WILLIAM DONALD SCHAEFER, Governor Ch. 306
4-742.

(a)  If the Department of [Health and Mental Hygiene] THE
ENVIRONMENT determines by appropriate investigation that any area
of waters of the State devoted to the production or storage of
shellfish is polluted so that shellfish produced or stored in the
area are a hazard to public health, it shall restrict the area
for the catching or storing of shellfish. If the Department of
[Health and Mental Hygiene] THE ENVIRONMENT finds it necessary to
restrict an area of water for the taking and storing of shellfish
because of the proximity of the area to the point of discharge of
a sewage treatment plant or a point of overflow of a sewage
pumping station, the Department of [Health and Mental Hygiene]
THE ENVIRONMENT may increase or decrease the size of a restricted
area in relation to the operational effectiveness of the sewage
treatment plant or sewage pumping station.

(b)  (1) The action of the State Department of [Health and
Mental Hygiene] THE ENVIRONMENT to restrict an area of water
becomes effective immediately upon giving formal notice of the
action to the Department. Notice also shall be given the
appropriate governing body and the committee of oystermen of any
county affected by the restriction.

(2)  The Natural Resources Police Force shall patrol
the area to warn watermen until public notice is given in
newspapers of general circulation in each of the counties whose
watermen work the restricted area normally. No arrests may be
made until the next work day following the day the notice
appeared unless the watermen fail to heed a warning of the
officers.

(3)  (i) If the Department of [Health and Mental
Hygiene] THE ENVIRONMENT closes any area to the catching of
shellfish under this section, in addition to the notice required
in subsection (b)(1), the Department of Natural Resources shall
mark the area so that the area can be seen from the water.

(ii) The Department of Natural Resources shall
adopt rules and regulations to provide for the marking in a plain
and visibly obvious fashion of any area that is closed to the
catching of shellfish because of pollution. Even in the absence
of such marking devices, a person may not catch shellfish in a
restricted area as designated by the Department of [Health and
Mental Hygiene] THE ENVIRONMENT if notice has been given to the
appropriate governing body and the committee of watermen of any
county affected by the restriction.

(c)  (1) After establishing a restriction, the [State]
Department of [Health and Mental Hygiene] THE ENVIRONMENT shall
test the water in the restricted area or inspect the source of
pollution of the water at least twice monthly, or more frequently
if requested by the appropriate governing body of any county

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