The county council finds that the health, safety and welfare of the residents and taxpayers of the county are beneficially served through participation by the county in an areawide wastewater treatment management planning agency to be established under the provisions of section 208 Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (P.L. 92-500); further, the county council finds that authority exists to provide for county participation in this program through the enactment of this amendment.

(a) The charter for areawide water resources planning submitted to the county by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments on August 23, 1974, is hereby approved as it relates to the county, and the county is hereby authorized to participate in the activities provided under such charter. (b) Such charter provides procedures for its own amendment. In those instances where local government approval is required for charter amendment to become effective, the county council, after receiving the recommendations of the county executive, may, by local legislation, approve such amendments on behalf of the county. Such action shall be taken within the time required in such charter amendment procedure. (c) The county executive and such alternate member as the executive may select shall serve as a representative from the executive branch on the Metropolitan Washington Water Resources Planning Board. The county council shall select one (1) of its members to serve as a member and a member or nonmember of the council to serve as an alternate member on the Metropolitan Washington Water Resources Planning Board. Members and alternate members shall serve at the pleasure of the respective body appointing them. (d) Voting authority of the county on the water resources planning board shall be divided equally between and exercised by the members or alternates appointed by the county council and the county executive.

The plan of the water resources planning board, prepared in accordance with law and the charter establishing such board, and amendments thereto shall be submitted to the county council, the county executive, the county planning board and the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission for review. At least five (5) days prior to the date established for a public hearing by the county council on the plan and any amendments thereto, the county executive, the planning board and the sanitary commission shall submit recommendations thereon in writing to the county council. After receiving the recommendations of the county executive, the planning board and the sanitary commission and after public hearing, the county council may approve or disapprove the plan or amendments as they affect the county; provided, that if the plan or amendments are disapproved by the county council, the council shall submit in writing to the board the council's reasons for disapproval.

It is the intent of the county council and county executive that county participation in the planning process, conducted through the water resources planning board shall be conditioned upon the consistency of the annual work program and budget with maximum involvement of the county water resources planning staff to the extent that these responsibilities are pertinent to that work program and budget. In furtherance of this policy, the water resources planning board's annual work program and budget shall be reviewed to ensure that the county is clearly assigned the primary responsibilities and commensurate funding to undertake at least the following programs and projects involving areas within the county that may be included in the work program: (a) Provisions of community water supply and wastewater disposal systems; (b) Programs of individual water supply and wastewater disposal systems both on an interim and indefinite basis; (c) Disposal of solid wastes as they relate to water pollution control; (d) Planning, programming and financing requirements for the orderly expansion and extension of community and individual water supply, wastewater and solid waste disposal systems consistent with anticipated growth within succeeding five-, ten- and twenty-year periods; (e) Local implementation of the required regulatory programs necessary to regulate discharges into the waters of the county, including those resulting from excavation and grading; (f) Programs for the control of nonpoint sources of pollution, such as agricultural, silvicultural discharges and landfill discharges; (g) Identification and control of construction related sources of pollution. The county executive is authorized to use such county resources as are available to him through approved appropriations and any supplementary funds made available by the water resources planning board to undertake the activities noted above and to assign such county personnel to work with the staff of the water resources planning board as he deems appropriate and desirable, consistent with other legal responsibilities under state or local law.

Sewerage or water related programs or projects duly approved by the county council prior to the effective date of any approved areawide water resources plan prepared under these procedures shall continue in force and effect.