§ 34–2401.16. Delivery of water — Nearby Maryland; contract.

For the protection of the health of the residents of the District of Columbia and the employees of the United States government residing in Maryland near the District of Columbia boundary, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, upon the request of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, a body corporate, established by Chapter 313 of the Acts of 1916 of the State of Maryland, or upon the request of its legally appointed successor, is authorized to deliver water from the water supply system of the District of Columbia to said Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission or its successor for distribution to territory in Maryland within the Washington Suburban Sanitary District as designated in the aforesaid act, or any amendment thereto, and to connect District of Columbia water mains with water mains in the state of Maryland at such points at or near the District of Columbia line as may be agreed upon from time to time by the Mayor of the District of Columbia and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, under the conditions hereinafter named, namely:

(1) That before such connections shall be made the said Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission or its legally appointed successor shall secure authority from the legislature of the State of Maryland to enter into an agreement with the said Mayor of the District of Columbia outlining the conditions under which the service is to be rendered.

(2) The agreement between the Mayor of the District of Columbia and the said Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission or its legally appointed successor shall provide, among other things:

(A) That the meters on each of said connections shall be located within the District of Columbia and shall remain under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of the District of Columbia;

(B) The rates at which water will be furnished, said rates to be based on the actual cost to the United States and the District of Columbia of delivering water to the points designated above, including an interest charge at 4% per annum and the cost of any payment required by § 113 of the Omnibus Budget Support Act of 1992 [D.C. Law 9-145] and a suitable allowance for depreciation;

(C) That payments for water so furnished shall be made through the Collector of Taxes of the District of Columbia at such times as the Mayor of the District of Columbia may direct, said payments to be deposited in the Treasury of the United States as other water rents collected in the District of Columbia are deposited;

(D) That at no time shall the amount of water furnished the said Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission or its successor exceed the amount that can be spared without jeopardizing the interests of the United States or of the District of Columbia;

(E) That the Mayor of the District of Columbia shall have at all times the right to investigate the distribution system in Maryland, and if, in his opinion, there is a wastage of water he shall have the right to curtail the supply to said sanitary district to the amount of such wastage.

(Mar. 3, 1917, 39 Stat. 1043, ch. 160; June 30, 1930, 46 Stat. 838, ch. 764; Apr. 14, 1932, 47 Stat. 79, ch. 100; July 23, 1992, D.C. Law 9-134, § 112(f), 39 DCR 4066; Sept. 10, 1992, D.C. Law 9-145, § 113(c), 39 DCR 4895.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 43-1539.

1973 Ed., § 43-1530.

Section References

This section is referenced in § 34-2401.15.

References in Text

The “Omnibus Budget Support Act of 1992,” referred to in (2)(B), is D.C. Law 9-145.

Editor's Notes

Restriction on use of funds: Section 136 of Pub. L. 102-382, 106 Stat. 1435, the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1993, provided that none of the funds made available in this Act may be used by the District of Columbia to impose, implement, collect, administer, transfer, or enforce a payment in lieu of taxes on the Water and Sewer Utility Administration that would increase payments required of suburban jurisdictions in Maryland or Virginia under the Blue Plains Intermunicipal Agreement of 1985.

Office of Collector of Taxes abolished: The Office of the Collector of Taxes was abolished and the functions thereof transferred to the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia by Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1952. All functions of the Office of the Collector of Taxes including the functions of all officers, employees and subordinate agencies were transferred to the Director, Department of General Administration by Reorganization Order No. 3, dated August 28, 1952. Reorganization Order No. 20, dated November 10, 1952, transferred the functions of the Collector of Taxes to the Finance Office. The same Order provided for the Office of the Collector of Taxes headed by a Collector in the Finance Office, and abolished the previously existing Office of the Collector of Taxes. Reorganization Order No. 20 was superseded and replaced by Organization Order No. 121, dated December 12, 1957, which provided that the Finance Office (consisting of the Office of the Finance Officer, Property Tax Division, Revenue Division, Treasury Division, Accounting Division, and Data Processing Division) would continue under the direction and control of the Director of General Administration, and that the Treasury Division would perform the function of collecting revenues of the District of Columbia and depositing the same with the Treasurer of the United States. Organization Order No. 121 was revoked by Organization Order No. 3, dated December 13, 1967, Part IVC of which prescribed the functions of the Finance Office within a newly established Department of General Administration. The executive functions of the Board of Commissioners were transferred to the Commissioner of the District of Columbia by § 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967. Functions of the Finance Office as stated in Part IVC of Organization Order No. 3 were transferred to the Director of the Department of Finance and Revenue by Commissioner’s Order No. 69-96, dated March 7, 1969.

Change in Government

This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to a single Commissioner. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-2.9711), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.