Environmental Protection and Sustainability (EPS) implements and enforces a variety of Federal, State and local regulations to protect and enhance Baltimore County’s natural resources. Programs involved with these activities include:
Agricultural and Land Preservation
The Land Preservation Regulations contain Baltimore County Code 32-4-415 (c), which provides requirements for review of construction and subdivision on prime and productive soils on RC-2 zoned land.
Environmental Impact Review
Find information on the Environmental Impact Review:
Agricultural Minor Subdivision Regulations—Procedure for agricultural minor subdivisions.
Chesapeake Bay Critical Area—Laws and regulations affecting the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area can be found in the Baltimore County Code. View the following locations for regulations specific to the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area:
- County Code, Article 33—Baltimore County Chesapeake Bay Critical Area law
- County Code, Article 32, Title 9—Growth Allocation
- County Zoning Regulations—Several Miscellaneous Sections (contact Environmental Impact Review staff for details)
County Code, Article 32, Title 9—Baltimore County Growth Allocation law
County Code Article 33, Title 6—Forest Conservation
Forest Conservation Technical Manual—This is a technical manual developed by Baltimore County for implementation of the Forest Conservation regulations.
Forest Conservation Technical Manual Appendices—There are sixteen appendices to the technical manual.
County Code Article 33, Title 3—Protection of water quality, streams, wetlands and floodplains, and Forest Buffer law
Environmental Agreement Guidelines and Form—Review the procedures for development and redevelopment activities that require a security bond and an environmental agreement between the developer and Baltimore County. This page details the guidelines for the agreement and also includes the current Environmental Agreement form.
Ground Water Management
The Ground Water Management Section (GWM) is generally responsible for enforcing the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) 26.04. Specific County laws, regulations and policies related to these responsibilities include Section 1.03 of the Code of Baltimore County Regulations (COBAR) as well as the GWM policy manual.
Inspection and Enforcement
The Inspection and Enforcement Section moved to the Department of Permits, Approvals and Inspections in February 2012.
The Grading Regulations contains Section 1.04 of the Code of the Baltimore County Regulations (COBAR) which was adopted on April 22, 2005, and pertains to excavating, grading, sediment control and forest management in Baltimore County.
Stormwater Engineering
The Stormwater Management Regulations contain Article 33, Title 4 of the Baltimore County Code that was adopted in response to Stormwater Management (SWM) Act of 2007. The intent of the Act it to improve the effects of storm water runoff, and thereby improve the quality of the Chesapeake Bay. Article 33, Title 4 significantly affects the design of storm water components for land development projects. Some of the more significant changes are:
- Environmental Site Design to the Maximum Extent Practicable must be addressed for all projects, including redevelopment.
- Three sequential plan submissions and reviews are now required: Concept SWM Plan; Development SWM Plan; and Final SWM Plan.
- Redevelopment projects will require 50 percent reduction in impervious surface or equivalent water quality management.
- No grading or building permits may be issued until sediment control and SWM plans are signed.
To review the COMAR revisions and become familiar with all the changes to the Design Manual, visit the Maryland Department of the Environment.
Review and download stormwater engineering checklists for submission to Stormwater Engineering.