Wetlands and Waterways Protection Program

Wetlands provide important socio-economic benefits and ecosystem services such as storing and conveying flood waters, recharging groundwater, improving water quality by filtering and storing nutrients, and providing shoreline protection and critical habitat for a multitude of plant and animal species. The Maryland Department of the Environment’s Wetlands and Waterways Protection 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 Protection 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 Protection Program also provides Maryland-regulated floodplain and FEMA Floodplain information to the public. With climate change increasing precipitation, sea level rise and flooding in Maryland, protecting and restoring wetlands, waterways, and their buffers will be critical to securing a resilient future for Maryland’s citizens and ecosystems. To learn more about MDE's Water and Science Administration’s detailed climate adaptation goals and strategies please visit the WSA Climate Change site.

Tropical Storm/Hurricane Preparedness

Guidance for Emergency Repairs for Damage Resulting from any Major Named Storm/High Tide Event (v. May 2024)

Guidance for Emergency Repairs - general (v. September 2023) - To facilitate emergency actions/repairs which impact State-regulated water resources, the Maryland Department of the Environment (“MDE” or “the Department”) highlights these established procedures for conducting emergency repairs under COMAR 26.17.04.06 (D) Construction on Nontidal Waters and Floodplains, 26.23.02.08 Nontidal Wetlands, COMAR 26.24 Tidal Wetlands, and COMAR 23.02.04.05C State Tidal Wetland Licensing Procedures.

Hurricane and Tropical Storm Preparedness tips are also available from the MDE home page.

NEWS, IMPORTANT UPDATES, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS:

News

WWPP

Whole Watershed Act
Ecological Restoration Permitting Study Report (submitted 8/6/2024)
Wetlands and Climate Change
Public Notice Email list SIGN-UP is now available for receiving Wetlands and Waterways twice-monthly notices.

Nontidal Wetlands and Waterways

Tidal Wetlands

MDE Living Shoreline Projects Assessment Mapper - NEW

To see examples of living shorelines, zoom in on the map and click a particular point to view data and photos.

Reasonable Boating Access Guideline - NEW
Tidal Mitigation Guidance Documents

Guidance - Proposed Mitigation Projects
Mitigation Triggers
Mitigation Ratio Calculation

MDE Living Shoreline Resources
Living Shoreline Certificate Course 
Shoreline Protection Review Team Meetings
Living Shoreline Funding and Incentives
Marine Contractors Licensing Regulations - Effective March 18, 2024 - NEW

In-Lieu Fee Change - NEW
Supplemental Living Shoreline Checklist - NEW
Expedited Pier License - Expedited review and License issuance for fixed private piers and associated structures such as platforms, boat hoists or lifts, mooring piles, and osprey poles that meet the criteria under COMAR 26.24.04.02A. Project location must have no potential effects to sensitive species or cultural resources.

Climate Change

Wetlands and Climate Change

Environmental Justice

Environmental Justice at MDE

Updates

Announcements

Board of Public Works Regulation Update (PDF)

Residential Dredging Fact Sheet

Tier II Review: Nontidal Wetlands and Waterway Construction

Frequently Asked Questions

Wetlands and Waterways FAQs

State Application, Forms and Related Information

State Application Processing Procedures
Joint Evaluation Meetings and Link to Form
Shoreline Protection Review Team Meetings (Tidal) and Link to Form
PreApplication Meetings and Link to Form
Application Fee Schedules
Applications and Forms
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 effective March 31, 2018
Application Instruction Booklet and Sample Activity Guidelines and Drawings
Electronically Accepted Permit Applications
Maryland State Programmatic General Permit-6 MDSPGP-6

Maryland State Programmatic General Permit-6 MDSPGP-6 (effective October 1, 2021) from the Army Corps of Engineers website 
Maryland State Programmatic General Permit-6 MDSPGP-6 (effective October 1, 2021; updated November 2022) from the Army Corps of Engineers website 
Instructions for Permittee transitional coverage from MDSPGP-5 to MDSPGP-6 (PDF)

MDSPGP-6 General Conditions and Activity-Specific Conditions

Marine Contractors Licensing Board (MCLB) and other Environmental Boards information

Water Quality Certifications (WQCs)

Water Quality Certification information and application instructions

Issued Water Quality Certifications for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 (available as PDFs)

Past Announcements

Streamlining Rural Broadband projects: User’s Guide to Streamlining Protective Environmental Permitting & Securing Resource Access
Guidance on navigating the broadband permitting process - developed by MDE, DNR, MDOT, MDP and DoIT
Notice: Use of the new JPA Tidal Short Form is being required for submission of tidal applications effective March 31, 2018 (JPA_Tidal_ShortForm_Notice_of_Use.pdf)
Tidal Wetland Regulations for Living Shorelines
Division Directory

Public Notices

Public Notices and Informational Hearings

*See also Project Information

Project Information Related to Public Notices and Public Informational Hearings

Francis Scott Key Bridge Demolition and Rebuild - Updates or additional information will be available on the MDE Project page. Please contact Matthew Wallach at matthew.wallach@maryland.gov or 410-207-0893 with any questions.

Rebuild Public Notice

The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) has submitted a revision to the tidal wetlands application. The revision includes the construction of temporary piles and a temporary trestle extending along the northeast and southwest shorelines along the proposed bridge alignment and will terminate approximately 200 feet from the Federal Navigation Channel. A public informational hearing has been scheduled for the referenced project on Monday, December 2, 2024 at the North Point Edgemere Volunteer Fire Department, 7500 North Point Rd, Baltimore, MD 21219, or can be watched at Equity and Environment (keybridgerebuild.com). A poster session will be held from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM; the informational hearing will begin at 5:30 PM. Written comments will be accepted until December 17, 2024.

Wicomico Regional Airport 21-NT-2114/202162246 -

Mechanisctown, LLC, Cluster Subdivision 24-NT-3019/202460264. A virtual public informational hearing has been scheduled for Thursday, September 5, 2024. The hearing will start promptly at 7:00 PM. The virtual public informational hearing can be joined online at https://meet.google.com/fqi-ysdp-irz or you may join by telephone at 1 337-628-2055 and when prompted enter PIN: 970 010 650#. Please use the following links to view the plans and hearing presentation.

GGCAL Waldorf Holdings, LLC and Charles County Department of Public Works, 23-NT-0059/2023603347. Pubic Notice. Related project documents are available on MDE's Waldorf Station project information page available HERE - GGCAL Waldorf Holdings, LLC. A public informational hearing will be held on May 30, 2024 in the Commissioners Meeting Room/Auditorium within the Charles County Government Building located at 200 Baltimore Street, La Plata, Maryland 20646. Project plans will be available for review from 6:30 - 7:00 PM and the public informational hearing will start at 7:00 PM and end no later than 9:00 PM. Written comments and requests to be included on the interested persons list may be sent by June 13, 2024.

Oakdale Investments, Inc.,/Westridge, 23-NT-3212/202361400. Public Notice. A virtual public informational hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 15, 2024. The hearing will start promptly at 7:00 PM. The virtual public informational hearing can be joined online at meet.google.com/wty-wdmo-nuc or you may join by telephone at 1-929-329-2001 and when prompted enter PIN 908 493 847# .

US Wind INC, C/O Jeffrey Grybowski, 23-WL-0813/202361274/24-WQC-0004. Public Notice. Related project documents are available on MDE's US WIND INC. project information page available HERE. A public information hearing is scheduled for the referenced project on March 25, 2024. The hearing will begin at 6:00 PM and end no later than 8:00 PM with a poster session from 5:30 PM until 6:00 PM. The public information hearing will be held at Wor Wic Community College, 32000 Campus Drive, Salisbury, Maryland 21804 in the Fulton-Owen Guerrieri Hall. Written comments will be accepted until April 9, 2024 June 7, 2024. Note: a previous public notice was issued for a hearing on Feb 1. and was published in error and redacted. The only scheduled hearing is as noted above and will occur on March 25, 2024.
Baltimore-Washington Rapid Rail (BWRR) Superconducting Magnetic Levitation (SCMAGLEV) Project, 23-WQC-0007/202061983. The request for a Water Quality Certification (WQC) was withdrawn on December 27, 2023 by BWRR. The withdrawal request letter, hearing/notice information, and related project documents are available on the SCMAGLEV project information page.
Baltimore County DPW, Gunpowder SPS to White Marsh SPS Project 22-NT-0255/202261744. A Virtual Public Informational Hearing was held on June 8, 2023. A video recording of the hearing is available at : BA DPW White Marsh Run (MP4 format) and the project description is available: BA DPW White Marsh Run 02_NT_0255 Project Description (PDF).
Corkers Creek, Pocomoke State Park, Worcester County, 19-NT-2160/201962020. A virtual public informational hearing was held on Tuesday, February 21, 2022 at 7:00 P.M. Transcripts from the February 21st hearing and project related presentation are available at the following links:

Video Transcript (MP4 format) - Corkers Creek
Written Transcript (PDF) - Corkers Creek
Applicant (MD DNR) Presentation (PDF) for Corkers Creek

Howard County DPW, South Meadow Court Pond and Stream Restoration Project, 23-WQC-0011/202360416. Notice of Water Quality (WQC) decision. The Notice of WQC decision and other project documents are available on the South Meadow Court Pond and Stream Restoration project information page.
MDOT SHA/I0495 to I-270 Managed Lane Study, 20-NT-0114/22-WQC-0023/202060649. Notice of Water Quality Certification decision and other project documents are available on the MDOT SHA/I-495 to I-270 Managed Lane Study project page.
WERRLEIN WSSC LLC, 21-NT-0448/202161394 - 522 Defense Highway, Annapolis Maryland 21401, has applied for the redevelopment of a vacant Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) administrative facility & associated parking lots into a single-family residential subdivision with associated infrastructure. - A Virtual Public Informational Hearing was held on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, with a short informational session from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. The public informational hearing began at 7:00 p.m. The comment period was extended to January 15, 2022.
Wicomico Regional Airport, 21-NT-2114/23-WQC-0014/202162246. A virtual public informational hearing was held on June 28, 2023. Hearing information and related project documents are available from the website on the Wicomico Regional Airport project page.

Past Project Information:

Public notice information related to mitigation banks can be found on the mitigation website.

Abingdon Business Park - BTC III I-95 Logistics Center LLC (CREG/Westport I, Chesapeake Utilities Pipeline Project - Virtual Informational Public Hearing -A virtual public informational hearing was held on September 17, 2020. A video recording of the hearing is available.
Conowingo Hydroelectric Project / Constellation Energy Generation, LLC (formerly Exelon Generation Company, LLC) - more information is available.
Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company - Del-Mar Energy Virtual Informational Public Hearing - A virtual public informational hearing was held on July 7, 2020. For project plans and a video recording of the hearing, please see the Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company project web page.
Ever Forward Grounding, 22-WL-0268/202261142. Related documents and project information are available on the project page EVER FORWARD.

Resources

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

Contact Information

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