# Environment (GEN)

## Title 4. Water Management

### Subtitle 3. Watershed Sediment and Waste Control

#### Section 4-301

(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.

(b) "Patuxent River Watershed" means the land and water area from which all water drains either directly or indirectly to the Patuxent River.

(c) "Severn River Watershed" means the land and water area from which all water drains either directly or indirectly to the Severn River.

(d) "Watershed" means the Patuxent River Watershed and the Severn River Watershed.

#### Section 4-302

The General Assembly declares that the Patuxent River and the Severn River are a great natural asset and resource to the State and the counties through which they run. As a result of poorly treated effluent discharged from sewage disposal plants and erosion and silt deposited in the rivers from construction and development on land in the Watershed, the Patuxent River and Severn River are being polluted and despoiled to a degree that fish, marine life, and recreational use of the rivers are being adversely affected and curtailed.

#### Section 4-302.1

(a) On or before January 1, 2012, unless a more advanced upgrade or upgrade schedule is required by a State or federal law or regulation, if funding is available from the Bay Restoration Fund, a nonfederal, publicly owned wastewater treatment plant that discharges wastewater into the Patuxent River or any of its tributaries and has a design capacity of at least 500,000 gallons per day shall upgrade to enhanced nutrient removal, as defined under Sec. 9-1601 of this article.

(b) On or before January 1, 2016, unless a more advanced upgrade or upgrade schedule is required by a State or federal law or regulation, if funding is available from the Bay Restoration Fund, a nonfederal wastewater treatment plant that discharges wastewater into the Patuxent River or any of its tributaries and has a design capacity of at least 50,000 gallons per day shall upgrade to enhanced nutrient removal, as defined under Sec. 9-1601 of this article.

(c) On or before January 1, 2020, unless a more advanced upgrade or upgrade schedule is required by a State or federal law or regulation, if funding is available from the Bay Restoration Fund, a nonfederal wastewater treatment plant that discharges wastewater into the Patuxent River or any of its tributaries and has a design capacity that is less than 50,000 gallons per day shall upgrade to enhanced nutrient removal, as defined under Sec. 9-1601 of this article.

#### Section 4-303

Every person who disposes of or treats sewage in the Watershed shall anticipate the need for advanced waste treatment and removal of nutrients, in providing land and planning construction of sewage treatment plants, so that effluent from sewage treatment plants is sufficiently treated to meet the effluent water quality standard for bacteriological values, dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature conditions defined by the Secretary of the Environment. Every future sewage treatment plant located within the Watershed shall be constructed to conform with these standards.

#### Section 4-304

(a) Any owner or operator of a sewage disposal plant which does not meet the prescribed water quality standards, within 180 days' notice of failure to meet these standards, shall submit an improved sewage disposal plan to the Department of the Environment for approval. The Department of the Environment, within ten days, shall refer copies of the plan to the appropriate county governing unit of the county in which the plant is located, the Department of Natural Resources and, in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, to the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, for review and recommendation. They have 30 days to respond to the Department of the Environment.

(b) The sewage plan shall indicate necessary improvements required to ensure that purity of the effluent meets required standards, and shall include a time schedule to construct necessary improvements within 3 years.

(c) If the applicant or any unit requests, the Department of the Environment shall hold a hearing on the plan after at least ten days' notice to the applicant and units to which the referral was made. The Department of the Environment shall approve the plan within 90 days after the owner or operator submits the plan. The Department of the Environment may make any amendment or modification it determines, in accordance with the prescribed standards.

(d) If the owner or operator of the sewage disposal plant fails to submit a plan or construct necessary improvements in accordance with the approved plan, the appropriate county governing body of the county, or in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, upon 30 days' written notice from the Department of the Environment that compliance has not been made with the requirements of this section, shall proceed to complete the necessary plan and work so the sewage disposal plant will conform to the prescribed standards.

#### Section 4-305

The sewage disposal plant owner or operator shall be liable to the county or governmental unit for funds expended for sewage improvements, costs, and attorneys' fees. The sewage improvement expenses, costs and fees constitute a lien against the property if recorded and indexed as provided in this subtitle and are collectable as taxes.

#### Section 4-306

The county health department in each county, on at least a monthly basis, shall take a stream sample at the critical point of every sewage disposal plant's point of discharge within the Watershed in its county. It shall deliver copies of the analyses of each sample to the appropriate operator, the Department of the Environment, and other units stated in Sec. 4-304 of this subtitle.

#### Section 4-307

A person may not discharge raw sewage or any other waste into the Patuxent River, the Severn River, or any of their tributaries. For the purpose of this subtitle, oyster and clam shells, and materials used in the culture of marine life are not considered waste. Also a discharge from a sewage treatment plant operating pursuant to the provisions of Sec. 4-303 of this subtitle is not considered waste for the purposes of this section.

#### Section 4-308

(a) Anne Arundel County or the City of Annapolis may issue a grading or building permit within the Severn River Watershed only after the developer submits a plan of development approved by the soil conservation district. If the development plan contains any septic or private sewer facility, the Department of the Environment shall approve it only if the facility will not contribute in any way to pollution of the Severn River. The developer shall submit a certificate from a professional engineer, a professional land surveyor, or a professional landscape architect stating that the developer's plan to control silt and erosion is adequate to contain the silt and erosion on the property covered by the plan. Also, the developer shall submit another certificate stating that any construction or development will be done according to the plan. A subdivision developer shall obtain approval of the plan at the time of approving and recording of the subdivision plat. In addition to any other penalty provided in this subtitle, if a developer violates his certificate, then every permit issued pursuant to the certificate is void.

(b) A State, county, or municipal road, building, or structure may not be constructed, relocated, or enlarged within the Severn River Watershed until plans have been submitted to and approved by the soil conservation district.

#### Section 4-309

Notwithstanding present planning, zoning, or subdivision controls, a permit may not be issued for grading or constructing any building, unless the grading or constructing is pursuant to any plan approved as provided in Sec. 4-308 of this subtitle.

#### Section 4-310

When any stripping, grading, excavating, or filling is done, the soil conservation district first shall approve the proposed earth change before a grading permit is issued. Stripping, grading, and constructing shall be done in accordance with the recommendations of the soil conservation district to control erosion and siltation. The Department of the Environment shall cooperate with and assist the soil conservation district to perform its responsibilities. The appropriate department of Anne Arundel County or the City of Annapolis promptly shall file a copy of the inspection reports with the soil conservation district. On completion and compliance with every condition set forth in the grading permit, the soil conservation district shall be notified.

#### Section 4-311

Any person who has the riparian right to use water in the Severn River Watershed for agricultural purposes may not lose this right because the State or local government or any of their units condemns the person's land.

#### Section 4-312

(a) Any lien created in favor of a county or governmental unit pursuant to this subtitle is effective against the person against whose property the lien exists. However, the lien is not effective against any third party unless written notice of the lien is recorded and indexed in a permanent record maintained in the office of the clerk of the circuit court in each county in which the property subject to the lien or any part of it is located.

(b) The notice shall contain the name and address of the person against whose property the lien exists, the name and address of the county or governmental unit, the amount of the lien, a description or reference to the property subject to the lien, and the date the lien was created.

(c) On presentation of a release of any lien of the county or governmental unit, the clerk of the proper court in which the lien is recorded and indexed shall record and index the release and shall note in the lien docket the date the release is filed and the fact that the lien is released.

(d) The clerk of the proper court shall provide a suitable well-bound book, at the expense of the county or governmental unit, to be called the Watershed treatment plant lien docket, in which the notice of lien shall be recorded and indexed. The clerk may not collect more than $2 for recording and indexing each lien or release of any lien.

#### Section 4-313

Any unit whose approval is required under this subtitle or any interested person may seek an injunction against any person who violates or threatens to violate any provision of this subtitle.

#### Section 4-313.1

(a)

  (1) The Department shall impose an administrative civil penalty on a person who owns or operates a sewage treatment plant that is in violation of Sec. 4-302.1(b)(1), (c), or (d) of this subtitle.

  (2) The person accused of the violation shall have the right to a hearing but may waive that right in writing.

  (3) The penalty imposed under this subsection shall be:

    (i) $5 for each pound of phosphorus discharged monthly in violation of Sec. 4-302.1(b)(1) of this subtitle; and

    (ii) $2 for each pound of nitrogen discharged monthly in violation of Sec. 4-302.1(c) or (d) of this subtitle.

(b)

  (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a penalty imposed under this section may not be:

    (i) Waived;

    (ii) Reduced; or

    (iii) Used to assist the penalized person in upgrading a sewage treatment plant.

  (2) A penalty imposed under this section may be waived if the phosphorus or nitrogen discharged in violation of Sec. 4-302.1 of this subtitle is due to an act of God or, if it could not reasonably have been anticipated by the owner or operator of the sewage treatment plant, a power outage or a massive leakage of any pollutant that contaminates the wastewater being treated.

(c) The Department shall deposit the penalties collected under this section in the Maryland Clean Water Fund created under Sec. 9-320 of this article.

(d) The Department shall collect the penalties required to be imposed under subsection (a) of this section on a monthly basis beginning on:

  (1) February 15, 1989 for violations of Sec. 4-302.1(b)(1) of this subtitle; and

  (2) November 15, 1991 for violations of Sec. 4-302.1(c) or (d) of this subtitle.

(e) The penalties required to be imposed under this section are in addition to any other penalties provided by law.

#### Section 4-314

Any person who violates any provision of this subtitle is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to a fine not exceeding $5,000, or imprisonment not exceeding one year or both for each violation, with costs imposed in the discretion of the court.

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