(a) The County Council finds that streams, rivers, wetlands, and other sensitive environmental features in Montgomery County constitute an important natural resource. Protecting, maintaining, and restoring the biological, physical, and chemical integrity of the waters in the County will protect the public health and general welfare, provide for a varied aquatic life, appropriate recreational uses, and other water uses, and serve the purposes of applicable federal and state laws and regulations. Protection of fragile watershed areas will help restore and maintain the integrity of the Anacostia River, Potomac River, and Patuxent River within Montgomery County and the Chesapeake Bay.
(b) The purposes of this Article are to:
(1) implement monitoring programs in special protection areas to help attain the goals of the County's water quality laws and regulations;
(2) establish coordinated procedures, performance goals, and requirements for development in special protection areas that will mitigate adverse impacts on water resource areas during and after construction or other land-disturbing activities;
(3) ensure no net wetland loss as a result of development;
(4) authorize a fee to administer and enforce this Article, including monitoring development impacts on streams in special protection areas; and
(5) provide a focused and coordinated approach for County water quality protection and monitoring in special protection areas. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1; 2013 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1.)