Md. Code Regs. 26.24.02.01

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

Section 26.24.02.01 - General Requirements for a State Tidal Wetlands License or Private Tidal Wetlands Permit

A. 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:

(1) License from the Board; or

(2) License, general license, general permit, or permit from the Department.

B. Uses and Activities Prohibited on State or Private Tidal Wetlands Without a License or Permit. Except when authorized, a person may not:

(1) Fill, place, dump, or discharge on tidal wetlands any:

(a) Loam, peat, sand, gravel, soil, or other similar substance, or

(b) Trash, garbage, debris, junk, or other polluting substance;

(2) 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;

(3) Construct any structure in, on, over, or under tidal wetlands; or

(4) 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.

C. 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:

(1) 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 o, or the harvesting of submerged aquatic vegetation provided the root system is not affected;

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

(3) Mosquito control and abatement projects as approved by the Department of Agriculture;

(4) Improvement of agricultural drainage ditches as approved by the Department of Agriculture;

(5) 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;

(6) Channel and harbor navigation aids, if approval has been granted by the United States Coast Guard;

(7) Private piers that meet the criteria in COMAR 26.24.04.02 o;

(8) Control of exotic plant species such as Phragmites australis, if a toxic materials permit under COMAR 26.08.03.02 o is obtained;

(9) Temporary installation of bass spawning boxes from March 1 through June 15 annually outside of marked navigation channels.

Md. Code Regs. 26.24.02.01

Regulations .01 were recodified from Regulations .03_.05, .18_.20, .23, and .26, respectively, under COMAR 08.05.05 Tidal Wetlands, June 1996