BLAIR LEE III, Acting Governor

3245

House Bill No. 1896 - County Plans for Water, Sewer,
and Solid Waste

AN ACT concerning

County Plans for Water, Sewer, and Solid Waste

FOR the purpose of providing   that county plans for water,

sewer, and solid waste     be submitted periodically

instead of annually to     the Department of Health and
Mental Hygiene.

May 29, 1978
Honorable John Hanson Briscoe
Speaker of the House of Delegates
State House
Annapolis, Maryland 21404

Dear Mr. Speaker:

In accordance with Article II, Section 17 of the
Maryland Constitution, I have today vetoed House Bill 1896.

This bill authorizes revisions of county plans for
water, sewer, and solid waste programs to be submitted to
the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene at least once
every three years, rather than on an annual basis.

These county plans state the needs for water supply,
wastewater, conveyance and purification, and solid waste
facilities in terms of areas requiring service and the
timing of facilities needs for those areas. Proposed water
and wastewater facilities proceed through subsequent
planning, design, and construction steps only after their
inclusion in an approved county plan. I am sure that House
Bill 1896 was intended to reduce the workload on local
agency staffs, particularly those of undermanned rural
counties, by relieving them from the annual updating of
these plans. But I believe that the plans of even the most
rural counties warrant an annual review.

In addition, county water and sewerage plans are an
integral part of the State's water quality management
program. The Continuing Planning Process for Water Quality
Management, a document submitted to the Environmental
Protection Agency pursuant to federal law, sets forth the
relationships between the various water quality programs
mandated by State and federal law. The activities spelled
out in the Process depend upon input from county plans, and
most of the grant—eligible activities require some form of
annual update.