# Sec. 5B-111. Enforcement

Codified through Bill No. CB-018-2026, adopted May 12, 2026, effective July 24, 2026. Source: Municode, Supplement 2026 Update 2. Editorial notes and legislative history omitted.

## Sec. 5B-111. Enforcement

Prince George's County, Md., Code § 5B-111 (2026)

(a) Applicability. The purpose of this chapter is to establish enforcement procedures to identify violations, assess civil penalties, and require abatement, restoration, and mitigation for violations to the Critical Area Program.

  (1) The provisions of this Section are in accordance with the Critical Area Act and Criteria, and as set out in any other applicable ordinances and regulations, apply throughout the Critical Area and supersede any inconsistent law, regulation, ordinance or plan. In the case of conflicting provisions, the stricter provisions shall apply.

  (2) If a lot or parcel has an approved Conservation Plan prior to the effective date of the 2014 Critical Area Boundary Map, the Conservation Plan, Conservation Agreement and any associated Conservation Easements remain in full force and effect until:

    (i) the plan, agreement and/or easement are revised, approved and re-recorded or

    (ii) using the Staff Level Review process a determination is made by the Director or the Director's designee that the property is no longer within the Critical Area and the approved plan is abandoned.

(b) Implementing Agencies and Compliance Officials. These provisions shall be implemented and enforced by the by the Director of the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement and/or the Director's authorized representative. The Director of the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement shall enforce, supervise and delegate enforcement of the provisions of this Subtitle through the staff of the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement. Should any infraction of provisions contained in this Subtitle, or under any law, Chapter or plan related to the County's Critical Area Program provisions or requirements, be brought to the attention of any official of the County, said official shall immediately contact the Director of the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement, or his/her designee, and when appropriate, in consultation with the County Attorney, to determine the proper remedial course of action.

  (1) The Director or the Director's authorized representative shall enforce, and supervise and delegate enforcement responsibilities of this Subtitle. Staff of M-NCPPC shall provide assistance as requested.

  (2) The Director or the Director's authorized representative may notify the Critical Area Commission of any violation and inform the Commission of all actions taken to halt the violation, restore the property, and require appropriate mitigation. The Commission, at its discretion, may also pursue its own remedial action or assist the County as provided for in State law.

(c) Right to enter property. The Director or the Director's authorized representative, shall have the authority to enter upon, over, and through privately owned lands or waters, or any building, structure or premises during any reasonable work hour, in order to identify or verify a suspected violation, restrain a development activity, or issue a citation if the Director or the Director's designee has probable cause that a violation of this subtitle or the local Program has occurred, is occurring or will occur.

  (1) A reasonable effort to contact a property owner before entering the property shall be made. If entry is denied, the Director or the Director's designee may seek an injunction to enter the property to pursue an enforcement action.

  (2) The assistance and cooperation of the police, fire, health department, the Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement and any other applicable agencies shall be available, as required, to aid the Director in enforcing this Subtitle.

(d) Violations. No person shall violate any provision of this Subtitle. Each violation that occurs and each calendar day that a violation continues shall be a separate offense. Each person who violates a provision of this Subtitle shall be subject to separate administrative civil penalties, abatement and restoration orders, and mitigation for each offense. Civil penalties for continuing violations shall accrue without a requirement for an additional assessment, notice, or opportunity for hearing for each separate offense.

(e) Required enforcement action. If the Director or the Director's authorized representative identifies a violation of this subtitle or any provision of the County's Critical Area regulations, it shall take enforcement action including:

  (1) Require the submission of an "as-built" plan that shows all the existing conditions of the site.

  (2) Assess civil penalties as necessary to cover the costs associated with local authorities performing inspections, supervising or rendering assistance with identifying and citing the violation, issuing abatement and restoration orders, and reviewing mitigation plans and ensuring compliance with these plans;

  (3) Issue abatement, restoration, and mitigation orders as necessary to:

    (A) Stop unauthorized activity;

    (B) Restore and stabilize the site, as appropriate, to its condition prior to the violation or to a condition that provides the same water quality and habitat benefits; and

    (C) Require the implementation of mitigation measures, in addition to restoration activities, to offset the environmental damage and degradation or loss of environmental benefit resulting from the violation.

(f) Responsible persons. The following persons may each be held jointly or severally responsible for a violation: (1) persons who apply for or obtain any permit or approval, (2) contractors, (3) subcontractors, (4) property owners, (5) managing agents, or (6) any person who has committed, assisted, or participated in the violation.

(g) Civil penalties. In addition to any other penalty applicable under State or County law, every violation of a provision of Natural Resources Article, Title 8 Subtitle 18, or the County's Critical Area Program, ordinance, or regulations shall be punishable by a civil penalty of at least $500 up to and not more than $10,000 per calendar day according to the fine schedule approved and submitted by the County Executive and adopted by County Council Resolution.

  (1) Before imposing any civil penalty, the person(s) believed to have violated this Subtitle shall receive: (1) written notice of the alleged violation(s) including which, if any, are continuing violations, and (2) an opportunity to be heard. The amount of the civil penalty for each violation, including each continuing violation, shall be determined separately. For each continuing violation, the amount of the civil penalty shall be determined per day. In determining the amount of the civil penalty, the Director or the Director's authorized representative shall consider:

    (A) The gravity of the violation;

    (B) The presence or absence of good faith of the violator;

    (C) Any willfulness or negligence involved in the violation including a history of prior violations;

    (D) The environmental impact of the violation; and

    (E) The cost of restoration of the resource affected by the violation and mitigation for damage to that resource, including the cost to the State or local authorities for performing, supervising, or rendering assistance to the restoration and mitigation.

  (2) When a Chapter of this Subtitle establishes a different maximum amount for a civil penalty for any violation, the larger amount shall apply.

  (3) Civil penalties for continuing violations shall accrue for each violation, every calendar day each violation continues, with no requirements for additional assessments, notice, or hearings. The total amount payable for continuing violations shall be the amount assessed per calendar day for each violation multiplied by the number of days that each violation has continued.

  (4) The person responsible for any continuing violation shall promptly provide the Director or the Director's authorized representative with written notice of the date(s) the violation has been or will be brought into compliance and the date(s) for the County inspection to verify compliance. Civil penalties for continuing violations continue to accrue as set forth herein until the County receives such written notice and verifies compliance by inspection or otherwise.

  (5) Assessment and payment of civil penalties shall be in addition to and not in substitution for recovery by the County of all damages, costs, and other expenses caused by the violation, including the cost to correct any violation or repair, restore, or replace any County property.

  (6) Payment of all civil penalties assessed shall be a condition precedent to the issuance of any permit or other approval required by this Subtitle.

(h) Notice of violations and assessment of civil penalties. Every notice of violation and assessment of civil penalty shall be in writing and shall include:

  (1) A description of the facts supporting each alleged violation, including citation to the provisions of the County Code allegedly violated;

  (2) Classification of each alleged violation as a continuing or non-continuing violation;

  (3) Separate assessment of a civil penalty for each violation, and a separate daily assessment for each continuing violation;

  (4) Notice of the right to request administrative review before the Director to evaluate the amount(s) of civil penalties; and

  (5) Notice of the right to file an appeal to the County Board of Administrative Appeals.

(i) Collection of civil penalties. All civil penalties collected in accordance with these provisions shall be deposited in a dedicated "Critical Area Restoration Fund" and used exclusively to conduct or facilitate activities or projects that promote the goals of the Critical Area Program and to ensure its effective implementation within the jurisdiction. These activities may include, but are not limited to the following options:

  (1) Design, construction, and operation of stormwater treatment practices;

  (2) Retrofits of stormwater treatment practice to improve performance or increase the area from which runoff is being treated;

  (3) Removal of structures, roads, paving, etc. that contribute to lot coverage;

  (4) Planting and maintenance of riparian forests;

  (5) Implementation of landscaping projects that include native trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants and can be maintained and protected for water quality and habitat enhancement;

  (6) Restoration of degraded tidal or non-tidal wetlands that have been disturbed by previous authorized activities and may be accomplished by the removal of fill, restoration or original water circulation patterns, and marsh plantings;

  (7) Installation of living shorelines in areas that are actively eroding; and

  (8) Administration and enforcement of this Subtitle.

(j) Administrative abatement, restoration, and mitigation orders. The provisions of this Chapter apply to orders issued by the county inspectors to a person conducting or having conducted an unauthorized action. Orders shall be sent to the property owner by certified mail, return receipt requested, and simultaneously by first-class mail, postage prepaid, bearing a return address. Service shall be effective upon mailing. In addition, any other method of service reasonably calculated to provide actual notice, and any method that does provide actual notice, shall be sufficient, including service by personal delivery to a responsible person at any construction site or posting the order in a conspicuous place on any structure, sign, land, or equipment.

  (1) The Director or the Director's authorized representative may issue an administrative abatement order to any person, compelling the person to perform the following:

    (A) To correct, discontinue or abate any violation;

    (B) To cease any activity being performed in violation of this Subtitle; and

    (C) To apply for any permit, approval, special exception, or variance required by this Subtitle; however, the filing of an application will not negate or stay the requirement for abatement, restoration, or mitigation measures required by the Chief Code Compliance Officer.

  (2) Director or the Director's authorized representative may issue a restoration order to any person compelling the person to perform the following:

    (A) To remove any construction materials, equipment, and any structures or other construction work built or erected in violation of this Subtitle;

    (B) To restore any property to its condition as it existed before any violation of this Subtitle;

    (C) To perform any condition or obligation required by this Subtitle or by any permit, approval, special exception, variance, license, contract, deed, or other instrument required or executed pursuant to this Subtitle.

  (3) The Director or the Director's authorized representative shall issue a mitigation order to any person receiving notice of or issued a citation for conducting or having conducted an unauthorized action. Mitigation is required for all violations of the County's Critical Area Program and shall be in addition to any required abatement or restoration activities. In evaluating the type and amount of mitigation, the Director or the Director's authorized representative shall consider the severity of the impact on water resources and habitat and the length of time necessary to restore the resources to their condition prior to the violation, or if that is not possible to recreate or establish and permanently protect similar resources in another location. The mitigation order shall compel the person to perform the following:

    (A) To implement appropriate water quality improvement or habitat enhancement measures that are sufficient to offset adverse impacts to the Critical Area resulting from the violation as follows:

      (i) Mitigation is required at a three-to-one ratio for the area disturbed or the area of the development activity outside the 100-foot Buffer and expanded Buffer, and

      (ii) Mitigation is required at a four-to-one ratio for the area disturbed or the area of the development activity within the 100-foot Buffer or expanded Buffer; and

    (B) To prepare or to have a qualified professional prepare a mitigation plan that includes water quality improvement or habitat enhancement measures to offset adverse impacts to the Critical Area resulting from the violation as specified in Paragraph (a) above; or

    (C) To pay a fee-in-lieu of mitigation that shall be deposited in the appropriate fee-in-lieu account and used exclusively to conduct or facilitate activities or projects that promote the goals of the Critical Area Program and to ensure its effective implementation within the jurisdiction.

(k) Contents of administrative abatement, restoration, and mitigation orders. The provisions of this Chapter apply to orders issued by the county inspectors to a person conducting or having conducted an unauthorized action. All orders shall include:

  (1) A description of each violation, including citation to the applicable County ordinance, regulation, or other requirement allegedly violated;

  (2) The time within which any required action is to occur, taking into account the specific action required to comply with the order and any existing or intervening harm or threat to the public health, safety, and welfare. Except for emergencies, which can require compliance as soon as 24 hours or otherwise less than 30 days, there is a rebuttable presumption that compliance with the orders shall take place within 30 days from the date of the order; and

  (3) Notice of the right to appeal the order to the County Board of Administrative Appeals and the period within which any such appeal must be filed.

(l) Bonding for restoration and mitigation orders. For abatement or restoration activities and mitigation activities that exceed 1,000 square feet or involve expenses exceeding $1,000, the Department shall:

  (1) Collect a bond or other financial security to ensure that the restoration or mitigation is properly completed;

  (2) Hold the bond for at least two years if the restoration involves planting in order to ensure the survival of the plantings. The two years will run from the date the plantings are installed; and

  (3) Schedule and perform an inspection of the property as necessary to ensure compliance and promptly release the bond or other financial security when compliance is confirmed.

(m) Cumulative remedies. The remedies available under this Subtitle are cumulative and not alternative or exclusive, and the decision to pursue one remedy does not preclude pursuit of others.

(n) Injunctive relief. The Director or the Director's authorized representative is authorized to institute injunctive or other appropriate actions or proceedings to bring about the discontinuance of any violation of this Subtitle, an administrative order, a permit, a decision, or other imposed condition.

  (1) The pendency of an appeal to the Board of Administrative Appeals or subsequent judicial review shall not prevent the County from seeking injunctive relief to enforce an administrative order, permit, decisions, or other imposed condition, or to restrain a violation pending the outcome of the appeal or judicial review.

  (2) In an action for injunctive relief to enforce an administrative order, the court may also impose a civil fine not less than $500 but not exceeding $10,000 for each day that an administrative order was violated, after considering:

    (A) The willfulness for the violation;

    (B) The harm to the environment or the community in which the violation occurred;

    (C) The proposed fine by the County, and

    (D) The cost to the County of enforcing the administrative order.

(o) Permits pursuant to a violation. The County may not issue a permit, approval, variance, or special exception, unless the person seeking the permit has:

  (1) Fully paid all administrative, civil, or criminal penalties as set forth in Section E. above;

  (2) Prepared a restoration or mitigation plan, approved by the s authorized representative, to abate impacts to water quality or natural resources as a result of the violation;

  (3) Performed the abatement measures in the approved plan in accordance with the local Critical Area regulations; and

  (4) Unless an extension of time is approved by the Planning Director or Director's designee because of adverse planting conditions, within 90 days of the issuance of a permit, approval, variance, or special exception for the affected property, any additional mitigation required as a condition of approval for the permit, approval, variance, or special exception shall be completed.

(p) Variances pursuant to a violation. The Planning Board or the Board of Zoning Appeals, as appropriate, may accept an application for a variance regarding a parcel or lot that is subject to a current violation of this subtitle or any provisions of an order, permit, plan, or regulation in accordance with the variance provisions of this subtitle or Subtitle 27. However, a final decision shall not be made by the Planning Board or the Board of Zoning Appeals, as appropriate, until all abatement, restoration, and mitigation measures have been submitted for review in conformance with all the requirements of this Subtitle and/or as applicable to other subtitles of the County Code; and

  (1) Mitigation for violations in any Critical Area Buffer shall be shown according to the ratios shown in Section 5B-121, Table (h)(2) of this Subtitle; and

  (2) Variances may not be granted by the Planning Board or the Board of Zoning Appeals, as appropriate, from the provisions of Subtitles 5B or 27 for property located within the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Overlay Zones to legalize a violation of this subtitle, including an unpermitted structure or development activity, unless a notice of violation is issued, including assessment of a penalty for the violation. Application for a variance under this paragraph constitutes a waiver of the right to appeal the terms of a notice of violation and its final adjudication, including the payment of any penalties and costs assessed; and

  (3) If there are provisions of the violation that require stabilization, the installation of erosion and sediment control devices, or the payment of a fine, a final decision shall not be made by the Planning Board or the Board of Zoning Appeals, as appropriate, on the variance request until all such corrective work has been completed and the fine paid. The applicant is responsible for providing information verifying the status of the violation prior to the decision regarding the variance request. The Director, or the Director's authorized representative, and the Planning Director, or the Planning Director's designee, shall inspect the site prior to the decision regarding the variance request.

(q) Non-issuance, non-renewal, suspension, or revocation of a permit. The Director or the Director's authorized representative may decline to issue or renew, or may suspend or revoke any permit or license issued under the authority of, or required by this Subtitle. The Director will coordinate with M-NCPPC to revoke conservation plan approvals as necessary.

  (1) Such action may be taken on the following grounds:

    (A) False, misleading, inaccurate, incomplete, or incorrect information given on any application; or

    (B) Serious or repeated violations of this Subtitle, or any terms, conditions, or restrictions in the permit or license itself.

  (2) The Director or the Director's authorized representative shall give written notice and opportunity to be heard before any non-issuance, non-renewal, suspension, or revocation and shall render a written decision on the matter, which shall be considered an administrative order and may be appealed to the Board of Administrative Appeals.

(r) Enforcement costs. In any action or proceeding in which the County substantially prevails, the County may recover all costs incurred to enforce the terms of this Subtitle, including counsel fees and litigation expenses.

(s) Appeals. An appeal to the Board of Administrative Appeals may be filed by any person aggrieved by any order, requirement, decision or determination by the Director or the Director's authorized representative in connection with the administration and enforcement of this Subtitle.

  (1) An appeal is taken by filing a written notice of appeal with the Board of Administrative Appeals in accordance with the provisions in the County Zoning Ordinance and in accordance with the Board of Appeals Rules of Procedure, accompanied by the appropriate filing fee. Appeals shall be made on form obtained from the Board of Appeals Secretary. A notice of appeal shall be considered filed with the Board of Administrative Appeals when delivered to the Board. The date and time of filing shall be entered on the appeal by the Board of Administrative Appeals staff:

  (2) An appeal must be filed within 30 days after the date of the decision or order being appealed; and

  (3) An appeal stays all actions by the Director or the Director's authorized representative seeking enforcement or compliance with the order or decisions being appealed, unless the Director or the Director's authorized representative certifies to the Board of Administrative Appeals that (because of facts stated in the certificate) in his/her opinion, such stay will cause imminent peril to life or property. In such a case, action by the Director or the Director's authorized representative shall not be stayed except by order of the Board of Administrative Appeals or a court up on application of the party seeking the stay.

(t) Fine Schedule. Fines for violations in the Critical Area shall be assessed as authorized by the fine schedule approved and submitted by the County Executive and adopted by County Council Resolution.