Maryland Environmental Policy Act

The act establishes an environmental review process for government action, requiring covered agencies to evaluate the environmental consequences of a proposed action, and to make findings on compliance and on the measures taken to minimize environmental harm, before proceeding. Its central mechanism is the environmental impact statement: the act sets out which actions are and are not subject to review, defines what a draft and final statement must contain, and prescribes scoping meetings, circulation of the draft for comment, and written responses to those comments filed before the action is taken. It also authorizes a fee and a dedicated fund to cover preparation costs, allows statements to be prepared by a selected contractor, and relieves an agency of the requirement where a federal impact statement is already required for the same action.

Editorial summary generated from the text of this act. It is not part of the statute — read the sections below for the operative language.