Marvin Mandel, Governor                           95

Secretary may prescribe. Such application shall include a detailed
description of the proposed work and a map showing the area of
wetland directly affected, with the location of the proposed work
thereon, together with the names of the owners of record of adjacent
land and known claimants of water rights in or adjacent to the
wetland of whom the applicant has notice. The Secretary shall cause
a copy of such application to be mailed to the chief administrative
officer in the county or counties where the proposed work or any
part thereof is located. No sooner than thirty days and not later
than sixty days after receipt of such application, the Secretary or his
duly designated hearing officer shall hold a public hearing in the
county where the land is located on such application, excepted, how-
ever that when an electric company as defined in Article 78, Section 2
shall apply to the Public Service Commission for a certificate of
public convenience associated with power plant construction which
involves private wetlands, the hearing and permit procedures shall
be in accordance with Section 5A of this Article. The Secretary shall
cause notice of such hearing to be published at least once not more
than thirty days and not fewer than ten days before the date set for
the hearing in a newspaper published within and having a general
circulation in each county where the proposed work, or any part
thereof, is located. All applications and maps and documents relating
thereto shall be open for public inspection at the offices of the
Secretary, and the chief administrative officer in the county. At
such hearing any person or persons may appear and be heard. No
person may make such an application within eighteen months of the
denial of a prior application for the same type permit or the final
determination of any appeal of such denial.

Article 96A
11. Illegal appropriation of State waters.

From and after January 1, 1934, it shall be unlawful for the State
or any agency thereof, any person or persons, partnership, asso-
ciation, private or public corporation, county, municipality, or other
political subdivision of the State, to appropriate or use, or to begin
construction of any plant, building or structure which may appro-
priate or use any waters of the State, surface or underground, with-
out the consent or permit of the Department, in writing, previously
obtained, upon written application therefor to the Department. The
applicant shall provide proof satisfactory to the Department that
issuance of such permit will not violate Maryland's water quality
standards or jeopardize the natural resources of the State. Nothing
in this section shall be construed to apply to the use of water for
domestic and farming purposes and nothing in this section shall be
construed to apply to the use of water for an approved water supply
of any municipality if the use was in effect on July 1,1969; nor shall
it apply to any particular use in existence on January 1, 1934, pro-
vided such use is not thereafter abandoned.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this subtitle, an appli-
cation to the Public Service Commission for a certificate of public
convenience and necessity associated with power plant construction
involving use or diversion of waters of the State, pursuant to Article
78, shall constitute an application for the permit required by this
section and shall be handled in accordance with Section 5A of Article
66C. The hearing required by this Article pursuant to this applica-