Maryland Natural Resources Section 4-11A-05
§ 4-11A-05.
(a) (1) The Department may lease, in the name of the State, tracts or parcels of land beneath the waters of the State to residents of the State for protecting, sowing, bedding, or cultivating oysters or other shellfish, subject to the provisions of this section. These submerged lands when leased shall be known as leased oyster bottoms.
(2) (i) Except as provided in this paragraph, a corporation or joint stock company may not lease or acquire by assignment or otherwise any submerged land of the State for the purposes of this section.
(ii) A 4-H club in the State may lease or acquire not more than 10 acres of submerged land for the purposes of this section.
(iii) 1. An incorporated college or university within the State having an enrollment of at least 700 undergraduate, degree-seeking students may acquire, by assignment, gift, or bequest, submerged land for education and research purposes only.
2. An incorporated college or university may not transfer or attempt to transfer any interest in submerged land acquired under the provision of item 1 of this subparagraph to any person, corporation, or joint stock company.
3. Any transfer or attempt to transfer an interest in submerged land acquired under the provisions of item 1 of this subparagraph shall be void, and the interest in submerged land shall revert to the State without the necessity of any action by the State.
(iv) 1. A nonstock, nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of this State exclusively for educational purposes may lease or acquire not more than two leases consisting of not more than 30 acres each of submerged land in the Severn River for educational or ecological purposes.
2. A. Except as provided in sub-sub-subparagraph B of this sub-subparagraph, a nonstock, nonprofit corporation organized exclusively for educational purposes may not transfer or attempt to transfer any interest in submerged land acquired under the provisions of sub-subparagraph 1 of this subparagraph to any person, corporation, or joint stock company.
B. The nonprofit, nonstock corporation may harvest oysters in accordance with a harvesting program approved by the Department provided that any revenues from harvesting are maintained by the nonstock, nonprofit corporation exclusively for educational or ecological purposes and for the maintenance and preservation of submerged lands leased by the nonprofit, nonstock corporation.
(3) Under regulations that the Department adopts, and in conjunction with the 4-H advisory board in a county, the Department may make equal and matching grants of up to $1,000 a county for any number of 4-H clubs in a county that:
(i) Are actively involved in oyster cultivation research;
(ii) Are leasing or acquiring any submerged land under paragraph (2) of this subsection; and
(iii) Have received or have a guarantee to receive a research grant from the county for oyster cultivation research.
(b) The Department may not lease any of the submerged areas of the State within the jurisdictional boundaries of Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset and Talbot counties for oyster cultivation. The Department also may not lease any of the submerged areas of the State in the tidewater tributaries of Charles County, except the Patuxent River, for oyster cultivation. This subsection does not affect any existing lease in Somerset County made prior to and effective on June 1, 1952; any lease in Dorchester County made prior to and effective on June 1, 1957; in Charles County made prior to and effective on July 1, 1968 and in Kent, Queen Anne's and Talbot counties made prior to July 1, 1973. This subsection also does not prevent any lessee from renewing, assigning, devising by will or prohibit the descendents of any lessee, his heirs, or next of kin, from inheriting rights by the operation of the laws of descent and distribution. If an existing lease does not provide for renewal, the Department may grant renewal when the lease terminates unless good cause to the contrary is shown. However, a person may not lease more acreage than now authorized by law regardless of the manner in which the lease or the rights under the lease are obtained.
(c) A lease may not be granted for any of the following submerged areas of the State, and a person may not acquire by lease, assignment, appropriation, or otherwise any of the enumerated areas: any area beneath any creek, cove, bay, or inlet less than 300 feet wide at its mouth at mean low tide; any natural oyster or natural clam bar as defined in this subtitle; any area within 150 feet of any natural oyster or natural clam bar in any county; any area within 600 feet of any natural oyster or clam bar in the Chesapeake Bay; any clam bed as defined by the charts of the Oyster Survey of 1906 to 1912 and its amendments. Any lease granted in violation of the provisions of this subsection is null and void and the land described in the lease shall revert to the State as though a lease had not been made.
(d) (1) A leased oyster bottom shall be as rectangularly shaped as possible. A tract or parcel of land may not be leased in any of the following waters if it falls short of the minimum area or exceeds the maximum area specified below:
Waters of the Chesapeake Bay
lying outside county
waters 5 acres to 500 acres
Tangier Sound 1 acre to 100 acres
All other counties 1 acre to 30 acres
(2) (i) 1. In Worcester County, a leased oyster bottom shall be as rectangularly shaped as possible, and shall be between 1 acre and 50 acres in size. Except as provided in item 2 of this subparagraph, the Department may not lease to one person a total amount of leased oyster bottom in Worcester County exceeding 50 acres.
2. In Worcester County, 2 or more individuals may work in concert and have operative control over a total amount of leased oyster bottom not exceeding 200 acres. If a lessee works in concert with other individuals so that the lessee exercises operative control over more than 200 acres of leased oyster bottom, the interest of the lessee shall revert to the State as if a lease had not been made.
(ii) Notwithstanding the provisions of item 2 of subparagraph (i), an individual who works in concert with other individuals and has operative control over more than 200 acres of leased oyster bottom in Worcester County on June 1, 1986, may continue to work and have operative control over those acres of leased oyster bottom.
(e) (1) Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (b) of this section, the Department may issue or renew a lease for any leased oyster bottom that previously was leased for purposes of oyster cultivation under this subtitle if:
(i) Application for the new, renewed, or transferred lease was made before December 31, 1984; and
(ii) The proposed site of the leased oyster bottom:
1. Has not become a natural oyster bar or clam bar; and
2. Is otherwise suitable for oyster cultivation.
(2) Any lease issued or renewed under this subsection is considered legitimate for all purposes.
(f) (1) If a person applies to the Department for a lease of submerged land for oyster cultivation, the Department shall determine if the submerged land is a productive natural clam bar.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, if the Department determines that the submerged land is a productive natural clam bar, the Department may not lease the submerged land for purposes of oyster cultivation.
(3) For purposes of this subtitle, the Department may adopt regulations establishing criteria to denote natural clam bars as having significant commercial value.
(4) Before the Department proposes any regulation under paragraph (3) of this section, the Department shall hold a public hearing on the proposed regulation.
