# Environment (GEN)

## Title 16. Wetlands and Riparian Rights

### Subtitle 3. Private Wetlands

#### Section 16-301

(a) The Secretary shall promptly delineate the landward boundaries of any wetlands in the State. The landward boundaries of the wetlands shall be shown on suitable maps or aerial photographs on a scale of 1 inch to 200 feet. The maps shall cover an entire political subdivision of the State as determined by the Secretary.

(b) The Secretary shall hold a public hearing in the county of the affected wetlands on completion of the boundary map required in subsection (a) of this section and adoption of proposed regulations provided in Sec. 16-302 of this subtitle. The Secretary shall give notice of the hearing by registered or certified mail not less than 30 days prior to the hearing date, to each owner shown on tax records as an owner of land designated on the map as a wetland. The notice shall include the proposed regulations. The Secretary shall publish notice of the hearing at least once not more than 30 days and not fewer than 10 days before the date of the hearing in a newspaper published within and having a general circulation in every county where the wetlands are located.

(c) After considering the testimony at the hearing and any other pertinent fact, considering the rights of every affected property owner, and the purposes of this subtitle, the Secretary shall establish by order the landward bounds of each wetland and the regulations applicable to the wetland. A copy of the order, together with a copy of the map depicting the boundary lines, shall be filed among the land records in accordance with subsection (d) of this section in every county affected after final appeal has been completed. The Secretary shall give notice of the order to each owner of record of any land designated as wetlands by mailing a copy of the order to the owner by registered or certified mail. The Secretary also shall publish the order in a newspaper published within and having a general circulation in every county where the wetlands are located.

(d) Filing among the land records means that the clerk of the circuit court for each affected county shall maintain all wetlands maps and regulations so as to be accessible to the public and shall display prominently to the public an index map prepared by the Department, which shall indicate the location of each wetlands map within the county, referenced by number corresponding to the map on file. Filing of maps and regulations in accordance with this subsection shall be deemed to constitute notice at all times, to the public and to all property owners affected by this subtitle, of the applicability to the wetlands areas indicated on the maps, regardless of ownership, of the requirement to obtain a permit before dredging or filling private wetlands.

#### Section 16-302

(a) To promote the public safety, health, welfare, wildlife, and marine fisheries, the Secretary may adopt regulations governing dredging, filling, removing, or otherwise altering or polluting private wetlands. The regulations may vary as to specific tracts of wetlands because of the character of the wetlands.

(b) The regulations shall be adopted with the advice and consent of the Maryland Agricultural Commission, and in consultation with any appropriate unit in the affected political subdivision.

(c) The Secretary shall transmit a copy of any proposed regulations to the Maryland Agricultural Commission. Within 60 days from the receipt of the copy, the Maryland Agricultural Commission shall inform the Secretary of the Commission's decision as to the acceptance or rejection of the regulations. Failure to so inform the Secretary shall be considered approval of the regulations by the Commission.

#### Section 16-303

(a) The Secretary may:

  (1) Modify, correct, or update the boundary maps established under Sec. 16-301 of this subtitle; or

  (2) Amend the regulations adopted under Sec. 16-302 of this subtitle.

(b) The Secretary shall notify members of the public and affected property owners of proposed changes to wetlands maps or regulations as follows:

  (1) A public hearing on proposed changes shall be held in each county in which affected wetlands are located; and

  (2) Notice of proposed changes and of the public hearing shall be:

    (i) Published in the Maryland Register;

    (ii) Published at least once not more than 30 days and not fewer than 10 days before the date of the hearing in at least 1 newspaper published within and having a general circulation in every county where the affected wetlands are located, according to the advice of the county executive or president of the county commissioners;

    (iii) Posted by the Department in the offices of each county government at locations that will best inform the public according to the advice of the county executive or president of the county commissioners; and

    (iv) For proposed changes to wetlands maps and not for proposed changes to regulations, mailed by the Department by certified mail not less than 30 days before the public hearing to each owner shown on the tax records as an owner of land affected by a modification, correction, or update of the boundary map.

(c) Each revised map and amended regulation shall be filed among the land records in accordance with Sec. 16-301(d) of this subtitle.

(d)

  (1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2) of this subsection, the amendment of a wetlands boundary map under this section may not be deemed to alter the boundaries of the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area designated under Sec. 8-1807 of the Natural Resources Article.

  (2) The boundaries of the Critical Area may be amended under Sec. 8-1809 of the Natural Resources Article.

#### Section 16-304

Notwithstanding any regulation adopted by the Secretary to protect private wetlands, the following uses are lawful on private wetlands:

(1) Conservation of soil, vegetation, water, fish, shellfish, and wildlife;

(2) Trapping, hunting, fishing, and catching shellfish, if otherwise legally permitted;

(3) Exercise of riparian rights to improve land bounding on navigable water, to preserve access to the navigable water, or to protect the shore against erosion;

(4) Reclamation of fast land owned by a natural person and lost during the person's ownership of the land by erosion or avulsion to the extent of provable preexisting boundaries. The right to reclaim lost fast land relates only to fast land lost after January 1, 1972. The burden of proof that the loss occurred after this date is on the owner of the land;

(5) Routine maintenance and repair of existing bulkheads, provided that there is no addition or channelward encroachment; and

(6) Installing a pump, a pipe, or any other equipment attached to a pier for the cultivation of shellfish seed in a shellfish nursery under a permit issued by the Department of Natural Resources under Sec. 4-11A-23 of the Natural Resources Article, provided that the pump, pipe, or other equipment does not require increasing the length, width, or channelward encroachment of the pier.

#### Section 16-305

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a landowner shall be exempt from all local permit requirements to perform routine maintenance and repair of a bulkhead.

#### Section 16-306

(a)

  (1) Any person who has a recorded interest in land affected by any regulation adopted under this subtitle may appeal the regulation or designation of the person's land as wetland to the circuit court in the county where the land is located.

  (2) The appeal shall be filed within 30 days after the later to occur:

    (i) Notice that the Department's final adoption of the regulation has been published in the Maryland Register under Sec. 10-114 of the State Government Article; or

    (ii) Notice that the Department's final adoption of the regulation or designation of the person's land as wetland has been filed among the land records under Sec. 16-303 of this subtitle.

(b)

  (1) The court shall review the administrative record of the Department's promulgation of the regulation or designation of the person's land as wetland.

  (2) The court shall declare the regulation or designation invalid if the court finds that:

    (i) The regulation or designation violates any provision of the United States or Maryland Constitution;

    (ii) The regulation or designation exceeds the statutory authority of the Department; or

    (iii) The Department failed to comply with statutory requirements for adoption of the regulation or designation of the person's land as wetland.

(c) If the court finds the regulation is invalid, the court shall enter a finding that the regulation does not apply to the petitioner. However, the finding may not affect any land other than that of the petitioner. The Secretary shall record a copy of the finding among the land records in the county.

(d) The person who appealed to the circuit court or the Department may appeal the decision of the circuit court to the Appellate Court of Maryland.

#### Section 16-307

(a)

  (1) Any person proposing to conduct on any wetland an activity not authorized by the regulations adopted under the provisions of Sec. 16-302 of this subtitle shall apply for a permit with the Secretary, on the form the Secretary prescribes.

  (2) The application shall include a detailed description of the proposed work and a map showing the areas of wetland directly affected, the location of the proposed work, and the names of the owners of record of adjacent land, and every claimant of water rights in or adjacent to the wetland known to the applicant.

  (3)

    (i) Within 30 days after receipt of an application, the Secretary shall notify the applicant, in writing, of the extent of State wetlands involved in the proposed activity and indicate the method of compliance with the license requirements of Sec. 16-202 of this title.

    (ii) If the applicant claims that any part of the designated State wetlands is private wetlands by virtue of the existence of a valid grant, lease, or patent, or a grant confirmed by Article 5 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights, the Secretary shall investigate and determine the validity of the claim and notify the applicant of the Secretary's determination.

    (iii) If, within 30 days after receipt of the Secretary's determination, the applicant files with the Secretary a written objection to the determination, the Secretary shall promptly institute an appropriate judicial proceeding to determine whether the land or part of the land covered by the application in dispute, is State or private wetland. The State shall bear the cost of the proceeding.

  (4) The Secretary shall mail a copy of the application to the chief administrative officer in the county where the proposed work or any portion is located.

  (5)

    (i) No later than 30 days after receipt of the application, the Secretary shall issue public notice of the opportunity to submit written comments or to request a hearing.

    (ii) A hearing shall be held if requested.

    (iii) A hearing required under this section may be held using teleconference or Internet-based conferencing technology.

    (iv) If an electric company, as defined in Sec. 1-101 of the Public Utilities Article, applies to the Public Service Commission for a certificate of public convenience associated with power plant construction which involves private wetlands, the hearing and permit procedure shall be in accordance with Sec. 3-306 of the Natural Resources Article.

    (v) At a requested hearing any person may appear and give testimony.

  (6) Every permit application, map, or document shall be open for public inspection at the offices of the Secretary and the chief administrative officer in the county.

  (7) A person may not reapply until after the expiration of 18 months from the date of the denial of a prior application or the final determination of an appeal from the denial.

(b) In granting, denying, or limiting any permit, the Secretary or the Secretary's designated hearing officer shall consider the effect of the proposed work with reference to the public health and welfare, marine fisheries, shellfisheries, wildlife, economic benefits, the protection of life and property from flood, hurricane, and any other natural disaster, and the public policy set forth in this title. In granting a permit the Secretary may impose conditions or limitations designed to carry out the public policy set forth in this title. The Secretary may require a bond in an amount and with surety and conditions satisfactory to the Secretary, to secure compliance with any condition or limitation in the permit. The Secretary may suspend or revoke a permit if the Secretary finds that the applicant has not complied with any condition or limitation in the permit or has exceeded the scope of the work as set forth in the application. The Secretary shall state on the record the Secretary's findings and reasons for any action taken under this subsection.

(c) The Secretary shall render a decision within 30 days after the public comment period. Failure to act in conformance with either of these requirements is automatic approval of the application for permit as submitted.

(d) The Secretary shall provide opportunity for judicial review in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 5-204 of this article.

#### Section 16-309

The court may order the State to pay court costs of any appeal in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 16-306 of this subtitle if the court finds that the financial situation of the person appealing warrants this action. 

#### Section 16-310

The court exercising equity jurisdiction in the county where the land or any part of the land is located may restrain any violation of this subtitle in an action brought by the Department or any authorized unit or officer of the Department.

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Md. Code Ann., Envir. (as displayed at mgaleg.maryland.gov, October 16, 2026)