Home Table of Contents

§ 16-304. Certain lawful uses enumerated

West's Annotated Code of MarylandEnvironmentEffective: October 1, 2019

West's Annotated Code of Maryland
Environment
Title 16. Wetlands and Riparian Rights (Refs & Annos)
Subtitle 3. Private Wetlands (Refs & Annos)
Effective: October 1, 2019
MD Code, Environment, § 16-304
§ 16-304. Certain lawful uses enumerated
Notwithstanding any regulation adopted by the Secretary to protect private wetlands, the following uses are lawful on private wetlands:
(1) Conservation of soil, vegetation, water, fish, shellfish, and wildlife;
(2) Trapping, hunting, fishing, and catching shellfish, if otherwise legally permitted;
(3) Exercise of riparian rights to improve land bounding on navigable water, to preserve access to the navigable water, or to protect the shore against erosion;
(4) Reclamation of fast land owned by a natural person and lost during the person's ownership of the land by erosion or avulsion to the extent of provable preexisting boundaries. The right to reclaim lost fast land relates only to fast land lost after January 1, 1972. The burden of proof that the loss occurred after this date is on the owner of the land;
(5) Routine maintenance and repair of existing bulkheads, provided that there is no addition or channelward encroachment; and
(6) Installing a pump, a pipe, or any other equipment attached to a pier for the cultivation of shellfish seed in a shellfish nursery under a permit issued by the Department of Natural Resources under § 4-11A-23 of the Natural Resources Article, provided that the pump, pipe, or other equipment does not require increasing the length, width, or channelward encroachment of the pier.

Credits

Added by Acts 1973, 1st Sp. Sess., c. 4, § 1. Amended by Acts 1989, c. 691, § 1; Acts 1990, c. 6, § 2. Renumbered from Natural Resources § 9-303 by Acts 1995, c. 488, § 3, eff. July 1, 1995. Amended by Acts 2019, c. 236, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2019; Acts 2019, c. 237, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2019.
Formerly Art. 66C, § 723.
MD Code, Environment, § 16-304, MD ENVIR § 16-304
Current through legislation effective through April 9, 2023, from the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
End of Document