Evening star., 1946-12-12
Commission > Launehe,
Study Of Pollution
In Potomac Basin
By james BirchfieId
stor steff eorre.pondent

Stor s.oT Correspondent
WINCHESTER. Va, Dec. 1.-THE
Interstate Commission on the Pc.
tomac River Basin made plans here
today for the establishment of 9
research clearing house to collect
and make available to industry 10,
Gated in the basin the latest tech
nical date on the treatment Nof in.
dustrial wastes.
The. commission, headed by Mary
land State Senator L. Harold
Sothoron of Prince Georges County
and including members representing
Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsyl-
vania, Maryland, the District and
the Federal Government, opened
its two-day meeting this morning
at the George Washington Hotel.
Sessions will end tomorrow with
an inspection tour of a new waste
treatment plant recently installed
at the American Viscose Plant
Front Royal.
Under plans made by subcom-
mittee of the commissions Techni-
cal Committee, headed by A. E.
Schmidt of the Army Engineers, the
research program will include estab-
lishment of technical library at
the commissions headquarters in
Washington. The plans also call for
the collection and distribution to all
industries within the basin of all
existing waste treatment programs
now in operation throughout the
country and setting up means of
providing information on new treat
ment techniques that are being de-
veloped by industrial and other
scientists.
Data to Be Available.
Under the proposal, the library
would consist of technical informa-
tion on waste treatment and would
be available for use by scientists
connected with all industries on the
Potomac or its tributaries.
Commission spokesmen said that
in time, it is believed that the COM
mission will be able to persuade in
dustries in the basin to instigate re-
search programs on waste treatment
and to farm out other problems on
pollution abatement to universities
and similar research organizations.
Asserting that the research pro-
gram is step in cooperative basin
planning, Senator Sothoron said
that within a few years the results
of. the program will be seen in a
cleaner Potomac River
Projects to Be Considered.
Scheduled for commission con-
sideration today is the establishment
of list of projects needed at once
to abate the critical pollution in
certain areas in the basin. When
completed, this list will be for
warded to agencies controlling pol
luton in the member States with
the suggestion that it be used as
basis for primary programs for pol
luton abatement.
Today's meeting was marked by a
feeling among some commission
members that Virginia's new Water
Control Board established at the last
session of the Legislature to admin
lister the States anti-pollution law,
has SO far shown little interest in
the commissions program for the
Potomac
This feeling was based on the
fact that E. Blackburn Moore, Win
chester, chairman of the Water
Control Board, declined an invita-
tion to address the commission. Nor
did other members of the board
accept invitations to attend the
Winchester meeting. The meeting
was held here primarily for the
convenience of the new board men,
bers.
The opinion was advanced in
some quarters that certain Virginia
leaders perhaps have confused the
commissions program with the
Army engineers plan, advanced
three years ago, to construct IA
multiple purpose dams throughout
the basin The plan, which would
have flooded thousands of acres of
rich farm land, was opposed vigor-
ously by commission members and
was shelved by the engineers after
hearings in Washington.
1t also was pointed out that Vir-
ginia long has been slow to CO.
operate with other States. 1t was
recalled that plans to revive an old
pact between Virginia and Mary
land for the control of Chesapeake
Bay fisheries has received no favor
able action by the Virginia Legis-
lature, although approved by Mary
land. Maryland recently threatened
to withdraw its support unless Vir-
ginia took action on the proposed
agreement.
It is the consensus here, however,
that Virginia eventually will give
full support to the commissions
program after leaders become aware
of the assistance to be received from
the commission in attacking pollu-
ton problems and in planning the
development of the Potomac tribu-
taries within the State.
II also is believed that Virginia
will find that only through CO.
operative planning can suitable
program be evolved for the Potomac
River, flowing as it does through
n0mber of States.
Frank S. Hoover Dies
HOLLYWOOD, Dec. IL tP).-
Frank S. Hoover, 73, who opened
one of the first Photographic studios
in Hollywood, died yesterday aboard
a train in Wyoming. friends were