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The County Executive, by Method 3 regulation, may establish, increase, or decrease permit and inspection fees and set nonrefundable fee schedules for filing, additional submissions, and permit renewals in an amount that does not exceed the reasonable cost of administering and enforcing this Chapter. (1976 L.M.C., ch. 14, § 1; 1984 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 20; 1986 L.M.C., ch. 45, § 1; 2013 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1.)
(a) The Director must attach any condition to each permit that is necessary to:
(1) prevent sedimentation to public or private property or a sewer, storm drain, or water course;
(2) prevent a land-disturbing activity from being hazardous to life or property;
(3) prevent an adverse environmental impact; and
(4) assure compliance with the plan.
(b) Each condition must be listed on or attached to the plan. These conditions may include requirements for a wall, drain, dam, structure, planting, erosion and sediment control devise, or necessary drainage easement.
(c) The Director must require each permittee to designate responsible personnel to take charge of on-site clearing, grading or sediment control associated with an approved land- disturbing activity. Any individual so designated must have completed a training program approved by the Administration.
(d) Responsible personnel must:
(1) inspect the site each week to assure compliance with the plan; and
(2) maintain a log which details the results of any inspection, assessment of conditions and maintenance of any sediment control device.
(e) The Director may require a permittee to provide an independent design professional to monitor and report to the Department on installation and maintenance of an erosion and sediment control device if a violation of the plan caused serious environmental impact to a watercourse or when a land-disturbing activity is taking place in an environmentally sensitive area.
(f) The Director must require a permittee to implement any reasonable precaution to prevent particulate matter from becoming airborne when any land-disturbing activity is planned in a potential asbestiform area. (1976 L.M.C., ch. 14, § 1; 1986 L.M.C., ch. 45, § 1; 1990 L.M.C., ch. 16, § 1; 1992 L.M.C., ch. 6, § 1; 2013 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1.)
Editor’s note—Section 19-7 is quoted in Wietzke v. The Chesapeake Conference Association, 421 Md. 355, 26 A.3d 931 (2011).
Any permit and plan is valid for 2 years after it is issued. The Director may extend any permit or plan for 1 year if a permittee so requests. The Director may impose an additional standard or requirement as part of any extension. The Director may require a plan modification as part of any extension. (1976 L.M.C., ch. 14, § 1; 1984 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 20; 1986 L.M.C., ch. 45, § 1; 2013 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1.)
(a) Any plan that is finally approved after January 9, 2013, must comply with this Chapter and state law.
(b) A plan that is finally approved on or before January 9, 2013, may be reapproved with existing conditions if any grading activity begins on the site by January 9, 2015, except any stabilization requirement.
(c) Any stabilization practice must comply with this Chapter and state law by January 9, 2013, regardless of when an approved erosion and sediment control plan was approved. (2013 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1.)
(a) The Director may suspend or revoke any permit issued under this Chapter, after notice, for:
(1) violation of the plan or any condition of the permit;
(2) violation of this Chapter or any other applicable law or regulation relating to the work;
(3) any condition or act creating a nuisance or hazard, or endangering human life or the property of others; or
(4) failure of the approved erosion and sediment control plan to achieve required erosion and sediment control objectives due to site characteristics or conditions.
(b) In addition to the Director’s authority under subsection (a), the Director may post a site with a stop work order directing that all land-disturbing activity stop immediately, if:
(1) the land-disturbing activity violates a condition or requirement of a County or Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission sediment control permit, application or approved plan or this Chapter or applicable regulations;
(2) the Department has given written warning notice to the permittee or its representative that lists any corrective measures required and the time by which the corrections must be made; and
(3) the permittee does not comply with the warning notice within the specified time.
(c) The Director may issue a stop work order without a warning notice where:
(1) land disturbance is taking place that requires a permit under this Chapter and a permit has not been issued;
(2) required sediment control measures are not installed, inspected, and approved before the land disturbance;
(3) the limits of disturbance are being violated; or
(4) inspection reveals the existence of any condition or act that endangers human life, property of others, or water quality.
(d) The Department must provide written notice to the permittee or its representative when a stop work order is issued. That notice must specify the extent to which work is stopped and the conditions under which work may resume. The permittee is responsible for the actions of its agents and must notify those agents when a stop work order is issued that will affect an area within which the agents are to work. In this context, “agent” includes any person who acts at the instruction, with the permission, or to the benefit of the permittee.
(e) A person must not continue or permit the continuance of work in an area covered by a stop work order, except any work required to correct a sediment control violation.
(f) This Section does not restrict the Department from proceeding directly with any available alternative enforcement procedure under Section 19-69.
(g) If trees have been cut in violation of this Chapter, the Department may require as a corrective measure that the violator comply with a reforestation plan approved by the Planning Director. (1976 L.M.C., ch. 14, § 1; 1986 L.M.C., ch. 45, § 1; 1992 L.M.C., ch. 6, § 1; 2011 L.M.C., ch. 17, § 1; 2013 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1.)
Editor’s note—2011 L.M.C., ch. 17, §§ 2 and 3, state:
Sec. 2. Transition. This Act does not apply to any appeal to the Board of Appeals that was filed before this Act took effect.
Sec. 3. Regulations. Regulations 6-06AM and 7-06AM remain in effect, notwithstanding any amendment to the County Code in Section 1 of this Act, except for any provision of the National Fire Code that authorizes or refers to an appeal to the Board of Appeals.
(a) (1) The Director must, before issuing a permit, require a corporate bond or an irrevocable letter of credit from a financial institution, or a cash bond, a certificate of guarantee, or other instrument, in a form satisfactory to the Director and approved by the County Attorney. That instrument must be conditioned on the faithful performance of the conditions in the permit, and any soil erosion and sediment control measure specified in the permit, within the time specified by the Director or any extension granted by the Director. In this Article, a certificate of guarantee is an instrument issued by an organization or entity that is approved by the Director and meets the capitalization and other reasonable criteria established by regulation, including:
(A) the demonstrated expertise of the issuing organization or its members in erosion and sediment control;
(B) the estimated square footage of the land included in the land-disturbing activity to be performed by the permittee;
(C) the estimated square footage of the area of all land-disturbing activities guaranteed by the issuing organization or entity; and
(D) the incidence of violation of, or otherwise failing to comply with, this Chapter by all members of the issuing organization or entity.
(2) A certificate of guarantee must only be issued by an approved organization or entity on behalf of members in good standing of that organization or entity. Any question as to the eligibility of a permittee to post a certificate of guarantee must be resolved by the Director in the Director’s sole discretion.
(3) The amount of the bond, irrevocable letter of credit, certificate of guarantee or other instrument required by this section is $300, plus 2 cents per square foot of the area included in the land-disturbing activity, plus an amount set by the Director to secure the costs of improvements required in approved plans, which must not exceed a total of $10,000.
(4) The instruments required under this Section may be combined with the instruments required under section 19-32 pertaining to a storm water management facility, so that one instrument may be used to satisfy both requirements.
(5) The Director may grant a partial or complete waiver of the bond, letter of credit, certificate of guarantee, or other instrument, upon application, if the Director finds minimal impairment of existing surface drainage, minimal erosion hazard, and minimal sedimentation hazard on any adjacent land or watercourse, and no hazard to human life or property.
(6) A corporate bond or letter of credit must be executed and maintained by a financial institution, surety, or guaranty company qualified to do business in this state and must be conditioned on the faithful performance of the conditions and soil erosion and sediment control measures specified in the permit. A cash bond must be deposited with the Director of Finance, who must give a receipt for it, reciting that the cash has been deposited in compliance with and subject to this Section.
(7) The bond, letter of credit, certificate of guarantee, or other instrument obligates the permittee, the permittee's executors, administrators, successors and assigns, jointly and severally with the surety or issuing organization or entity, and inures to the benefit of the County and to any person aggrieved by the permittee's failure to comply with the conditions of the permit. The permittee and the issuing organization or surety must, under the bond, letter of credit, certificate of guarantee, or other instrument, continue to be firmly bound under a continuing obligation to pay all necessary costs and expenses or liabilities which may be incurred or expended by the Department to meet the minimum requirements of this Chapter.
(b) If the Department finds that a default has occurred in the performance of any term or condition of the permit, bond, letter of credit, certificate of guarantee, or other instrument, the Department must give written notice to the permittee and to the surety or issuing organization or entity. That notice must specify the work to be done, the estimated cost, and the period of time the Department finds to be reasonably necessary to complete the work.
(c) If a cash bond has been posted, notice of default as provided by the preceding paragraphs must be given to the permittee; and if compliance is not obtained in the time specified, the Department must proceed without delay, and without further notice or proceedings, to use the cash deposited, or any part of the deposit, to cause the required work to be done by contract or otherwise in the Director’s discretion.
(d) After any default in the performance of any term or condition of the permit, bond, letter of credit, certificate of guarantee, or other instrument, the County, the surety, the issuing organization or entity, or any person employed or engaged on its behalf may enter the site to complete the required work necessary to control erosion and sedimentation to protect properties, watercourses, and persons. If the Department undertakes this work with the funds from a forfeited cash or corporate bond, letter of credit, certificate of guarantee, or other instrument, the funds must be used to pay the cost of contracting, including engineering and administration, for necessary restoration of the site to control erosion and sedimentation as required by the plan, permit, bond, letter of credit, certificate of guarantee, other instrument, or this Chapter. If the cost of the work necessary to control erosion and sedimentation or to protect properties, watercourses, and persons exceeds the amount of the cash or corporate bond, letter of credit, certificate of guarantee, or other instrument, the permittee must continue to be obligated to pay all excess costs and expenses incurred by the County. The cost and expenses are a lien on all property and all rights to property, real or personal, of any person liable to pay that cost. The cost may be listed on the tax bill and collected in the manner of ordinary taxes.
(e) A person must not interfere with or obstruct the access to or from a site or premises by an authorized representative or agent of any surety, issuing organization or entity, or the Department, engaged in completing the work required to be performed under the permit or in complying with the permit.
(f) A corporate bond, letter of credit, certificate of guarantee, or other instrument remains in effect until a completion certificate is issued under Section 19-14. A cash bond must be returned to the depositor or to the depositor’s successors or assigns when a completion certificate is issued for the work under Section 19-14, except any portion that may have been used.
(g) The Director immediately must suspend the permit or issue a stop work order when any permittee does not maintain the bond or certificate of guarantee. If the Director finds a violation of an applicable law or regulation by an organization or entity issuing certificates of guarantee, the Director may immediately revoke all permits of members of that organization or entity for which a certificate of guarantee is posted, and may post stop work orders wherever applicable until an appropriate bond or other instrument acceptable to the County is substituted for the certificates of guarantee. (1976 L.M.C., ch. 14, § 1; 1980 L.M.C., ch. 60, § 2; 1985 L.M.C., ch. 15, § 1; 1986 L.M.C., ch. 45, § 1; 2013 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1.)
(a) If the Director finds that the nature of the work may create a hazard to human life or endanger adjoining property or property at a higher or lower elevation, or any street or street improvement, or any other public property, the Director may, before issuing the permit, require the applicant for a permit to file a certificate of insurance.
(b) The certificate must show that the applicant is insured against claims for damages for personal injury and property damage in an amount not less than $25,000. Those damages include damage to the County by deposit or washing of material onto County streets or other public improvements, which may arise from or out of the performance of the work, whether the work is performed by the applicant, a subcontractor, or any person directly or indirectly employed by the applicant.
(c) The Director must set the amount of insurance according to the nature of the risks involved. Insurance must be written by a company licensed to do business in the state and approved by the County. Issuance of a permit, or compliance with this Chapter or any condition imposed by the Department, does not relieve any person from any responsibility for damage to persons or property otherwise imposed by law or impose any liability on the County for damages to persons or property. (1976 L.M.C., ch. 14, § 1; 1986 L.M.C., ch. 45, § 1; 2013 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1.)
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