What is the “critical area?
In 1984, the Maryland General Assembly resolved to reverse the deterioration of the Bay’s environment by enacting the Chesapeake Bay Protection Act. In 2002, the Act was amended to include the Atlantic Coastal Bays. The Act required the 16 counties, Baltimore City, and 44 municipalities surrounding the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays to implement a land use and resource management program designed to mitigate the damaging impact of water pollution and loss of natural habitat, while also accommodating the jurisdiction’s future growth. The Critical Area Act recognizes that the land immediately surrounding the Bays and their tributaries has the greatest potential to affect water quality and wildlife habitat and thus designated all lands within 1,000 feet of tidal waters or adjacent tidal wetlands as the “Critical Area.
Critical area is the land adjacent to a water supply intake where risk associated with pollution is greater than from remaining portions of the watershed. Critical area is defined as land within one-half mile upstream and draining to a river intake or within one-half mile and draining to the normal pool elevation of water supply reservoirs.
In 1984, the Maryland General Assembly resolved to reverse the deterioration of the Bay’s environment by enacting the Chesapeake Bay Protection Act. In 2002, the Act was amended to include the Atlantic Coastal Bays. The Act required the 16 counties, Baltimore City, and 44 municipalities surrounding the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays to implement a land use and resource management program designed to mitigate the damaging impact of water pollution and loss of natural habitat, while also accommodating the jurisdiction’s future growth.
Critical area is the land adjacent to a water supply intake where risk associated with pollution is greater than from remaining portions of the watershed. Critical area is defined as land within one-half mile upstream and draining to a river intake or within one-half mile and draining to the normal pool elevation of water supply reservoirs. Critical areas are more restrictive than areas outside this area.
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