<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".04" citation="COMAR 27.01.11.04" title_num="27" subtitle_num="01" chapter_num="11" heading="Mapping Methodology for the Assessment of Physical Features.">
  <paragraph num="A.">
    <text>Using the source information under Regulation .03 of this chapter, the Department and the Commission shall digitize the shoreline and the  landward boundary of a tidal wetland.</text>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="B.">
    <text>The Department and the Commission shall determine the location of the shoreline by remote sensing and an evaluation of:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>The location of vertical shoreline structures;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>The location of water at the time of image capture;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>An estimate of the high tide limit, based on photo interpretation and collateral data; and</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(4)">
      <text>On sandy beaches, the location of a debris line or the wettest land.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="C.">
    <text>Except for a structural shoreline stabilization measure that is located offshore, the Department and the Commission shall map the shoreline:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>At the landward edge of a bulkhead;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>At the midpoint between the waterline and the upland edge of a revetment;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>Around the landward edge of a man-made groin or jetty that is at least 30 feet in width; and</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(4)">
      <text>Along the shoreline when a man-made groin or jetty is less than 30 feet in width.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="D.">
    <text>Except for a living shoreline or a mudflat, the Department and the Commission shall map the following land features as upland:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>An upland island surrounded by open water;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>An upland area surrounded by a tidal wetland if the upland area:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>Was mapped as upland on the 1972 tidal wetlands maps and is at least one acre in size; or</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>Except for a duckblind or a water-dependent facility or activity under COMAR 27.01.03, is developed with a legally authorized improvement; and</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>A dredged material containment facility surrounded by open water that is part of a State-sponsored restoration project with conservation and habitat protection as essential elements of its operation.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="E.">
    <text>A local jurisdiction may not construe the mapping of an area as a wetland or an upland to affect the allowable density or the number of development rights of that newly mapped area as part of a map update, except in accordance with written requirements and procedures in a local jurisdiction’s Critical Area program.</text>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="F.">
    <text>A local jurisdiction may include within the Critical Area land located more than 1,000 feet from tidal waters or tidal wetlands if the newly included area is:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>Completely surrounded by Critical Area land and is:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>Up to one acre in size and adjoins an intensely developed area or a limited development area, by which the designation of the newly included area becomes an intensely developed area or a limited development area;</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>Up to two acres in size and adjoins a resource conservation area, by which the designation of the newly included area becomes a resource conservation area; or</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(c)">
        <text>Greater than the acreage limits in §F(1)(a) and (b) of this regulation if:</text>
        <paragraph num="(i)">
          <text>A local jurisdiction proposes alternative mapping standards; and</text>
        </paragraph>
        <paragraph num="(ii)">
          <text>The alternative standards are approved by the Commission; or</text>
        </paragraph>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>An environmentally sensitive area contiguous to the Critical Area that is approved by the Commission.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="G.">
    <text>The Department and the Commission, in collaboration with a local jurisdiction, shall maintain the Critical Area layer of the Statewide Base Map.</text>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="H.">
    <text>Each map of the Critical Area layer of the Statewide Base Map shall include:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>A State-determined shoreline;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>A State-determined landward boundary of tidal wetlands;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>A digitally generated, georeferenced 1,000-foot Critical Area boundary; and</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(4)">
      <text>Land newly included within the Critical Area under §F of this regulation.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
</regulation>