In 1987, the Department of the Environment was created to protect and preserve the State's environmental
resources. Prior to 1987, enforcement of laws and regulations pertaining to air and water quality, solid and toxic
waste, sedimentation and stormwater runoff, and environmental health was delegated to units in the
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Department of Natural Resources.

The first State agency to have any of the responsibilities now overseen by the Department of the
Environment was the Department of Health, created in 1874 and the precursor of the Department of
Health and Mental Hygiene. Under the Department of Health, the Bureau of Sanitary Engineering was
formed in 1912. The Bureau protected water purity, oversaw sewerage and water supply projects, and in
time became concerned with industrial waste and air pollution. The Bureau was reformed as the Bureau
of Environmental Hygiene in 1951 with divisions for sanitary engineering, industrial health, and air
pollution (Chapter 75, Acts of 1951). When the Department of Health was reorganized in 1966,
Environmental Health Services was created with a Bureau of Resources Protection overseeing water
supply, sewage disposal, air quality, and solid waste disposal, while the Bureau of Consumer Protection
was responsible for drug control, radiological health, and general sanitation.

Earlier, concern over Maryland's water resources had prompted formation of the Maryland Water
Front Commission in 1929, and the Water Resources Commission of Maryland in 1933 (Chapter
522, Acts of 1929; Chapter 526, Acts of 1933). Both commissions in 1941 were absorbed into the
Department of Geology, Mines, and Water Resources, which shared responsibilities for water supply
with the Bureau of Sanitary Engineering (Chapter 508, Acts of 1941). In 1947, the Water Pollution
Control Commission began to analyze and prevent pollution of streams and waters. These duties, in
1964, were assigned to the Department of Water Resources, as were water resource responsibilities,
including oversight of well drillers, from the Department of Geology, Mines, and Water Resources
(Chapter 73, Acts of 1964). The Department of Water Resources, like its predecessor the Water
Pollution Control Commission, came under the jurisdiction of the Board of Natural Resources. In
1969, the departments under that board were consolidated to form the Department of Natural
Resources.

Between 1960 and 1980 environmental groups, commissions, and councils alerted the public to
the perils of environmental pollution and uncontrolled growth. In response, the General Assembly
created the Radiation Control Advisory Board in 1960, the Air Pollution Control Council in 1963,
the Air Quality Control Advisory Council and the Board of Certification of Water Works in 1967, the
Water Sciences Advisory Board and the Board of Well Drillers in 1968, and the Board of Sanitarian
Registration in 1969. Creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 made more
federal programs and funds available, and new State agencies with environmental responsibilities were
formed: the Maryland Environmental Service and Maryland Council on the Environment in 1970,
the Noise Pollution Control Advisory Council in 1973, the Hazardous Substances Advisory Council
in 1976, and the Council on Toxic Substances in 1979. To safeguard the environment, the General
Assembly divided enforcement powers and planning capabilities mainly between units of the Depart-
ment of Natural Resources and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Environmental
programs were consolidated into one executive department when the Department of the Environment
was created in 1987.