2718

JOINT RESOLUTIONS

No. 77

limited to, an objective review of the advantages and
disadvantages of private firms making investments in and
operating facilities such as boating sites, rental
services, lodging and overnight accommodations, stores,
restaurants and cafes, post offices, sports facilities,
etc. and be it further

RESOLVED, That the results of the joint study be
reported to the General Assembly prior to the convening
of the 1977 Legislative Session; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution be sent to

the Honorable Marvin Mandel, Governor; to the Honorable

Neil Solomon, Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene; to
the Honorable James B. Coulter, Secretary of the
Department of Natural Resources[[, ]]; and to the
Honorable Kenneth R. Barnes, Secretary of the Department
of Budget and Fiscal Planning.

Approved May 17, 1976.

No. 78

(House Joint Resolution No. 151)

A House Joint Resolution concerning

Treatment of Sewage by Agnatic Plants

FOR the purpose of requesting the Maryland Environmental
Service to study the feasibility of implementing
certain programs for the treatment of sewage by
aquatic [[pplants]] plants and to formulate a
proposal for the implementation of a pilot project
in this State.

Methods developed in a NASA scientific laboratory
may be capable of transforming plant material that has
been used to remove chemical pollutants from water
systems into useful industrial products, mixed
hydrocarbon fuels and possibly a new food source.

Environmental scientists at NASA's National Space
Technology Laboratories (NSTL) in Bay St. Louis,
Mississippi have been experimenting since 1971 with
vascular aquatic plants (those equipped with a system of
vessels that convey nourishment from roots through
leaves) , particularly water hyacinths.

Water hyacinths, common to tropical and subtropical
regions, and generally regarded as an overproductive
nuisance, may represent a remarkably efficient and
inexpensive filtration and disposal system for toxic
materials and sewage released into waters near urban and
industrial areas.