Md. Code Regs. 26.23.05.02

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 12, June 14, 2024

Section 26.23.05.02 - Forestry Activities

A. A person conducting a forestry activity is exempt from the requirements under this subtitle to obtain a nontidal wetland permit and to provide mitigation. Unless exempted in §B of this regulation, a person conducting a forestry activity shall implement best management practices to protect nontidal wetlands through a sediment and erosion control plan submitted to and approved by a soil conservation district after December 31, 1990.

B. Exemptions. The following forestry activities shall be exempt from the plan approval requirements of this regulation and Regulation .03 of this chapter:

(1) Repair and maintenance of existing structures associated with forestry activities in nontidal wetlands, including drainage ditches, roads, skid trails, causeways, bridges, culverts, and firebreaks, provided the repair and maintenance activities do not drain, dredge, fill, or convert nontidal wetlands.

(2) Forestry activities on areas that have lain fallow due to disease eradication or before site preparation. A person conducting forestry activities shall implement best management practices when the land is no longer fallow and the area is replanted or allowed to regenerate.

(3) Forestry activities on areas that have lain fallow after harvesting before replanting or regeneration due to a civil action involving ownership of the property. A person conducting forestry activities shall implement best management practices to protect nontidal wetlands upon resolution of the civil action.

(4) Forestry activities on nontidal wetlands that have been set aside or taken out of production under a formal State or federal program for forest land for the time period of the set aside if change does not occur in land use. A person conducting forestry activities shall implement best management practices upon expiration of the time period of the set aside and when a new sediment and erosion control plan is required.

(5) Forestry activities that do not require a sediment and erosion control plan.

(6) Forestry activities that are begun before January 1, 1991, in accordance with a sediment and erosion control plan approved before January 1, 1991.

C. Intent of Best Management Practices. Best management practices for forestry activities in nontidal wetlands shall be designed to achieve the following goals:

(1) Control soil loss and sediment deposition in nontidal wetlands;

(2) Minimize water quality degradation caused by sediment;

(3) Minimize adverse impacts to circulation patterns or flow of surface water or ground water;

(4) Prevent a nontidal wetland from being changed to upland or any other area that no longer meets the nontidal wetland definition; and

(5) Minimize adverse impacts to the chemical, physical, or biological characteristics of nontidal wetlands.

D. A soil conservation district shall consider the following factors in approving the use of best management practices for forestry activities in nontidal wetlands:

(1) Properties of specific soils to resist compaction or ruts and support equipment;

(2) Ability to maintain surface and ground water levels in the nontidal wetland after the harvest; and

(3) Maintenance of the ecological value of nontidal wetlands of special State concern.

E. Best Management Practices.

(1) A person conducting forestry activities in nontidal wetlands shall implement best management practices that meet the intent of C and D of this regulation as set forth in a sediment and erosion control plan prepared by a registered professional forester, and approved by a soil conservation district that is consistent with this regulation and Regulation .03 of this chapter.

(2) For skid trails, log decks, and roads, a person conducting a forestry activity shall use site specific best management practices approved by a soil conservation district. These best management practices may include:

(a) Locating major skid trails to the maximum extent feasible on soils that resist compaction, ruts, or other disturbances that adversely impact nontidal wetland hydrology.

(b) Selecting appropriate equipment to skid logs shall be based upon:

(i) Slope; and

(ii) Ability of the soil to resist erosion or other disturbance.

(c) Constructing forest roads:

(i) On uplands where feasible, or on the highest available ground if uplands are unavailable, so as to minimize encroachment into nontidal wetlands.

(ii) Using stabilization techniques to minimize erosion.

(iii) Following natural contours of the land, wherever feasible.

(iv) Maintaining the hydrology of the nontidal wetland by constructing diversion ditches at the minimum depth to maintain flow of water and using mats or similar temporary structures to reduce compaction or creation of ruts.

(v) By not using fill materials for forest roads or using the minimum amount of fill material necessary to maintain a road. Fill shall be excavated from uplands when feasible, and shall be free from State or federally designated toxic pollutants.

(d) Constructing stream crossings as to:

(i) Cross in the shortest distance feasible.

(ii) Be of appropriate design, considering the size of the stream and whether the crossing is temporary or permanent. Examples of these structures are mats, bridges, or culverts.

(iii) Allow unrestricted movement of aquatic life in the stream.

(e) Locating and maintaining log decks:

(i) On uplands when they are on-site or available;

(ii) As far from streams or nontidal wetlands as practicable or on the highest available ground if uplands are unavailable;

(iii) At a minimum size and number necessary for the operation;

(iv) With diversion ditches to direct water away from the deck during use;

(v) By collecting and disposing of trash, debris, and chemicals outside the nontidal wetland.

(f) Regrading and revegetating as necessary areas affected by skid trails, log decks, and temporary roads after harvesting is completed.

(3) For harvest and regeneration practices, a person conducting a forestry activity shall use site-specific best management practices approved by a soil conservation district. These best management practices may include one or more of the following:

(a) Using high flotation equipment when nontidal wetland soils are unable to support conventional equipment or harvesting on frozen or dry nontidal wetland soils when these soils are capable of supporting equipment to prevent compaction, ruts, or other significant disturbances to nontidal wetland soils or hydrology.

(b) Conducting forestry activities so as to prevent impoundment of water or increased runoff in the nontidal wetland, unless the change is recommended in a sediment and erosion control plan.

(c) Employing site preparation methods that do not result in the conversion of nontidal wetland to upland by grading, bedding, or other disturbances to the soil.

(d) Complying with the seed tree law.

(e) Employing natural regeneration as the preferred method of regeneration in nontidal wetlands, excluding nontidal wetlands with loblolly pine that are regulated under the seed tree law and nontidal wetlands described in §E(3)(f) of this regulation, if surface water is present for at least 1 month of the growing season and high ground water is present for most of the growing season. Presence of surface or high ground water can be determined by:

(i) Visual observation;

(ii) Soil samples; or

(iii) Other hydrological indicators that are described in the Federal Manual.

(f) Managing nontidal wetlands with at least 20 percent of the live trees being Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides), red spruce (Picea rubens), balsam fir (Abies balsamea), American larch (Larix laricina), or bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) to maintain at least the same distribution after harvest.

(4) For nontidal wetlands of special State concern, a person conducting a forestry activity shall use site-specific best management practices approved by a soil conservation district under all of the following criteria:

(a) These best management practices shall maintain the ecological value of nontidal wetlands of special State concern by establishing a:

(i) Primary protection area for the crucial portions of nontidal wetlands of special State concern within which a disturbance may not occur, and

(ii) Secondary protection area, when appropriate, within the nontidal wetland of special State concern where group selection, single tree selection, natural regeneration, limited skidder access, disturbance restrictions during the breeding and nesting season, and other low-impact techniques shall be used; and

(b) Practices to maintain the ecological value of nontidal wetlands of special State concern may not be such that harvesting is prohibited within the secondary protection area provided that best management practices are consistent with §E(4)(a)(ii) of this regulation and this section.

F. Best management practices for loblolly pine nontidal wetlands that are regulated by the seed tree law shall be simplified and limited to practices listed under §E(1), (2), and (3)(a)-----(d) of this regulation, as appropriate to a specific site.

Md. Code Regs. 26.23.05.02

Regulations .02 amended as an emergency provision effective October 1, 1993 (20:21 Md. R. 1649); emergency status expired April 1, 1994
Regulations .02 amended as an emergency provision effective June 1, 1994 (21:13 Md. R. 1151);
Regulations .02 amended effective October 24, 1994, (21:21 Md. R. 1813)
Regulations .02 were recodified from Regulations .19_.21, respectively, under COMAR 08.05.04 Nontidal Wetlands, February 1996