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Maryland's Stormwater Management Act of 2007
On April 24, 2007, Governor Martin O’Malley signed the “Stormwater Management Act of 2007” (Act), which became effective on October 1, 2007. Prior to this Act, environmental site design (ESD), was encouraged through a series of credits found in Maryland’s Stormwater Design Manual. The Act requires that ESD, through the use of nonstructural best management practices and other better site design techniques, be implemented to the maximum extent practicable. Charged with implementation, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) is in the process of addressing the requirements of the Act including changes to regulations, the 2000 Maryland Stormwater Design Manual, and other guidance materials. Provisions of the Stormwater Management Act (Environment Article 4 §201.1 and §203) are available on the web here.
 Updates:
July 30, 2010 Update:
| MDE has published guidance on the technical procedures and calculations necessary for implementing ESD. This publication, "Environmental Site Design Process & Computations", is posted on MDE's website here. |
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April 16, 2010 Update:
MDE has updated the “Maryland Stormwater Guidelines for State and Federal Projects” to reflect the “Stormwater Management Act of 2007” and the recently enacted COMAR 26.17.02 regulations. The April 15, 2010 Guidelines are posted on MDE's webpage here.
April 14, 2010 Update:
MDE has revised the 2009 Model Stormwater Management Ordinance to reflect the recently enacted emergency regulations. The revised Model Ordinance is posted on MDE's webpage here. The emergency regulations will be published in the Maryland Register. A copy of the complete emergency regulations in PDF format is provided here for informational purposes only.
April 7, 2010 Update:
Guidance for Implementation of Local Stormwater Management Programs
To address concerns regarding grandfathering, the difficulty of implementing ESD for redevelopment projects, and the impact on Smart Growth, MDE has enacted emergency regulations and is providing implementation guidance to those localities responsible for stormwater management program administration. Note that no substantive changes have been made to the new technical standards or to any provisions of the Stormwater Management Act of 2007. The regulations and guidance describe what types of development projects waiting for local approval may be eligible for grandfathering and waiver provisions that were already available but not well defined. Certain projects will use the existing standards; however, the vast majority of development and redevelopment projects will, after May of 2010, use environmental site design to the maximum extent practicable. All new projects proposed after May 2010 will be required to implement environmental site design to the maximum extent possible. This guidance is posted on MDE's webpage here.
The Administrative, Executive, and Legislative Review Committee voted to adopt emergency stormwater regulations to formalize provisions for grandfathering and make changes to redevelopment requirements according to the guidance noted above. Emergency regulations became effective on April 7, 2010, and will last for six months, during which time MDE must propose final regulation changes and provide for public input. MDE will also develop Model Ordinance language that will be used by counties and municipalities who choose to modify their stormwater management ordinances to include grandfathering and the additional redevelopment policy. This language will be available in the coming weeks.
October 8, 2009 Update:
MDE has published the 2009 Model Standard Stormwater Management Plan. While all local development review and approval processes are unique, MDE will use this document as a template to ensure effective implementation of standard plans. For a copy of the Model Standard Plan in PDF format, please click here! Word versions are available upon request. Questions about the Standard Plan should be directed to the Sediment, Stormwater & Dam Safety Program at (410) 537-3543.
June 11, 2009 Update:
MDE has published the 2009 Model Stormwater Management Ordinance. This guidance is provided to assist county and municipal code development in addressing the SWM Act of 2007. While all local development review and approval processes are unique, MDE will use this document as a template to ensure effective implementation of stormwater management ordinances. For a copy of the Model Stormwater Management Ordinance, please click here! Questions about the Model Ordinance should be directed to the Sediment, Stormwater & Dam Safety Program at (410) 537-3543.
May 5, 2009 Update:
Changes to Maryland's stormwater management regulations (COMAR 26.17.02) to address the SWM Act of 2007 are now effective. Official copies of these regulations may be found at "COMAR Online" on the Office of the Secretary of State, Division of State Document's website (www.dsd.state.md.us). A copy of the complete regulations in PDF format is provided here for informational purposes only If there are any additional questions concerning the regulations, please contact the Sediment, Stormwater & Dam Safety Program at (410) 537-3543.
April 30, 2009 Update:
MDE has published the Notice of Final Action for changes to Maryland's stormwater management regulations (COMAR 26.17.02) in the Maryland Register (Volume 36, Issue 9, ppg. 625-688) published on April 24, 2009. The Maryland Register may be accessed online here. Please note that changes to COMAR 26.17.02 to address the Stormwater Management Act of 2007 become effective on May 4, 2009.
April 15, 2009 Update:
MDE has begun the formal process for final adoption of the stormwater management regulations. These regulations, which were originally proposed in the Maryland Register (35:25 Md. R. 2191-2198) on December 5, 2008, will be adopted with nonsubstantive changes. These changes and revisions to the 2000 Maryland Stormwater Design Manual may be found here:
All information posted before April 15, 2009 has been archived. To view archived material, please go here.
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