May17,2001

The Honorable Casper R. Taylor, Jr.
Speaker of the House
State House
Annapolis MD 21401

Dear Mr. Speaker:

In accordance with Article II, Section 17 of the Maryland Constitution, I have today vetoed House Bill 1007 - Garrett County - Deep Creek Lake - Recreation and Land Use Plan.

House Bill 1007 postpones, from June 1, 2001 to March 31, 2002, the date by which the Maryland Department of Natural Resources must issue the Deep Creek Lake recreation and land use plan in the form of a proposed regulation.

In 2000, Chapter 561 (House Bill 733) established the ten-member Deep Creek Lake Policy and Review Board to review and advise the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources on budgetary and management matters relating to the Deep Creek Lake Management Program. The law requires the Department and the Board to prepare a plan providing for the wise use, protection, and management of the natural and recreational resources of Deep Creek Lake. The Department, with the consent of the Board, must issue the plan in the form of a proposed regulation within one year of the effective date of the legislation, which was June 1, 2000.

According to the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources, the Department intends to meet the statutory deadline for submitting the report. If the Department and the Board are unable to meet the deadline, there is some administrative flexibility to provide a minor extension, thus eliminating the need to pass a law implementing a 10 month extension.

The information in the report being developed by the Department of Natural Resources and the Deep Creek Lake Policy and Review Board concerns issues of environmental and economic importance to the local citizens and the State. The citizens have been waiting for the plan for a year and the Department intends to issue the report on time, making a statutory delay of 10 months unnecessary.

For the above reasons, I have vetoed House Bill 1007.

Sincerely,
Parris N. Glendening
Governor