Evening star., 1946-12-13
Potomac Commission
Is Slated 10 Approve
Pollution Plan Today
By james BirehfieId
Sior Sioff Correspondent

! WINCHESTER, Dec. 13.-The In
/ terstate Commission on the Potomac
River Basin is scheduled to approve
and send on to its member States
/ today list of priority projects rec
commended for immediate action to
abate pollution in critical areas.
I The list is now under considera-
1 ton by the commissions Technical
! Committee.
Commission spokesmen say the list
is based on commission studies made
in the last few years 1t will direct
attention to areas where waste treat
ment is most necessary.
/ Dean S. S. Steinburg of the en-
gineering department of the Univer-
sity of Maryland. chairman of the
Maryland Committee on Water Pol
luton, was scheduled to outline a
bill to be proposed to next months
session Of the General Assembly
for setting up State Water Control
Board.
! The enforcement of antipollution
laws now is divided among number
| of Maryland agencies, and the pro-
posed bill would bring pollution con-
troll under one body Dean Stein
burg explained that the bill would
add no new pollution laws, but only
allow better enforcement.
At yesterdays session Harry Hall,
chief engineer of the Washington
Suburban Sanitary Commission,
which provides water and sewer
facilities to Montgomery and Prince
Georges Counties told the commits
sion that the sanitary agency, since
its creation after World War I, had
followed planned program de-
signed eventually to eliminate pol
luton in all streams in its area.
Mr.. Hall, who illustrated his talks
with maps, said the sanitary COM
mission began serving a population
OF $4,000 in a 94-square mile area.
The area has since grown until now
the commission operates more than
800 miles of water lines and more
than 500 miles of sewer lines in an
area of 1856 square miles serving
ASu,uuu ptopie.
He said the commission planned
future expenditures of about S.
100000 to extend sewer lines in the
| suburban area. About $1,000 900,
he said, will be spent Immediately
to connect the District with the
Cabin John area and to extend
trunk sewer lines as far as Garrett
Park in the Rock Greek area, to
Burnt Mills in the Northwest
Branch area, to Branchville in the
Northeast Branch area, and to con-
meet the Anacostia area with the
District system.
In addition, he said, about ST.
100000 is earmarked to cover the
cost of five-year program that
will make sewers available to areas
that probably will be developed
during this period in the suburban
district.
At general session yesterday
the commission was urged by /.
Alvin PasareW of Maryland to frame
a definite statement of policy.
MIR. Pasarew pointed out that
the, commission had formed its
policy slowly over a period of a
number of years, and that this pol
icy never had been brought to-
gether in a concise statement. He
said the commission should be pre-
pared to take stand for or against
any pollution legislation which may
come up ait any time in Congress.
The commission cofnplimented
The Star on a series of articles pub
lished recently on the development
of the Potomac River Basin.
Commission Chairman L. Harold
.Sothoron of Prince Georges County,
and Edwin r. Cotton, engineer sec
retary said communications received
by the commission indicated that
the articles had created wide inter-
est throughout the basin. Mr.. Cotton
said offers of assistance were re-
ceived by the commission from per-
sons who had become interested in
problems of basin development
through The Star