Ch. 373

1995 LAWS OF MARYLAND

CHAPTER 373
(Senate Bill 225)

AN ACT concerning

Property Tax Credit - Nonpoint Source Pollution Reduction

FOR the purpose of authorizing the governing body of a county to grant, by law, a real
property tax credit for certain property owners who reduce or eliminate certain
forms of nonpoint source pollution from their properties and who subject eligible
properties to nutrient management under certain plans; authorizing the governing
body of the county to adopt certain standards and procedures relating to the tax
credit; establishing certain limitations on the tax credit; requiring the execution and
certification of a certain plan between a property owner and the county soil
conservation district as a condition of "allowing the tax credit to the owner;
establishing penalties for violation of a certain plan certain plans under certain
circumstances; and generally relating to property taxes and nonpoint source
pollution reduction.                                                                       

BY adding to

Article - Tax - Property

Section 9-225

Annotated Code of Maryland

(1994 Replacement Volume and 1994 Supplement)

Preamble

WHEREAS, The farmers of the State play a critical role in preserving agricultural
land within the State; and

WHEREAS, Farmers are an integral part of the economic and social fabric of the
State, making valuable contributions to our health and welfare; and

WHEREAS, Fertilizers, pesticides, and animal wastes enter the waters of the State
each year through runoff from developed and agricultural lands; and

WHEREAS, Certain nonpoint sources are contributors to pollution entering the
Chesapeake Bay; and

WHEREAS, Under the 1987 Chesapeake Bay Agreement, Maryland and her sister
states and jurisdictions pledged to reduce by 40% the amount of nutrients, including
fertilizers, reaching the Bay; and

WHEREAS, Under recent amendments to the federal Clean Water Act and
Coastal Zone Management Act, Maryland and its constituent jurisdictions must more
effectively control pollutants reaching the Bay and the coastal waters of the State; and

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