Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-04-29
Powers of
Health Council

Deputy Attorney General William
H. Fisher of Augusta in an opinion
rendered Friday at the request of DR..
Clarence F. Kendall, State commits
sioner Of health, says that the dele
cation of power under the laws of
1919 clothes the Public Health Coun-
within reason to arrest the spread of
contagion from any cause.
This law also gives the Public
Health Council the power to quaran-
tine persons and communities to pre-
vent the spread of dangerous and in
fictitious diseases and tc make reason
able rules to enforce the same" con-
tinues Deputy Attorney General
Fisher in his opinion.
Under these sections also and I'M
der the reasonable exercise Of the
police power granted by law to mu-
nicipal corporations and officers act
ing for the public, the Public Health
Council in our opinion may go so far
as to forbid the use of water by cities
and towns which is found upon in
vestigation to be unwholesome and
| dAllI LII lloLld1 ny lCdSOH VI lid -
ing in it disease germs of the kind
likely to cause dangerous disease to
become epidemic in such city or
town. And for that purpose the Pub
lie Health Council may forbid the
putting Of sewage into any source of
any water supply.
! THE Public Health Council should
not and could not exercise this power
except in cases of emergency or cpl
demic disease, and when such an ext
gency exists. the council may author
ize local boards of health~to act with
and for it.
! Il find no other authority vested in
the State Board of Health relating to
water systems or water companies
, The Legislature of 1919 by Chapter IS
OF the laws of that Year gave to the
Public Utilities Commission certain
powers for the regulation and control
OF water supply systems. The author
lty and power of the Public Utilities
Commission is in large measure
only advisory, but is directory in
some of it's phases.
| The power given the commission
to regulate the contamination of wa
ter supplies by sewage is very broad
except as to the waters of the Penob-
scot, Kennebec, Androscoggin and
Saco rivers, and many large commu-
mites are dependent on these rivers
Tor their water supply. It seems to
US that these communities must de-
pend for protection upon the State
Board of Health instead of upon the
; Public Utilities Commission.
| I'VE believe that in case it APPEAR
that the water supply of any com
| munity taking water from any of said
rivers is being contaminated by sew
age to the extent of endangering the
PUBLIC health and of spreading con-
tagion, the State Board of Health. so
called, may act to prevent it, not
| wlthstanding the provisions of Chap
ter 50 OF the laws of 1917, and that
the courts of the State would uphold
any action taken by it for the pro-
lection Of the public health relating
to water supplies and the pollution of
the source of the same.
| 1t seems clear that the power of
the State Board of Health to act in
an emergency for the protection of the
public health is not limited though
the power of the Public Utilities
| Commission may be so far as the
Penobscot, Kennebec, Androscoggin
and Saco rivers are concerned.
we are advising you, therefore.
tnat you should undertake to exer-
else your powers over water supplies
and water companies only in cases of
emergency and actual or threatened
epidemic of disease and that YOU
have ample power to do what is rea-
sonable and necessary to meet the
public exigency.
In our opinion, the execution as to
the jurisdiction of the Public Utili-
ties Commission over the Penobscot,
kennebec, Androscoggin and Saco
rivers, applies to the main rivers
only; not to their tributaries.
1.-THE enforcement of the laws. in
Guiding orders, and regulations of the
boards of health, and prosecution for
violation thereof, comes properly
within the province of the county at
torneys Of the several counties"