. The Department of Natural Resources shall periodically in-
spect such projects and recommend to the property owners any
measures that are required to maintain the project.

(e)    The Department of Natural Resources shall actively seek to
obtain from the Federal government any funds available for shore
erosion control projects.

758B.

The Department of Natural Resources shall include annually in
its budget request funds required to provide and maintain shore
erosion protection for State-owned properties.

Sec. 8 6. And be it further enacted, That the powers, authority,
duties, and functions vested in the Department of Natural Resources
by the provisions of this Act, shall be performed and exercised by
the Secretary of Natural Resources or by such agency and officials
within the Department of Natural Resources as may be designated
by the Secretary.

Sec. 9 7. And be it further enacted, That if any part of this act,
or any section or part of the section thereof, shall be held to be
unconstitutional or invalid for any reason, such unconstitutionality
or invalidity shall not affect the remaining parts of this Act, or any
section or part of a section hereof, the General Assembly hereby
declaring that it would have passed the remaining parts of this act,
or sections or parts of sections hereof, if such unconstitutionality
or invalidity had been known; and to this end, all parts, sections,
and parts of sections of this act are declared to be severable.

Sec. 10 8. And be it further enacted, That all laws or parts of laws,
public general or public local, inconsistent with the provisions of
this Act, are hereby repealed to the extent of any such inconsistency.

Sec. 11 9. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall take effect
July 1, 1970.

Approved April 22, 1970

CHAPTER 246
(Senate Bill 634)

AN ACT relating to the Water Quality Loan Act of 1968, to repeal
and re-enact, with amendments, Section 5 of Chapter 445 of the
Acts of 1968, as amended by Chapter 653 of the Acts of 1969; to
reallocate the use of the proceeds of the Water Quality Loan of
1968 by increasing the share allocated for construction grants for