Wicomico County, MD Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

Wicomico County Code Chapter 140, adopted July 7, 2015 by Bill No. 2015-07, prohibits disturbing land in unincorporated Wicomico County without implementing soil erosion and sediment controls that meet the chapter and the 2011 Maryland Standards and Specifications for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control (§ 140-3). Three activities are exempt under § 140-4: agricultural land management practices and agricultural best management practices; clearing or grading that disturbs less than 5,000 square feet or less than 100 cubic yards of earth; and activities subject exclusively to state approval and enforcement.

Anyone grading beyond those thresholds must submit a plan through a three-stage review, concept, site development, and final, to the Wicomico County Soil Conservation District, which coordinates enforcement under § 140-1. Final plans must show the limit of disturbance, sediment control practice locations, construction sequencing, and, where phased, initial, interim, and final controls (§ 140-6). Approved plans stay valid for two years unless extended, and projects generally may not disturb more than a twenty-acre grading unit at once without an approval-authority exception (§§ 140-7H, 140-6E).

The District can grant a hardship variance under § 140-5 only on a written request showing the site's unique circumstances. Inspectors from the Administration, meaning the Maryland Department of the Environment's Water Management Administration or its delegated enforcement authority, have a right of entry to inspect for compliance, and the District must investigate complaints within three working days and notify the complainant of its findings within seven (§§ 140-19, 140-20). Enforcement tools include corrective action orders, stop-work orders, penalties, and referral for legal action (§ 140-21).