546                                 Laws of Maryland                         Ch. 241

(e) "Person" means any natural person, partnership, joint stock
company, unincorporated association or society, or the State and any
agency thereof, or municipal or political subdivisions or other cor-
poration of any character whatsoever.

(F) "REGULAR OR PERIODIC TIDAL ACTION" MEANS
THE RISE AND FALL OF THE SEA THAT IS PRODUCED BY
THE ATTRACTION OF THE SUN AND THE MOON UNINFLU-
ENCED BY WINDS OR OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES.

State Wetlands
720.

The owner of land bounding on navigable waters shall be entitled
to all natural accretions to said land and to make improvements into
the waters in front of said land for the purposes of preserving his
access to navigable water or for protecting his shore against erosion.
After an improvement has been constructed, it shall become the
property of the owner of the land to which it is attached. None of
the rights covered under this subheading shall exclude the owner
from developing other uses as approved by the Board of Public Works.

721.

It shall be unlawful for any person to dredge or fill on State wet-
hinds, except to the extent that he has been issued a license to do so
by the Board of Public Works. The provisions of this section shall
not apply to the dredging of seafood products by licensed operators,
or the harvesting of seaweed or other, mosquito control and abate-
ment or AS APPROVED BY THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST,
the improvement of wildlife habitat or agricultural drainage
ditches as approved by an appropriate agricultural agency. In order
to aid the Board of Public Works in the determination of whether a
license to dredge OR FILL State wetlands should be issued, the Sec-
retary of Natural Resources, after consultation with interested
federal, state and local agencies and appropriate agricultural agen-
cies, and after taking of such evidence and holding of such hearings
as it THE SECRETARY thinks advisable, shall submit a report
indicating whether the license should be granted and, if so, the terms,
conditions and consideration which should be required. The Board
of Public Works AFTER A HEARING IN THE LOCAL SUB-
DIVISION AFFECTED shall then decide if issuance of the license
is in the best interests of the State, taking into account the varying
ecological, economic, developmental, recreational and aesthetic value
VALUES each application presents, and if it so decides, shall issue
a license for such consideration, and according to such terms and
conditions as it deems advisable. All licenses shall be in writing.
Any person violating the provieion PROVISIONS of this section
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, fined
not LESS THAN FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($500.00) NOR
more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). ANY PERSON WHO
KNOWINGLY VIOLATES THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUB-
HEADING SHALL BE LIABLE TO THE STATE FOR THE
RESTORATION OF THE AFFECTED WETLAND TO ITS CON-
DITION PRIOR TO SUCH VIOLATION INSOFAR AS THAT IS
POSSIBLE. THE APPROPRIATE COURT SHALL SPECIFY A
REASONABLE TIME FOR COMPLETION OF THE RESTORA-
TION. THE PROVISION OF THIS SECTION SHALL NOT
APPLY TO ANY OPERATIONS FOR DREDGING AND FILLING