| miles, of which Virginia accounts for 39%, and Maryland 26%."
The River is a national treasure, rich in scenic beauty. The President designated it in July
1998 as an American Heritage River.'' The River also serves as the principal water supply for
the Washington Metropolitan Area.
The ultimate issue in this original action proceeding is whether Maryland can regulate
Virginia's use of, and access to, the Potomac River.
Conflicting Charters and Colonial Claims
Prior to 1776, the territories of Virginia and Maryland were the subject of inconsistent
and conflicting charters and patents from various English Kings. See lworris v. United States,
174 U.S. 196, 223 (1898). The complex conflicts that ensued need not be untangled in order to
resolve the present dispute. Id. at 223. Generally stated, Virginia's territorial claims were
premised upon three charters issued by King James I in 1606, 1609, and 1612;'3 upon a patent
" The respective drainage areas for the basin, as established by the Army Corps of
Engineers (Potomac River Basin Report, H.R. Doc. 343, supra note 10, at 33), are as follows:
State Drainage (mi.')
Virginia 5,723 39.0
Maryland 3,818 26.0
West Virginia 3,490 23.8
Pennsylvania 1,570 10.7
District of Columbia 69 0.5
Total 14.670 100.0
'~ See American Heritage Rivers Initiative, 62 Fed. Reg. 48,860 (1997). The
Environmental Protection Agency maintains a website concerning this initiative at
http://www.epa.gov/rivers/ (last modified January 7, 2000).
'3 See Va. Code Ann. § 7.1-1 (Michie 1999); Commission (Maryland) on Boundary Lines
Between Virginia and Maryland (1870-1874). Report and Journal of Proceedings of the Joint
Commissioners to Adjust the Boundary Line of the States of lVaryland and Virginia. Authorized
by the act of 1872, chapter 210 at 235-40 (Annapolis 1874) (Statement of the Virginia Case)
(continued . . .)
7
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