BLAIR LEE III, Acting Governor

3249

House Bill No- 1998 - Potomac River - Low Flow Allocation
in Defined Portion

AN ACT concerning

Potomac River — Low Flow Allocation in Defined Portion

FOR the purpose of authorizing the Governor and the
Secretary of Natural Resources to sign on behalf of the
State a binding and enforceable agreement with the
Secretary of the Army, the Commonwealth of Virginia,
the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, the
Fairfax County Water Authority, and the District of
Columbia, providing an enforceable schedule for
allocation among the parties to such agreement for the
withdrawal of the waters of that portion of the Potomac
River located between Little Falls Dam and the farthest
upstream limit of the pool of water behind the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company rubble dam at Seneca,
Maryland during periods of low flow in that portion of
the River; providing for an "environmental flow by"
maintaining environmental conditions and balancing such
needs against essential human, industrial, and domestic

requirements for water; and authorizing the Governor

and Secretary of Natural Resources to sign any
subsequent amendments to the agreement mutually agreed
upon by the United States, the State of Maryland, the
Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia.

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 1998.

This bill authorizes the Governor and the Secretary of
Natural Resources to sign an agreement with the Secretary of
the Army, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Washington
Suburban Sanitary Commission, the Fairfax County Water
Authority, and the District of Columbia, providing for the
withdrawal of waters from the Potomac River during periods
of low flow.

Senate Bill 1184, which was enacted by the General
Assembly and signed by me on May 16, 1978, accomplishes the
same purpose.