The Delaware River Basin Compact is entered into and enacted into law; subject to the execution by the Governor as provided in the Compact and in accordance with its terms. The Compact is as follows:

DELAWARE RIVER BASIN COMPACT

WHEREAS, the signatory parties recognize the water and related sources of the Delaware basin as regional assets vested with local, state and national interests, for which they have a joint responsibility; and

WHEREAS, the conservation, utilization, development, management and control of the water and related resources of the Delaware River Basin under a comprehensive multi-purpose plan will bring the greatest benefits and produce the most efficient service in the public welfare; and

WHEREAS, such a comprehensive plan administered by a basin-wide agency will provide effective flood damage reduction; conservation and development of ground and surface water supply for municipal, industrial and agricultural uses; development of recreational facilities in relation to reservoirs, lakes and streams; propagation of fish and game; promotion of related forestry, soil conservation and watershed projects; protection and aid to fisheries dependent upon water resources, development of hydroelectric power potentialities; improved navigation; control of the movement of salt water; abatement and control of stream pollution; and regulation of stream flows toward the attainment of these goals; and

WHEREAS, decisions of the United States Supreme Court relating to the waters of the basin have confirmed the interstate regional character of the water resources of the Delaware River Basin, and the United States Corps of Engineers has in a prior report on the Delaware River Basin (House Document 179, 73d Cong. 2nd Sess.) officially recognized the need for an interstate agency and the economies that can result from unified development and control of the water resources of the basin; and

WHEREAS, the water resources of the basin are presently subject to the duplicating, overlapping and uncoordinated administration of some 43 state agencies, 14 interstate agencies and 19 federal agencies which exercise a multiplicity of powers and duties resulting in a splintering of authority and responsibilities; and

WHEREAS, the joint advisory body known as the Interstate Commission on the Delaware River Basin (INCODEL), created by the respective commissions or committee on Interstate Cooperation of the States of Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, has on the basis of its extensive investigations, surveys and studies concluded that regional development of the Delaware River Basin is feasible, advisable and urgently needed; and has recommended that an interstate compact with federal participation be consummated to this end; and

WHEREAS, the Congress of the United States and the executive branch of the government have recognized the national interest in the Delaware River Basin by authorizing and directing the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of the Army, to make a comprehensive survey and report on the water and related resources of the Delaware River Basin, enlisting the technical aid and planning participation of many federal, state and municipal agencies dealing with the waters of the basin, and in particular the federal departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Health, Education and Welfare, Interior, and Federal Power Commission; and

WHEREAS, some 22,000,000 people of the United States at present live and work in the region of the Delaware River Basin and its environs, and the government, employment, industry and economic development of the entire region and the health, safety and general welfare of its population are and will continue to be vitally affected by the use, conservation, management and control of the water and related resources of the Delaware River Basin; and

WHEREAS, demands upon the waters and related resources of the basin are expected to mount rapidly because of the anticipated increase in the population of the region projected to reach 30,000,000 by 1980 and 40,000,000 by 2010, and because of the anticipated increase in industrial growth projected to double by 1980; and

WHEREAS, water resources planning and development is technical, complex and expensive, and has often required 15 to 20 years from the conception to the completion of a large dam and reservoir; and

WHEREAS, the public interest requires that facilities must be ready and operative when needed, to avoid the catastrophe of unexpected floods or prolonged drought, and for other purposes; and

WHEREAS, the Delaware River Basin Advisory Committee, a temporary body constituted by the governors of the 4 basin states and the mayors of the cities of New York and Philadelphia, has prepared a draft of an interstate-federal compact for the creation of a basin agency, and the signatory parties desire to effectuate the purposes thereof; now therefore

The states of Delaware, New Jersey and New York and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the United States of America hereby solemnly covenant and agree with each other, upon the enactment of concurrent legislation by the Congress of the United States and by the respective state legislatures, having the same effect as this Part to the following Compact:

ARTICLE 1 SHORT TITLE, DEFINITIONS, PURPOSE AND LIMITATIONS

Section 1.1 SHORT TITLE.

1.2 DEFINITIONS.

(a) “Basin” shall mean the area of drainage into the Delaware River and its tributaries, including Delaware Bay;

(b) “Commission” shall mean the Delaware River Basin Commission created and constituted by this compact;

(c) “Compact” shall mean Part 1 of this act;

(d) “Cost” shall mean direct and indirect expenditures, commitment, and net induced adverse effects, whether or not compensated for, used or incurred in connection with the establishment, acquisition, construction, maintenance and operation of a project;

(e) “Facility” shall mean any real or personal property, within or without the basin, and improvements thereof or thereon, and any and all rights of way, water, water rights, plants, structures, machinery and equipment, acquired, constructed, operated or maintained for the beneficial use of water resources or related land uses including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any and all things and appurtenances necessary, useful or convenient for the control, collection, storage, withdrawal, diversion, release, treatment, transmission, sale or exchange of water; or for navigation thereon, or the development and use of hydroelectric energy and power, and public recreational facilities; or the propagation of fish and wildlife; or to conserve and protect the water resources of the basin or any existing or future water supply source, or to facilitate any other uses of any of them;

(f) “Federal government” shall mean the government of the United States of America, and any appropriate branch, department, bureau or division thereof, as the case may be;

(g) “Project” shall mean any work, service or activity which is separately planned, financed, or identified by the commission, or any separate facility undertaken or to be undertaken within a specified area, for the conservation, utilization, control, development or management of water resources which can be established and utilized independently or as an addition to an existing facility, and can be considered as a separate entity for purposes of evaluation;

(h) “Signatory party” shall mean a state or commonwealth party to this compact, and the federal government;

(i) “Water resources” shall include water and related natural resources, in, on, under, or above the ground, including related uses of land, which are subject to beneficial use, ownership or control.

1.3 PURPOSE AND FINDINGS.

(a) The water resources of the basin are affected with a local, state, regional and national interest and their planning, conservation, utilization, development, management and control, under appropriate arrangements for intergovernmental cooperation, are public purposes of the respective signatory parties.

(b) The water resources of the basin are subject to the sovereign right and responsibility of the signatory parties, and it is the purpose of this compact to provide for a joint exercise of such powers and sovereignty in the common interests of the people of the region.

(c) The water resources of the basin are functionally inter-related, and the uses of these resources are interdependent. A single administrative agency is therefore essential for effective and economical direction, supervision and coordination of efforts and programs of federal, state and local governments and of private enterprise.

(d) The water resources of the Delaware River Basin, if properly planned and utilized, are ample to meet all presently projected demands, including existing and added diversions in future years; and ever increasing economies and efficiencies in the use and reuse of water resources can be brought about by comprehensive planning, programming and management.

(e) In general, the purposes of this compact are to promote interstate comity; to remove causes of present and future controversy; to make secure and protect present developments within the states; to encourage and provide for the planning, conservation, utilization, development, management and control of the water resources of the basin; to provide for cooperative planning and action by the signatory parties with respect to such water resources; and to apply the principle of equal and uniform treatment to all water users who are similarly situated and to all users of related facilities, without regard to established political boundaries.

1.4 POWERS OF CONGRESS:

1.5 EXISTING AGENCIES:

1.6 DURATION OF COMPACT.

(b) In the event that this compact should be terminated by operation of paragraph (a) above, the commission shall be dissolved, its assets and liabilities transferred, and its corporate affairs wound up, in such manner as may be provided by act of the Congress.

ARTICLE 2 ORGANIZATION AND AREA

Section 2.1 COMMISSION CREATED.

2.2 COMMISSION MEMBERSHIP.

2.3 ALTERNATES.

2.4 COMPENSATION.

2.5 VOTING POWER.

2.6 ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURE.

2.7 JURISDICTION OF THE COMMISSION.

ARTICLE 3

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION

Section 3.1 PURPOSE AND POLICY.

3.2 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, PROGRAM AND BUDGETS.

(a) A comprehensive plan, after consultation with water users and interested public bodies; for the immediate and long range development and uses of the water resources of the basin;

(b) A water resources program, based upon the comprehensive plan, which shall include a systematic presentation of the quantity and quality of water resources needs of the area to be served for such reasonably foreseeable period as the commission may determine, balanced by existing and proposed projects required to satisfy such needs, including all public and private projects affecting the basin, together with a separate statement of the projects proposed to be undertaken by the commission during such period; and

(c) An annual current expense budget, and an annual capital budget consistent with the water resources program covering the commission’s projects and facilities for the budget period.

3.3 ALLOCATIONS, DIVERSIONS AND RELEASES.

(a) The commission, without the unanimous consent of the parties to the United States Supreme Court decree in New Jersey v. New York, 74 S. Ct. 842, 347 U.S. 995, 98 L. Ed. 2d 1127 (1954), shall not impair, diminish or otherwise adversely affect the diversions, compensating releases, rights, conditions, obligations, and provisions for the administration thereof as provided in said decree; provided, however, that after consultation with the river master under said decree the commission may find and declare a state of emergency resulting from a drought or catastrophe and it may thereupon by unanimous consent of its members authorize and direct an increase or decrease in any allocation or diversion permitted or releases required by the decree, in such manner and for such limited time as may be necessary to meet such an emergency condition.

(b) No allocation of waters hereafter made pursuant to this section shall constitute a prior appropriation of the waters of the basin or confer any superiority of right in respect to the use of those waters, nor shall any such action be deemed to constitute an apportionment of the waters of the basin among the parties hereto; provided that this paragraph shall not be deemed to limit or restrict the power of the commission to enter into covenants with respect to water supply, with a duration not exceeding the life of this compact, as it may deem necessary for the benefit or development of the water resources of the basin.

(c) Any proper party deeming itself aggrieved by action of the commission with respect to an out-of-basin diversion or compensating releases in connection therewith, notwithstanding the powers delegated to the commission by this compact may invoke the original jurisdiction of the United States Supreme Court within 1 year after such action for an adjudication and determination thereof de novo. Any other action of the commission pursuant to this section shall be subject to judicial review in any court of competent jurisdiction.

3.4 SUPREME COURT DECREE:

3.5 SUPREME COURT DECREE:

(a) Acquire, construct or operate any project or facility or make any order or take any action which would impede or interfere with the rights, powers, privileges, conditions or obligations contained on said decree;

(b) Impose or collect any fee, charge or assessment with respect to diversions of waters of the basin permitted by said decree;

(c) Exercise any jurisdiction, except upon consent of all the parties to said decree, over the planning, design, construction, operation or control of any projects, structures or facilities constructed or used in connection with withdrawals, diversions and releases of waters of the basin authorized by said decree or of the withdrawals, diversions or releases to be made thereunder; or

(d) Serve as river master under said decree, except upon consent of all the parties thereto.

3.6 GENERAL POWERS:

(a) Plan, design, acquire, construct, reconstruct, complete, own, improve, extend, develop, operate and maintain any and all projects, facilities, properties, activities and services, determined by the commission to be necessary, convenient or useful for the purposes of this compact;

(b) Establish standards of planning, design and operation of all projects and facilities in the basin which affect its water resources, including without limitation thereto water and waste treatment plants, stream and lake recreational facilities, trunk mains for water distribution, local flood protection works, small watershed management programs, and ground water recharging operations;

(c) Conduct and sponsor research on water resources, their planning, use, conservation, management, development, control and protection, and the capacity, adaptability and best utility of each facility thereof, and collect, compile, correlate, analyze, report and interpret data on water resources and uses in the basin, including without limitation thereto the relation of water to other resources, industrial water technology, ground water movement, relation between water price and water demand, and general hydrological conditions;

(d) Compile and coordinate systematic stream stage and ground water level forecasting data, and publicize such information when and as needed for water uses, flood warning, quality maintenance or other purposes;

(e) Conduct such special ground water investigation, tests, and operations and compile such data relating thereto as may be required to formulate and administer the comprehensive plan;

(f) Prepare, publish and disseminate information and reports with respect to the water problems of the basin and for the presentation of the needs, resources and policies of the basin to executive and legislative branches of the signatory parties;

(g) Negotiate for such loans, grants, services or other aids as may be lawfully available from public or private sources to finance or assist in effectuating any of the purposes of this compact; and to receive and accept such aid upon such terms and conditions, and subject to such provisions for repayment as may be required by federal or state law or as the commission may deem necessary or desirable;

(h) Exercise such other and different powers as may be delegated to it by this compact or otherwise pursuant to law, and have and exercise all powers necessary or convenient to carry out its express powers or which may be reasonably implied therefrom.

3.7 RATES AND CHARGES.

3.8 REFERRAL AND REVIEW.

3.9 COORDINATION AND COOPERATION.

(a) Advise, consult, contract, financially assist, or otherwise, cooperate with any and all such agencies;

(b) Employ any other agency or instrumentality of any of the signatory parties or of any political subdivision thereof, in the design, construction, operation and maintenance of structures, and the installation and management of river control systems, or for any other purpose;

(c) Develop and adopt plans and specifications for particular water resources projects and facilities which so far as consistent with the comprehensive plan incorporate any separate plans of other public and private organizations operating in the basin, and permit the decentralized administration thereof;

(d) Qualify as a sponsoring agency under any federal legislation heretofore or hereafter enacted to provide financial or other assistance for the planning, conservation, utilization, development, management or control of water resources.

3.10 ADVISORY COMMITTEES.

ARTICLE 4 WATER SUPPLY

Section 4.1 GENERALLY.

4.2 STORAGE AND RELEASE OF WATERS.

(b) No signatory party shall permit any augmentation of flow to be diminished by the diversion of any water of the basin during any period in which waters are being released from storage under the direction of the Commission for the purpose of augmenting such flow, except in cases where such diversion is duly authorized by this compact, or by the Commission pursuant thereto, or by the judgment, order or decree of a court of competent jurisdiction.

4.3 ASSESSABLE IMPROVEMENTS.

4.4 COORDINATION.

4.5 ADDITIONAL POWERS.

ARTICLE 5

POLLUTION CONTROL

Section 5.1 GENERAL POWERS.

5.2 POLICY AND STANDARDS.

5.3 COOPERATIVE LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION.

5.4 ENFORCEMENT.

5.5 FURTHER JURISDICTION.

ARTICLE 6

FLOOD PROTECTION

Section 6.1 GENERAL POWERS.

6.2 FLOOD PLAIN ZONING.

(b) The Commission may study and determine the nature and extent of the flood plains of the Delaware River and its tributaries. Upon the basis of such studies, it may establish encroachment lines and delineate the areas subject to flood, including a classification of land with reference to relative risk of flood and the establishment of standards for flood plain use which will safeguard the public health, safety and property. Prior to the adoption of any standards delineating such area or defining such use, the commission shall hold public hearings, in the manner provided by Article 14, with respect to the substance of such standards. At or before such public hearings the proposed standards shall be available, and all interested persons shall be given an opportunity to be heard thereon at the hearing. Upon the adoption and promulgation of such standards, the commission may enter into agreements to provide technical and financial aid to any municipal corporation for the administration and enforcement of any local land use ordinances or regulations giving effect to such standards.

6.3 FLOOD LANDS ACQUISITION.

6.4 FLOOD AND STREAM STAGE WARNINGS AND POSTING.

ARTICLE 7

WATERSHED MANAGEMENT

Section 7.1 WATERSHEDS GENERALLY.

7.2 SOIL CONSERVATION AND FORESTRY.

7.3 FISH AND WILDLIFE.

7.4 COOPERATIVE PLANNING AND OPERATION.

(b) The Commission shall not operate any such project or facility unless it has first found and determined that no other suitable unit or agency of government is available to operate the same upon reasonable conditions, in accordance with the intent and purpose expressed in Section 1.5 of this compact.

ARTICLE 8

RECREATION

Section 8.1 DEVELOPMENT.

8.2 COOPERATIVE PLANNING AND OPERATION.

(b) The Commission shall not operate any such project or facility unless it has first found and determined that no other suitable unit or agency of government is available to operate the same upon reasonable conditions, in accordance with the intent and purpose expressed in Section 1.5 of this compact.

8.3 OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE.

(a) Encourage activities of other public agencies having water-related recreational interests and assist in the coordination thereof;

(b) Recommend standards for the development and administration of water related recreational facilities;

(c) Provide for the administration, operation and maintenance of recreational facilities owned or controlled by the Commission and for the letting and supervision of private concessions in accordance with this article.

8.4 CONCESSIONS.

ARTICLE 9

HYDROELECTRIC POWER

Section 9.1 DEVELOPMENT.

9.2 POWER GENERATION.

9.3 TRANSMISSION.

9.4 DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTS.

9.5 RATES AND CHARGES.

ARTICLE 10

REGULATION OF WITHDRAWALS AND DIVERSIONS

Section 10.1 POWER OF REGULATION.

10.2 DETERMINATION OF PROTECTED AREAS.

10.3 WITHDRAWAL PERMITS.

10.4 EMERGENCY.

10.5 STANDARDS.

10.6 JUDICIAL REVIEW.

10.7 MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS.

10.8 EXISTING STATE SYSTEMS.

ARTICLE 11

INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS

Section 11.1 FEDERAL AGENCIES AND PROJECTS.

(a) The planning of all projects related to powers delegated to the Commission by this compact shall be undertaken in consultation with the Commission;

(b) No expenditure or commitment shall be made for or on account of the construction, acquisition or operation of any project or facility nor shall it be deemed authorized, unless it shall have first been included by the Commission in the comprehensive plan;

(c) Each federal agency otherwise authorized by law to plan, design, construct, operate or maintain any project or facility in or for the basin shall continue to have, exercise and discharge such authority except as specifically provided by this section.

11.2 STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES AND PROJECTS.

(a) The planning of all projects relating to powers delegated to the Commission by this compact shall be undertaken in consultation with the Commission;

(b) No expenditure or commitment shall be made for or on account of the construction, acquisition or operation of any project or facility unless it shall have first been included by the Commission in the comprehensive plan;

(c) Each state and local agency otherwise authorized by law to plan, design, construct, operate or maintain any project or facility in or for the basin shall continue to have, exercise and discharge such authority, except as specifically provided by this section.

11.3 RESERVED TAXING POWERS OF STATES.

11.4 PROJECT COSTS AND EVALUATION STANDARDS.

(a) Uniform and consistent procedures for the allocation of project costs among purposes included in multiple-purpose programs;

(b) Contracts and arrangements for sharing financial responsibility among and with signatory parties, public bodies, groups and private enterprise, and for the supervision of their performance;

(c) Establishment and supervision of a system of accounts for reimbursable purposes and directing the payments and charges to be made from such accounts;

(d) Determining the basis and apportioning amounts (i) of reimbursable revenues to be paid signatory parties or their political subdivisions, and (ii) of payments in lieu of taxes to any of them.

11.5 COOPERATIVE SERVICES.

ARTICLE 12

CAPITAL FINANCING

Section 12.1 BORROWING POWER.

12.2 FUNDS AND EXPENSES.

12.3 CREDIT EXCLUDED:

12.4 FUNDING AND REFUNDING.

12.5 BONDS, AUTHORIZATION GENERALLY.

12.6 BONDS:

12.7 MAXIMUM MATURITY.

12.8 TAX EXEMPTION.

12.9 INTEREST.

12.10 PLACE OF PAYMENT.

12.11 EXECUTION.

12.12 HOLDING OWN BONDS.

12.13 SALE.

12.14 NEGOTIABILITY.

12.15 LEGAL INVESTMENTS.

12.16 VALIDATION PROCEEDINGS.

12.17 RECORDING.

12.18 PLEDGED REVENUES.

12.19 REMEDIES.

12.20 CAPITAL FINANCING BY SIGNATORY PARTIES:

(b) Bonds of the Commission, notwithstanding any other provision of this compact, may be executed and delivered to any duly authorized agency of any of the signatory parties without public offering and may be sold and resold with or without the guarantee of such signatory party, subject to and in accordance with the constitutions of the respective signatory parties.

(c) The Commission may receive and accept, and the signatory parties may make loans, grants, appropriations, advances and payments of reimbursable or nonreimbursable funds or property in any form for the capital or operating purposes of the Commission.

ARTICLE 13

PLAN, PROGRAM AND BUDGETS

Section 13.1 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.

13.2 WATER RESOURCES PROGRAM.

1) the quantity and quality of water resources needs for such period;

2) the existing and proposed projects and facilities required to satisfy such needs, including all public and private projects to be anticipated;

3) a separate statement of the projects proposed to be undertaken by the Commission during such period.

13.3 ANNUAL CURRENT EXPENSE AND CAPITAL BUDGETS.

(b) The Commission shall annually adopt a current expense budget for each fiscal year. Such budget shall include the Commission’s estimated expenses for administration, operation, maintenance and repairs, including a separate statement thereof for each project, together with its cost allocation. The total of such expenses shall be balanced by the Commission’s estimated revenues from all sources, including the cost allocations undertaken by any of the signatory parties in connection with any project. Following the adoption of the annual current expense budget by the Commission, the executive director of the Commission shall:

1) certify to the respective signatory parties the amounts due in accordance with existing cost sharing established for each project; and

2) transmit certified copies of such budget to the principal budget officer of the respective signatory parties at such time and in such manner as may be required under their respective budgetary procedures. The amount required to balance the current expense budget in addition to the aggregate amount of item 1) above and all other revenues available to the Commission shall be apportioned equitably among the signatory parties by unanimous vote of the Commission, and the amount of such apportionment to each signatory party shall be certified together with the budget.

(c) The respective signatory parties covenant and agree to include the amounts so apportioned for the support of the current expense budget in their respective budgets next to be adopted, subject to such review and approval as may be required by their respective budgetary processes. Such amounts shall be due and payable to the Commission in quarterly installments during its fiscal year, provided that the Commission may draw upon its working capital to finance its current expense budget pending remittances by the signatory parties.

ARTICLE 14

GENERAL PROVISIONS

14.1 AUXILIARY POWERS OF COMMISSION, FUNCTIONS OF COMMISSIONERS.

1) Adopt and use a corporate seal, enter into contracts, sue and be sued in all courts of competent jurisdiction;

2) Receive and accept such payments, appropriations, grants, gifts, loans, advances and other funds, properties and services as may be transferred or made available to it by any signatory party or by any other public or private corporation or individual, and enter into agreements to make reimbursement for all or part thereof;

3) Provide for, acquire and adopt detailed engineering, administrative, financial and operating plans and specifications to effectuate, maintain or develop any facility or project;

4) Control and regulate the use of facilities owned or operated by the commission;

5) Acquire, own, operate, maintain, control, sell and convey real and personal property and any interest therein by contract, purchase, lease, license, mortgage or otherwise as it may deem necessary for any project or facility, including any and all appurtenances thereto necessary, useful or convenient for such ownership, operation, control, maintenance or conveyance;

6) Have and exercise all corporate powers essential to the declared objects and purposes of the commission.

(b) The commissioners, subject to the provisions of this compact, shall:

1) Serve as the governing body of the Commission, and exercise and discharge its powers and duties except as otherwise provided by or pursuant to this compact;

2) Determine the character of and the necessity for its obligations and expenditures and the manner in which they shall be incurred, allowed, and paid subject to any provisions of law specifically applicable to agencies or instrumentalities created by compact;

3) Provide for the internal organization and administration of the commission;

4) Appoint the principal officers of the Commission and delegate to and allocate among them administrative functions, powers and duties;

5) Create and abolish offices, employments and positions as it deems necessary for the purposes of the Commission, and subject to the provisions of this article, fix and provide for the qualifications, appointment, removal, term, tenure, compensation, pension and retirement rights of its officers and employees;

6) Let and execute contracts to carry out the powers of the Commission.

14.2 REGULATIONS:

(a) Make and enforce reasonable rules and regulations for the effectuation, application and enforcement of this compact; and it may adopt and enforce practices and schedules for or in connection with the use, maintenance and administration of projects and facilities it may own or operate and any product or service rendered thereby; provided that any rule or regulation, other than 1 which deals solely with the internal management of the Commission, shall be adopted only after public hearing and shall not be effective unless and until filed in accordance with the law of the respective signatory parties applicable to administrative rules and regulations generally; and

(b) Designate any officer, agent or employee of the Commission to be an investigator or watchman and such person shall be vested with the powers of a peace officer of the state in which he is duly assigned to perform his duties.

14.3 TAX EXEMPTION.

14.4 MEETINGS:

(b) The Commission shall conduct at least 1 public hearing prior to the adoption of the comprehensive plan, water resources program, annual capital and current expense budgets, the letting of any contract for the sale or other disposition by the Commission of hydroelectric energy or water resources to any person, corporation or entity, and in all other cases, wherein this compact requires a public hearing. Such hearing shall be held upon at least 10 days public notice given by posting at the offices of the Commission. The Commission shall also provide forthwith for distribution of such notice to the press and by the mailing of a copy thereof to any person who shall request such notices.

(c) The minutes of the Commission shall be a public record open to inspection at its offices during regular business hours.

14.5 OFFICERS GENERALLY.

(b) In the appointment and promotion of officers and employees for the Commission, no political, racial, religious or residence test or qualification shall be permitted or given consideration, but all such appointments and promotions shall be solely on the basis of merit and fitness. Any officer or employee of the Commission who is found by the Commission to be guilty of a violation of this section shall be removed from office by the Commission.

14.6 OATH OF OFFICE.

14.7 BOND.

14.8 PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES.

1) be financially interested, either directly or indirectly, in any contract, sale, purchase, lease or transfer of real or personal property to which the Commission is a party;

2) solicit or accept money or any other thing of value in addition to the compensation or expenses paid him by the Commission for services performed within the scope of his official duties;

3) offer money or any thing of value for or in consideration of obtaining an appointment, promotion or privilege in his employment with the Commission.

(b) Any officer or employee who shall willfully violate any of the provisions of this section shall forfeit his office or employment.

(c) Any contract or agreement knowingly made in contravention of this section is void.

(d) Officers and employees of the Commission shall be subject in addition to the provisions of this section to such criminal and civil sanctions for misconduct in office as may be imposed by federal law and the law of the signatory state in which such misconduct occurs.

14.9 PURCHASING.

1) the purchase is to be made from or the contract to be made with the federal or any state government or any agency or political subdivision thereof or pursuant to any open end bulk purchase contract of any of them;

2) the public exigency requires the immediate delivery of the articles or performance of the service;

3) only 1 source of supply is available;

4) the equipment to be purchased is of a technical nature and the procurement thereof without advertising is necessary in order to assure standardization of equipment and interchangeability of parts in the public interest; or

5) services are to be provided of a specialized or professional nature.

14.10 INSURANCE.

14.11 ANNUAL INDEPENDENT AUDIT.

(b) Each signatory party by its duly authorized officers shall be entitled to examine and audit at any time all of the books, documents, records, files and accounts and all other papers, things or property of the Commission. The representatives of the signatory parties shall have access to all books, documents, records, accounts, reports, files and all other papers, things or property belonging to or in use by the Commission and necessary to facilitate the audit and they shall be afforded full facilities for verifying transactions with the balances or securities held by depositaries, fiscal agents and custodians.

(c) The financial transactions of the Commission shall be subject to audit by the general accounting office in accordance with the principles and procedures applicable to commercial corporate transactions and under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the comptroller general of the United States. The audit shall be conducted at the place or places where the accounts of the Commission are kept.

(d) Any officer or employee who shall refuse to give all required assistance and information to the accountants selected by the Commission or to the authorized officers of any signatory party or who shall refuse to submit to them for examination such books, documents, records, files, accounts, papers, things or property as may be requested shall forfeit his office.

14.12 REPORTS.

14.13 GRANTS, LOANS OR PAYMENTS BY STATES OR POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.

1) Appropriate to the Commission such funds as may be necessary to pay preliminary expenses such as the expenses incurred in the making of borings, and other studies of subsurface conditions, in the preparation of contracts for the sale of water and in the preparation of detailed plans and estimates required for the financing of a project;

2) Advance to the Commission, either as grants or loans, such funds as may be necessary or convenient to finance the operation and managements of or construction by the Commission of any facility or project;

3) Make payments to the Commission for benefits received or to be received from the operation of any of the projects or facilities of the Commission.

(b) Any funds which may be loaned to the Commission either by a signatory party or a political subdivision thereof shall be repaid by the Commission through the issuance of bonds or out of other income of the Commission, such repayment to be made within such period and upon such terms as may be agreed upon between the Commission and the signatory party or political subdivision making the loan.

14.14 CONDEMNATION PROCEEDINGS.

(b) Such power of condemnation shall be exercised in accordance with the provisions of any federal law applicable to the Commission; provided that if there is no such applicable federal law, condemnation proceeding shall be in accordance with the provisions of such general state condemnation law as may be in force in the signatory state in which the property is located.

(c) Any award or compensation for the taking of property pursuant to this article shall be paid by the Commission, and none of the signatory parties nor any other agency, instrumentality or political subdivision thereof shall be liable for such award or compensation.

14.15 CONVEYANCE OF LANDS AND RELOCATION OF PUBLIC FACILITIES.

(b) Each political subdivision of each of the signatory parties is authorized and empowered, notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, to grant and convey to the Commission, upon the Commission’s request, any real property or any interest therein owned by such political subdivision including lands lying under water and lands already devoted to public use which may be necessary or convenient to the effectuation of the authorized purposes of the Commission.

(c) Any highway, public utility or other public facility which will be dislocated by reason of a project deemed necessary by the Commission to effectuate the authorized purposes of this compact shall be relocated and the cost thereof shall be paid in accordance with the law of the state in which the facility is located; provided that the cost of such relocation payable by the Commission shall not in any event exceed the expenditure required to serve the public convenience and necessity.

14.16 RIGHTS OF WAY.

14.17 PENAL SANCTION.

14.18 TORT LIABILITY.

14.19 EFFECT ON RIPARIAN RIGHTS.

14.20 AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS.

14.21 CONSTRUCTION AND SEVERABILITY.

14.22 EFFECTIVE DATE:

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, and in evidence of the adoption and enactment into law of this compact by the Congress and legislatures, respectively, of the signatory parties, the President of the United States and the respective Governors do hereby, in accordance with authority conferred by law, sign this compact in six duplicate original copies, as attested by the respective Secretaries of State, and have caused the seals of the United States and of the respective states to be hereunto affixed this ____ day of ________ [year]____

7 Del. C. 1953, § 6501; 53 Del. Laws, c. 71; 55 Del. Laws, c. 442, § 25; 63 Del. Laws, c. 370, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1.