Md. Code Regs. 27.01.11.04

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

Section 27.01.11.04 - Mapping Methodology for the Assessment of Physical Features

A. Using the source information under Regulation .03 of this chapter, the Department and the Commission shall digitize the shoreline and the edge of tidal wetlands.

B. The Department and the Commission shall determine the location of the shoreline by remote sensing and an evaluation of:

(1) The location of vertical shoreline structures;

(2) The location of water at the time of image capture;

(3) An estimate of the high tide limit, based on photo interpretation and collateral data; and

(4) On sandy beaches, the location of a debris line or the wettest land.

C. Except for a structural shoreline stabilization measure that is located offshore, the Department and the Commission shall map the shoreline:

(1) At the landward edge of a bulkhead;

(2) At the midpoint between the waterline and the upland edge of a revetment;

(3) Around the landward edge of a man-made groin or jetty that is at least 30 feet in width; and

(4) Along the shoreline when a man-made groin or jetty is less than 30 feet in width.

D. Except for a living shoreline or a mudflat, the Department and the Commission shall map the following land features as upland:

(1) An upland island surrounded by open water;

(2) An upland area surrounded by a tidal wetland if the upland area:

(a) Was mapped as upland on the 1972 tidal wetlands maps and is at least one acre in size; or

(b) Except for a duckblind or a water-dependent facility or activity under COMAR 27.01.03, is developed with a legally authorized improvement; and

(3) 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.

E. 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.

F. 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:

(1) Completely surrounded by Critical Area land and is:

(a) 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;

(b) 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

(c) Greater than the acreage limits in §F(1)(a) and (b) of this regulation if:

(i) A local jurisdiction proposes alternative mapping standards; and

(ii) The alternative standards are approved by the Commission; or

(2) An environmentally sensitive area contiguous to the Critical Area that is approved by the Commission.

G. The Department and the Commission, in collaboration with a local jurisdiction, shall maintain the Critical Area layer of the Statewide Base map.

H. Each map of the Critical Area layer of the Statewide Base map shall include:

(1) A State-determined shoreline;

(2) A State-determined landward boundary of tidal wetlands;

(3) A digitally generated, georeferenced 1,000-foot Critical Area boundary; and

(4) Land newly included within the Critical Area under §F of this regulation.

Md. Code Regs. 27.01.11.04

Regulations .04 under Chapter, Directives for Updating Critical Area Maps adopted effective July 9, 2012 (39:13 Md. R. 786); amended effective 45:5 Md. R. 289, eff. 3/12/2018; amended effective 49:3 Md. R. 139, eff. 2/7/2022