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ment among the signatories on basic policies whidh, by virtue of 

 that enunciation, become binding upon all of them. The typical water 

 allocation compact is probably the best example of this type of ac- 

 complishment. Among compacts more directly involved in estuarine 

 management, the best example is the Tri-State compact, which creates 

 the Interstate Sanitation Commission. Here the compact itself specifies 

 the type of waste treatment each signatory will require for each of 

 certain classijfications of water use. 



Under the second form, the compact itself does not express the 

 basic policy agreement among the signatories. Instead, each State in 

 the compact agrees to be bound by the policy decisions which the 

 States collectively will reach within the framework of the compact 

 agency. Examples are the Delaware River Basin Commission in its 

 decision on water quality standards for the Delaware River and in 

 the policies it applied to the recent drought emergency in that basin. 

 Also illustrative are the policies adopted by the Potomac River Fish- 

 eries Commission to regulate fishing in the waters under its 

 jurisdiction. 



In either form, this accomplishment effectively achieves program 

 coordination between the signatories to the compact, perhaps in the 

 only sure way possible short of transferring the responsibility for 

 coordination to a higher level of government. 



IMPLEMENTATION OF BASIC POLICIES 



Use of the compact can achieve implementation of basic policy 

 agreements among the signatories in two ways. Under the first form, 

 the compact agency is authorized to require those proposing use of 

 the basin's waters to obtain its prior permission. Depending on its 

 exact authority, the agency thus is able to implement policies, either 

 enunciated by the compact itself or which the agency itself has devel- 

 oped, through such means as: (1) the attaching of performance re- 

 quirements as a condition to its permission to others to utilize or 

 modify the resource, (2) the issuing of directives ordering other 

 entities to take steps, or halt activities, specified by the agency, and 

 (3) the initiating of court to compel compliance by others with the 

 agency's permits and orders. Exemplifying this accomplishment among 

 the agencies here surveyed are the Interstate Sanitation Commission 

 and the Delaware River Basin Commission. The former's accomplish- 

 ments in this regard are limited to the prevention or abatement of 

 pollution. In contrast, the latter's actual or potential accomplishments 

 extend also to such matters as the withdrawal and diversion of water 

 from the basin and to the use of water for purposes other than waste 

 disposal. 



A compact agency can implement policies, secondly through its own 

 direct operation of various facilities affecting water resources or 

 throug'h directly administering certain resources. Although not strictly 

 water resource agencies, examples are: the Breaks Interstate Park 

 Commission and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, both of 

 which administer interstate recreational facilities; and the Port of 

 New York Authority and the Delaware River Port Authority, both 

 of which administer transportation facilities in interstate metropolitan 



