4.4 Environmental Issues and Special Topics

Environmental Disclosure Duties

A Maryland licensee must disclose known latent (hidden) defects that materially affect the property and could not be discovered by an ordinary buyer inspection. This includes environmental hazards the agent actually knows about. The duty runs to all parties, not just the agent's own client, and it cannot be waived by an "as-is" clause when the agent has actual knowledge.

Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE)

The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) is the state's environmental regulator, working alongside the federal EPA.

Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Law

The Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Law is Maryland's signature land-use overlay. It regulates development in the "Critical Area" — land within 1,000 feet of the tidal waters or tidal wetlands of the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays.

Impact: A waterfront lot may be largely undevelopable because of the buffer and coverage caps. Always flag Critical Area status before a buyer plans an addition, dock, or new build.

Maryland's Strict Lead-Paint Program

Maryland goes well beyond the federal disclosure rule. The state's lead law (the Reduction of Lead Risk in Housing Act) imposes affirmative duties on owners of older rental housing.

Key point: Maryland's registration and risk-reduction obligations attach to rental properties (originally pre-1950, expanded to include affected pre-1978 units). An owner who fails to register or meet risk-reduction standards can lose certain liability protections.

Federal Lead Disclosure Steps (housing built before 1978)

1. Give the buyer/tenant the EPA pamphlet ("Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home").
2. Disclose known lead hazards and provide any reports.
3. Offer the buyer a 10-day period to inspect/test (the buyer may waive it in writing).
4. Use the required Lead Warning Statement and signatures in the contract.

Wetlands and Water Resources

Maryland wetlands are protected under multiple layers:

• Federal Clean Water Act — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits.
• Maryland Nontidal Wetlands Protection Act — MDE permits for impacts to inland wetlands.
• Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Law — additional restrictions in the 1,000-foot zone.

Dredging, filling, or building in or near wetlands typically needs a permit, and a buyer planning to develop should confirm wetland status early.

Flood Zones and Insurance

Maryland uses a Residential Property Disclosure/Disclaimer statement; sellers may disclaim known conditions, but a licensee must still disclose latent material defects they actually know. The existing §10-702 disclosure form already asks whether the property sits in a flood zone, wetland, conservation area, or Critical Area, and a separate, dedicated state flood-risk disclosure form (from MDE under 2024 legislation) becomes mandatory for residential sales beginning July 1, 2027.

Radon and Mold

• Radon: naturally occurring radioactive soil gas; no state disclosure mandate, but testing is strongly advised, especially for basements and in western Maryland.
• Mold: no specific Maryland statute, but visible mold is a property-condition issue that can affect habitability and should be disclosed if known.

Common trap: Maryland does not mandate a separate state flood disclosure — the requirement to carry flood insurance comes from the lender/NFIP for an SFHA property, not from a Maryland disclosure statute.

Disclosure vs. Disclaimer — and the Licensee's Floor

Maryland sellers of most residential resale property choose between a disclosure (affirmatively stating the condition of listed systems) and a disclaimer (selling "as is" without representations). A disclaimer, however, never excuses a seller from disclosing known latent defects that a buyer could not reasonably discover. The licensee's duty sits beneath both: regardless of which form the seller picks, the agent must disclose any environmental hazard the agent actually knows about. A buyer can waive an inspection, but cannot waive the agent's honesty.

Put the layers together for the exam: federal lead-paint and NFIP rules set the national floor; MDE lead registration, the Nontidal Wetlands Act, and the Critical Area Law add Maryland-specific obligations; and the property condition disclosure/disclaimer statute governs how the seller communicates known conditions. Misjudging which layer creates a given duty — for example, attributing the flood-insurance mandate to a Maryland statute instead of the lender — is the most common mistake on this material.