2132                             Joint Resolutions

for an additional 707 acute-care hospital beds in the Prince George's
County service area, and a priority of three for new construction on
a Statewide basis; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the Governor
be requested to instruct the State Planning Commission to aid the
Community in securing a site in the greater Laurel Beltsville area
to construct a non profit community hospital; and be it further
DIRECT THE COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH PLANNING
AGENCY TO ASSIST THE COMMUNITY OF LAUREL IN AC-
QUIRING A SITE AND IN OBTAINING FINANCIAL AID FOR
THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NON-PROFIT COMMUNITY HOS-
PITAL IN THE GREATER LAUREL-BELTSVILLE AREA; AND
BE IT FURTHER

Resolved, That the Governor be requested to instruct the Secre-
tary of Health to seek financial assistance from Federal grant, state
or private funds to sponsor construction of a non profit community
hospital in the greater Laurel Beltsville area; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be sent to the Governor of
Maryland.

Approved May 21, 1970.

No. 73*
(House Joint Resolution 74)

House Joint Resolution requesting the United States Army Corps of
Engineers and the Maryland Congressional Delegation to insure
that the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is not enlarged without
a lock or other device to prevent OR MINIMIZE flowage from the
Chesapeake Bay into the Delaware Bay.

Whereas, The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is presently being
dredged from twenty-seven to thirty-five feet and may be dredged
even further to accommodate vessels desiring to use Baltimore
Harbor; and

Whereas, The effect of this increased depth may be extremely
harmful to the life of the Chesapeake Bay. At present, there is an
overall net flow of about 1,600 cubic feet of water per second from
the Chesapeake into the Delaware Bay. When the Canal is deepened
to thirty-five feet, the flow of water into the Delaware Bay will more
than double. The diversion, expressed in gallons per day, will be in-
creased from 593,200,000 to 1,350,800,000, an amount equal to almost
¼ of the average daily 1968 flow of the Potomac River and almost
four times the recorded low flow of the Potomac in 1969. If sub-
sequently increased to forty-five feet, the flow would increase five
times over that at the thirty-five foot level; and

Whereas, The effect of this flow on the Chesapeake Bay will be to
divert the upper Bay's fresh water which could change the salt con-
tent of the rest of the Bay and upset or rearrange its whole life
system. One result of this diversion would be the elimination of

*Not signed by the Governor.