MARYLAND AT A GLANCE

ENVIRONMENT

[photo, Floating wetland, created by National Aquarium, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland]
  • Local Environmental Agencies

    • Floating wetlands (created by National Aquarium) with Mallard ducks, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland, June 2015. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

    Planted with native species, floating wetlands help clean water, and provide habitat for marine life.

    [photo, Floating wetland, created by National Aquarium, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland] In Maryland, environmental protection is the responsibility of the Department of the Environment. Implementation of "smart growth" policies, which affect the environment, is conducted by the Department of Planning.

    Floating wetland (created by National Aquarium) in Patapsco River, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland, June 2015. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

    [photo, Skyline, townhouses, and marinas on Patapsco River (view from Canton), Baltimore, Maryland] The Maryland Environmental Service provides water and wastewater treatment, solid waste management, composting, recycling, dredged material management, hazardous materials cleanup, and renewable energy consulting services for private industry and federal, State and local governments.

    Skyline from Federal Hill, Baltimore, Maryland, May 2008. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

    [photo, Skyline, townhouses, and marinas on Patapsco River (view from Canton), Baltimore, Maryland] Additional executive commissions and committees monitor environmental conditions and advise government agencies on environmental protection. These boards are as diverse as the Bay Restoration Fund Advisory Committee; the Critical Area Commission for the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays; the Executive Committee for Dredged Material Management Plans; the Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities; the Hart-Miller-Pleasure Island Citizens Oversight Committee; and the Patuxent River Commission.

    Skyline, townhouses & marinas on Patapsco River (view from Canton), Baltimore, Maryland, May 2002. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

    [photo, Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene c. carolina), Glen Burnie, Maryland] Based in Cambridge on Maryland's Eastern Shore, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science is affiliated with the Maryland Sea Grant College.

    Some county and municipal governments also oversee local agencies concerned with the environment. Montgomery County, for example, has a Department of Environmental Protection, while the Bureau of Environmental Services in Howard County also oversees some planning functions.

    Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene c. carolina), Glen Burnie, Maryland, October 2009. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

    [photo, Male Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Annapolis, Maryland] In addition, the General Assembly addresses environmental concerns through the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, and the House Environment & Transportation Committee.

    Eight environmental literacy standards have been required curricula in Maryland schools since 2011.

    Male Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Annapolis, Maryland, April 2017. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

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