<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".01" citation="COMAR 26.24.02.01" title_num="26" subtitle_num="24" chapter_num="02" heading="General Requirements for a State Tidal Wetlands License or Private Tidal Wetlands Permit.">
  <paragraph num="A.">
    <text>License or Permit Required. Except as set forth in §C of this regulation, before beginning any work, a person who proposes to construct or reconstruct structures, or to dredge or fill a State or private tidal wetland, shall obtain a:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>License from the Board; or</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>License, general license, general permit, or permit from the Department.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="B.">
    <text>Uses and Activities Prohibited on State or Private Tidal Wetlands Without a License or Permit. Except when authorized, a person may not:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>Fill, place, dump, or discharge on tidal wetlands any:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>Loam, peat, sand, gravel, soil, or other similar substance, or</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>Trash, garbage, debris, junk, or other polluting substance;</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>Drain, excavate, or dredge the tidal wetlands encompassed by this subtitle, or remove from the tidal wetlands loam, peat, sand, gravel, soil, or other similar substance;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>Construct any structure in, on, over, or under tidal wetlands; or</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(4)">
      <text>Perform an act or use involving tidal wetlands in a manner which would destroy the natural vegetation or existing patterns of tidal flow, or alter the natural and beneficial character of the tidal wetland.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="C.">
    <text>Exemptions from a State Tidal Wetlands License and a Private Tidal Wetlands Permit. The following activities are exempted from the requirement to obtain a license from the Board or a license, general license, general permit, or permit from the Department under this subtitle:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>Dredging of seafood products by any licensed operator including normal leased bottom activities permitted under Natural Resources Article, Title 4, Subtitle 11, Annotated Code of Maryland, and COMAR 08.02.08.12, or the harvesting of submerged aquatic vegetation provided the root system is not affected;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>Trapping, hunting, fishing, and catching shellfish, if legally permitted;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>Mosquito control and abatement projects as approved by the Department of Agriculture;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(4)">
      <text>Improvement of agricultural drainage ditches as approved by the Department of Agriculture;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(5)">
      <text>Routine maintenance, repair, or replacement of a highway structure, pier, boathouse, a structure on a pier, bulkhead, revetment, tidal impoundment dike, water control structure, aboveground transmission facility, agricultural drainage ditch, or highway drainage ditch when the existing structure is functional and there is no increase in the original length, width, height, or channelward encroachment;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(6)">
      <text>Channel and harbor navigation aids, if approval has been granted by the United States Coast Guard;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(7)">
      <text>Private piers that meet the criteria in COMAR 26.24.04.02;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(8)">
      <text>Control of exotic plant species such as Phragmites australis, if a toxic materials permit under COMAR 26.08.03.02 is obtained;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(9)">
      <text>Temporary installation of bass spawning boxes from March 1 through June 15 annually outside of marked navigation channels.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
</regulation>