1478                             Laws of Maryland                      [Ch. 523

waste disposal plans, if any, adopted pursuant to Article 43 of this
Code but may also take account of other plans and studies.

3(g).

The word "person" means any natural person, individual, firm,
partnership, association, cooperative, corporation, or other entity
that, under the State or federal law, has responsibility for water
supply or waste water or solid waste disposal; but the word does
not include any natural person, individual, firm, partnership, asso-
ciation, cooperative, corporation, or other entity receiving or entitled
to receive water supply, waste water collection or solid waste collection
services from a municipality.

3(k).

The word "cost" as applied to a water supply project, a solid waste
disposal project, a waste water purification project, a service area, a
service district, or to any activity undertaken by the Service, in-
cludes: the cost of construction or acquisition, including the purchase
price of any existing project or the cost of acquiring all right, title,
or interest of the project and the amount to be paid to discharge
all obligations necessary to vest title to the project or any part
thereof in the Service; the cost of any reconstruction, extension
enlargement, alteration, repair or improvement; the cost of all lands,
properties, rights, easements, interests, franchises, and permits ac-
quired; the cost of all labor, machinery and equipment, financing
charges, interest prior to and during construction and for one year
after completion of construction; the cost of revenue estimates, en-
gineering and legal services, plans, designs, specifications, surveys,
investigations, demonstrations, studies, estimates of cost, other ex-
penses necessary or incident to determining the feasibility or practi-
cability of any such acquisition, improvement, or construction,
administrative expenses, and other expenses as necessary or incident
to the financing herein authorized, and to the acquisition, opera-
tion, maintenance, improvement, construction of water supply,
liquid and solid waste project facilities and the placing of the same
in operation by the Service. Any obligation or expenses EXPENSE
incurred by the Service prior to the issuance of bonds under the pro-
visions of this article for engineering studies and for estimates of
costs and revenues and for other technical or professional services
which may be utilized in the acquisition, improvement, or construc-
tion of such facilities may be regarded as a part of the costs of the
facilities.

3B(c).

To the extent deemed appropriate in each particular instance,
acquisition, design, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, im-
provement, operation, maintenance and repair of water supply, waste
water purification and solid waste disposal projects, either pursuant
to an order of the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene or the
Secretary of Natural Resources as further provided in Sections 8 and
9 of this article, or pursuant to a mandatory agreement to provide
requested services, as provided for in Section 6 of this article, or
pursuant to an approved five-year plan, as provided for in Section 5
of this article.