2023 Maryland Statutes › Natural Resources › Title 8 - Waters › Subtitle 4 - Scenic and Wild Rivers Review Board and Related Program › Section 8-402 - Establishment and Administration of Program; Study of Deer Creek

(a)    There is a Scenic and Wild Rivers Program. The following rivers, including their tributaries, are included in the Program:
(1)    Anacostia;
(2)    Deer Creek;
(3)    Monocacy;
(4)    Patuxent;
(5)    Pocomoke;
(6)    Potomac (in Montgomery and Frederick counties);
(7)    Severn;
(8)    Wicomico in Charles County; and
(9)    Youghiogheny.
(b)    The Secretary shall administer the provisions of this subtitle. The Secretary shall formulate and implement a program to carry out the policy under § 8-401 of this subtitle for each designated river including any other river designated subsequently as part of the system. The Program shall provide for the preparation of a plan and for the wise management of resources according to the policy under § 8-401 of this subtitle. Activities such as fishing, hunting, hiking, horseback riding, natural and geological interpretation, scenic appreciation, and other programs by which the general public can appreciate and enjoy the value of these areas as scenic and wild rivers in a setting of natural solitude shall be featured in a management plan to the extent these activities are practicable in the scenic or wild river.
(c)    The Secretary shall prepare a study and plan for the use and development of the water and related land resources of Deer Creek in Harford County. The study and plan shall evaluate Deer Creek as a water, agricultural, and scenic resource, and evaluate its shoreline and related land in terms of zoning, parks, and recreational areas, public and private use. The study and plan shall be made in consultation and cooperation with every affected unit of Harford County. Upon completion, the Secretary shall file the study and plan with appropriate recommendations with the Harford County Planning Commission, the Harford County executive, and the Harford County Council for inclusion and implementation in the county’s land use planning and zoning as the county deems appropriate. The original plan for Deer Creek in Harford County as approved under this section may be changed or restudied only if the Deer Creek local Scenic and Wild River Advisory Board and the Harford County Council approve.
(d)    (1)    In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.
(2)    “Scenic river” means a free-flowing river whose shoreline and related land are predominantly forested, agricultural, grassland, marshland, or swampland with a minimum of development for at least 2 miles of the river length.
(3)    “Wild river” means a free-flowing river whose shoreline and related land are:
(i)    Undeveloped;
(ii)    Inaccessible except by trail; or
(iii)    Predominantly primitive in a natural state for at least 4 miles of the river length.
(e)    Upon completion of the plan, the Secretary shall submit the plan, with any appropriate recommendations, to the governing body of every county where the affected river is located, for their approval and recommendations.
(f)    By July 1, 1990 the Secretary shall inventory and study every other river and shoreline and related land in the State and identify the rivers and their related shorelines or portions of them that are eligible for inclusion into the Scenic and Wild Rivers Program as either a scenic or wild river. Upon completion of each inventory and study, the Secretary shall submit the inventory and study, with any recommendations for additions to the scenic and wild rivers system, to:
(1)    The governing body of every county where the river is located, for their approval and recommendations; and
(2)    The next regular session of the General Assembly.