Ch. 669                        LAWS OF MARYLAND

WHEREAS, By Chapter 566, Laws of Maryland, 1983, the General
Assembly added a penalty to the sediment control subtitle,
Natural Resources Article, § 8-1108(c) and (d), that was "in
addition to any other sanction under this subtitle"; and

WHEREAS, The General Assembly intended, as a deterrent to
noncompliance with the sediment control law, that if a person
failed to install or maintain sediment controls in accordance
with an approved plan, the person should be liable to the State,
county, or municipality for "damages in an amount equal to double
the cost of installing or maintaining the controls" that the
person avoided; and                                                                        

WHEREAS, In its decision of December 8, 1986 in Anne Arundel
County v. Beatty, No. 344, September Term, 1986, the Court of
Special Appeals construed the term "damages" in N.R. § 8-1108(c)
and (d) to mean actual damages suffered by the State, county, or
municipality in taking corrective action; and

WHEREAS, The developer in Beatty, supra, took corrective
action himself several months after exposing a site to sediment
runoff and only after enforcement action was taken by the County,
but thereby avoided all but a nominal, $500 award under the Court
of Special Appeals' construction of N.R. § 8-1108(c); and

WHEREAS, It remains the intent of the General Assembly that
Natural Resources Article, § 8-1108(c) and (d) should serve as an
effective deterrent to persons failing to install or maintain
sediment controls; now, therefore,

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That the Laws of Maryland read as follows:

Article - Natural Resources

8-1108.

(a)  Any person who violates any provision of this subtitle
is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction in a court of
competent jurisdiction is subject to a fine not exceeding $5,000
or imprisonment not exceeding one year or both for each violation
with costs imposed in the discretion of the court. Each day upon
which the violation occurs constitutes a separate offense.

(b)  Any agency whose approval is required under this
subtitle or any interested person may seek an injunction against
any person who violates or threatens to violate any provision of
this subtitle.

(c)  (1) [In addition to any other sanction under this
subtitle, a person who fails to install or to maintain erosion
and sediment controls in accordance with an approved plan shall

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