Ch. 196                                     1993 LAWS OF MARYLAND

notified within a reasonable period of time, and the street, road, alley, or highway shall be
repaired and left by the Service in the same condition as, or in a condition not inferior to,
that existing before the street, road, alley, or highway was torn up. The Service shall bear
every incidental cost.

(p) To enter upon lands, waters, or premises as is necessary or desirable for the
purposes of making surveys, soundings, borings, and examinations to accomplish any
purpose authorized by this subtitle. The Service is liable for actual damage done.

(q) To make application for, receive, and accept from any state or federal
government, or any unit, instrumentality, or subdivision thereof, grants for or in aid of the
planning, financing, construction, acquisition, maintenance, or operation of any project,
and to receive and accept aid or contributions from any source of money, property, labor,
or other things of value, to be held, used, and applied only for the purpose for which the
grants and contributions are made in the furtherance of the purposes of this subtitle. In
those cases involving federal and State grants, including, but not limited to, grants
administered by the Department of the Environment for the collection and treatment of
sewage and industrial wastes under the Sanitary Facilities Fund, in Title 9 of the
Environment Article, the Service shall be eligible the same as a municipality.

(r) To make directly, or through the hiring of consultants, any plans, surveys,
investigations, and studies relating to water supply, liquid and solid wastes transportation,
purification, disposal techniques, RECYCLING, and management methods or the effects
of these techniques, and methods, in order to improve or evaluate the effectiveness or
economy of its services and operations. The Service may charge in whole or in part the
costs of the investigations and studies against one or more projects or Service districts, or
it may include them in whole or in part in its general operating expenses depending on
the expected applicability of the studies and investigations. The Service may supplement
grants or other aids received from the federal government or from other sources to assist
in carrying out the purposes of this subtitle. Consultants hired under this subsection may
not be deemed to be providing architectural or engineering services as those terms are
defined in § 11-101 of the State Finance and Procurement Article.

(s) To conduct hearings and investigations for the furtherance of the purposes of
this subtitle.

(t) To take and hold title to any project that may be transferred to the Service,
and to assume jurisdiction over and provide for the maintenance and operation of the
project, all on such terms as may be mutually agreed upon between the Service and the
transferor. The Service may contract with any municipality to assume the payment of the
principal of and interest on obligations or indebtedness of such municipality incurred in
connection with any project and may undertake to operate any project in such a manner
as to provide for the payment of all outstanding obligations or indebtedness applicable to
the project and the interest thereon and to transfer to the appropriate municipality an
amount equal to the debt service payments prior to the applicable payment date. THE
STATE AND ITS AGENCIES MAY LEASE, LEND, GRANT, OR OTHERWISE CONVEY TO
THE SERVICE, AT ITS REQUEST, ANY PROPERTY, INCLUDING PROPERTY DEVOTED
TO PUBLIC USE, THAT IS NECESSARY OR CONVENIENT FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS
SUBTITLE, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS SUBJECT

- 1416 -