Evening star., 1951-04-21
Victory for Regional Cooperation

The States in general and the Washington
Metropolitan Area in particular should be in
terested in the ruling just made by the Supreme
Court in dispute between West Virginia OH
cials over an interstate compact. The court not
only upheld an eight-State compact for control
of pollution in the Ohio River but went on
record in favor Of the compact method of solv-
ing problems mutually affecting several States
This will be encouraging to the Interstate Com
mission on the Potomac River Basin and to the
movement for creation Of Metropolitan Area
authorities" of one sort or another.
The West Virginia issue arose when the
State auditor challenged the validity of an ap--
preparation by the State Legislature for West
VirginiaS share of the administrative expenses
of the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Com
mission This commission, like the Potomac
River organization, was set up by a compact
ratified by Congress and several Legislatures
States involved were West Virginia Illinois, In
diana, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania
and Virginia. The auditor contended that dele
cation of powers to the commission was in vio-
lation of the State constitution. Since West Vir-
ginia also is sgnatory to the compact which
created the Interstate Commission on the Po-
tomac River Basin, the litigation assumed great
Importance to all areas joined in trying to clean
up the Potomac. 1t was of interest, as well, to
many States where similar compacts exist or
have been proposed.
The controversy reached the Supreme Court
after the West Virginia Supreme Court of Ap-
peals upheld the refusal of the auditor to author
ize payment of the States contribution to the
commission The State court attacked the COM
pact on two grounds: Cd That it delegated West
Virginia's police powers to other States and to
the Federal Government, and (2) that 1t un-
constitutionaIly obligated future Legislatures to
make payments to the commission. The Supreme
Court brushed both arguments aside. 1t de-
Scribed the compact as "a reasonable and care
fully limited delegation of power to an inter-
state agency" and added: "The compact-the
legislative means-adapts to our Union of SOW
ereign States the age-old treaty making power
of Independent sovereign nations. Adjustments
by compact without judicial or quasi-judicial
determination of existing rights had been prac-
ticed in the Colonies was practiced by the States
before the adoption of the Constitution and had
been extensively practiced in the United States
for nearly half century before this Court first
applied the judicial means in settling the boun-
Diary dispute in Rhode Island v. Massachusetts,"
OF the debt obligation angle the Court ruled
that the compact was SO drawn as not to
conflict with constitutional limitations of any
of the States affected.
Then the Court indorsed the compact idea
in general as wise method of solving problems
touching several States. 1.-THE growing interde-
pendence, of regional interests, calling for re-
gional adjustments" the Court said, ''has
brought extensive use of compacts" The de-
'cision clears the way not only for further
activity by the Interstate Commission on the
Potomac River Basin but for amendment of the
Potomac River compact so as to expand the
scope of the commission. 1t also presumably
removes possible legal obstacles to the proposed
creation Of agencies in the Washington Metro
politan Area to promote joint consideration and
solution of public utility and other problems.
Such proposals would have suffered severe set
back if the Supreme Court had outlawed the
compact method of bringing about interstate
cooperation in such matters.