Wicomico County, MD Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)

Wicomico County's Stormwater Management chapter, adopted under the state Environment Article, requires every development for residential, commercial, industrial or institutional use to provide stormwater management measures controlling runoff, designed consistent with the Maryland Stormwater Design Manual and built to an approved plan. The permit gate is explicit: a grading or building permit may not be issued for any parcel or lot unless final erosion and sediment control has been approved by the Soil Conservation District and stormwater management plans have been approved by the Wicomico County Department of Public Works as meeting the Design Manual and the chapter's requirements.

Where appropriate, the building permit also requires recorded easements for the stormwater facility and for inspection and maintenance access, a recorded stormwater management maintenance agreement, and a performance bond or equivalent security. That bond, once required, must equal at least 150% of the estimated construction cost of the stormwater facilities, though the bond requirement is waived for agricultural uses including farm accessory buildings. Owners and developers submit phased plans, concept, site development and final construction, to the Department of Public Works for review, and permits can be suspended or revoked for violating plan conditions, changing site runoff characteristics, building outside the approved plan, ignoring correction notices or stop-work orders, or where the county sees immediate downstream danger.

Anyone aggrieved by a permit disapproval or a notice of violation can appeal to the Board of Appeals within 30 days. Violations are prosecuted as misdemeanors: a conviction carries a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, per violation, with court costs capped at $50,000, and the Director of Public Works or a designee can also issue civil-infraction citations, with each day of continued violation a separate offense.