Wetlands and Waterways Program

The Maryland Department of the Environment’s Wetlands and Waterways Program protects Maryland wetlands and waterways from loss and degradation. This protection is achieved through the regulation of the draining, dredging and filling of tidal and nontidal wetlands, the nontidal wetland buffer and waterways, including the nontidal​ 100-year floodplain through a permitting or authorization process implemented in close coordination with the federal government (specifically, the Army Corps of Engineers). While there are some exemptions from permitting requirements for certain activities, permits or letters of authorization from the State are generally required if a property owner plans to undertake an activity that results in the draining of a wetland or the addition of fill materials to a State regulated wetland or waterway. Examples of activities which require permits from the Wetlands and Waterways Program include building a new pier, adding a platform or boat lift to an existing pier, dredging a boat slip, putting in a bulkhead, filling in a nontidal wetland or buffer for the construction of a structure such as a shed or the expansion or creation of a patio or driveway, and, creating a stream crossing or putting a utility pipeline under a stream. The Wetlands and Waterways Program also provides Maryland-regulated floodplain and FEMA Floodplain information to the public.

 

Conowingo Settlement Agreement (PDF) Wetlands and Waterways Permits Interactive Search Portal   Tier II Review: Nontidal Wetlands and Waterway Construction Guidance on navigating the broadband permitting process - developed by MDE, DNR, MDOT, MDP and DoIT For more information, please see the MD Department of Natural Resources guidance on Streamlining Rural Broadband projects and the User’s Guide to Streamlining Protective Environmental Permitting & Securing Resource Access. This guide offers practical step-by-step advice to internet service project developers that may require state agency environmental permits or access to state owned land and communication infrastructure. The guide was developed as a collaboration between the Maryland Departments of the Environment, Natural Resources, Transportation, Planning and Information Technology. Tidal Wetland Joint Federal/State Application for the Alteration of any Tidal Wetland in Maryland A.K.A. "Short Form" - Required for submission of all tidal applications by March 31, 2018   Application Instruction Booklet and Sample Activity Guidelines and Drawings

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State Application, Forms and Related Information

• State Application Processing Procedures

• PreApplication Meetings and Link to Form

• Application Fee Schedules

• Applications and Forms

• Maryland State Programmatic General Permit-5  MDSPGP-5 (effective October 1, 2016) from the Army Corps of Engineers website 

Frequently Asked Questions

View the Wetlands and Waterways FAQs

Announcements

• The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and the Chesapeake Bay Trust grant program to provide funds for nontidal wetland restoration, creation, and enhancement projects throughout Maryland.

• User’s Guide to Streamlining Protective Environmental Permitting & Securing Resource Access

This guide offers practical step-by-step advice to internet service project developers that may require state agency environmental permits or access to state owned land and communication infrastructure. The guide was developed as a collaboration between the Maryland Departments of the Environment, Natural Resources, Transportation, Planning and Information Technology.
For more information, please see the MD Department of Natural Resources guidance on Streamlining Rural Broadband projects.


• Notice: Use of the new JPA Tidal Short Form is being required for submission of tidal applications by March 31, 2018.(JPA_Tidal_ShortForm_Notice_of_Use.pdf)

• Notice of Intent to Revise Maryland's Nontidal Wetland Mitigation Regulations

• Requesting Feedback on Methodology to Revise Nontidal Wetland ILF Rates

• Best Management Practices for Working in Nontidal Wetlands, Wetland Buffers, Waterways, and 100-Year Floodplains

• Tidal Wetland Regulations for Living Shorelines

• Division Directory

• Board of Marine Contractors information has been moved to the Environmental Boards page, near the bottom.

Public Information

Public Notices and Hearings

 

Bejan Arastreh and Mahmood Yahyai (201761818/17-NT-0418) - Updated November 26, 2019: A hearing has been scheduled for January 9, 2020, with project plans on display from 6:30 P.M. to 7:00 P.M., and the hearing will begin promptly at 7:00 P.M. The hearing location will be the Pikesville Library at 1301 Reisterstown Road in Pikesville, MD 21208. The hearing notice is available as a PDF.

MdTA/I-95 Northbound Extension - Comment period will remain open through December 2, 2019.

CREG/Westport I, LLC - Abingdon Business Park - Comment period closes on December 11, 2019 at 5:00 P.M.

CS Patuxent Greens and City of Laurel -- Permit Package (18-NT-0067) -- Permit issued July 29, 2019

MD Solar 1 - Shugart Valley Place

Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) Key Crossing Public Hearing, May 14, 2019 - transcript (PDF, 23 pages)

Chesapeake and Delaware Canal proposed maintenance dredging - Application for Water Quality Certification (application # 19-WQC-01) / U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia District

• Public Notice of proposed maintenance dredging of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and removal of dredged material for placement in the Pearce Creek Dredged Material Containment Facility (PDF)
• Request for Issuance of a Section 401 Water Quality Certificate, for proposed maintenance dredging of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal (PDF)

Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC / Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project

Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC / Line 8000 Nontidal Wetlands Permit (PDF)

Conowingo Hydroelectric Project / Exelon Generation Company, LLC

• Conowingo Settlement Agreement (PDF)

• Conowingo Hydroelectric Project - Exelon Application for Water Quality Certification

• Conowingo Hydroelectric Project / Exelon - Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification for the Conowingo Hydroelectric Project / FERC Project No. P-405 / MDE WSA Application No. 17-WQC-02 - April 27, 2018 (PDF, 59 pages, 3 MB)

• Public Hearing re: Exelon Conowingo Hydroelectric Dam License Renewal, et al. - Full Transcript of Hearing conducted on December 5, 2017 

• Conowingo Hydroelectric Project - Public Comment Period Extended to January 15, 2018.  At the Public Hearing on December 5, 2017, MDE announced that the public comment period was extended to January 15, 2018.

• Conowingo Hydroelectric Project - Public Hearing Announcement for December 5, 2017 (Announcement dated October 13, 2017) 

• Conowingo Hydroelectric Project - Second Comment Period - Public Comments Received (Post-October 13, 2017)

• Conowingo Hydroelectric Project - Initial Comment Period - Public Comments Received (Post-July 10, 2017) 

• Public Notice of August 8, 2017 -  Conowingo Hydroelectric Project - Public Comment Period Extended through August 23, 2017​​

• Public Notice of July 10, 2017 - Conowingo Hydroelectric Project - Exelon Application for Water Quality Certification

Challenges to the Water Quality Certification

• ​Administrative Appeal of Final Decision to Issue Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification for the Conowingo Hydroelectric Project (6/8/2018) - Stewards of the Lower Susquehanna, d/b/a Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association, and Waterkeepers Chesapeake
• ​Protective Petition for Reconsideration and Administrative Appeal (5/25/2018) - Exelon Generation Company, LLC

Conowingo Pilot Dredge Project / Maryland Environmental Service (MES)

• ​Conowingo Pilot Dredge Project/MES - Public Notice - May 15, 2018

• ​Conowingo Pilot Dredge Project/MES - Notice of Public Informational Hearing for a State Nontidal Wetlands and Waterways Permit and the Opportunity to Provide Comments - May 14, 2018

• ​Conowingo Pilot Dredge Project/MES - Application for a State Nontidal Wetlands and Waterways Permit No. 201860797/18-NT-0152 - May 8, 2018 (PDF, 166 pages, 22MB)

Somerset County Recreation and Parks - Maryland Route 413 Bike Path (201860224/18-NT-2013)

• ​Permit Package (PDF)

• ​Impact Plates (PDF)

Tradepoint Atlantic Wetlands License No. 13-0966(R2)

 
 

Water Quality Certifications (WQCs)



• Water Quality Certification information and application instructions


• Issued Water Quality Certifications for 2019 (available as PDFs)

 

Resources

• Wetland Conservation Plan

• MDE's Regulatory Decision Timeline for the Charles County Cross County Connector project

• Supplements to US Army Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual

• Priority Areas for Wetland Restoration, Preservation, and Mitigation

• Shore Erosion Control Guidelines - Marsh Creation (1.4 MB)

• Shore Erosion Control Guidelines for Waterfront Property Owners - 2nd Edition (2.1 MB)   

Interested in conducting a wetland restoration or other conservation activity on your land?

• Please visit the Wetlands Work website, a resource for landowners in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

• Restoration and Restoration Funding

• Wetland Monitoring

• Programmatic Wetland Mitigation: description of sites by county or watershed 

• Effectiveness of Maryland Compensatory Mitigation Program 

• Rapid Mitigation Site Scoring Method 

• Structural Shoreline Stablilization Maps 

Contact Information

For questions and comments regarding this website, please contact the webmanager.​​​​​​​

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