Bay Restoration Fee

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The Bay Restoration Fee is a fee established by the State of Maryland. The County is required to collect this fee for the State.

The Bay Restoration Fee is $15.00 per quarter charge ($60 per year) on the sewer bills of property owners served by public sewer. The Bay Restoration Fee is $60 per year for property owners who have private septic systems and are not served by public water this is billed on property tax bills each year. Other information on the Bay Restoration Fee.

Section 9-1605.2 of the Environment Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland created the Bay Restoration Fund which was established by the State of Maryland and is dedicated to improving the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay. In order to provide funding for these water improvement projects, the State has assessed a "Bay Restoration Fee" to most property owners in Maryland. The County, Town or private utility provider is required to collect this fee on behalf of the State.

The first part of the program began January 1, 2005, with the assessment of a $7.50 per quarter charge ($30 per year) on the sewer or water bills of property owners served by public utilities. The second part of the program became effective October 1, 2005, and requires us to collect $30 per year from property owners who have private septic systems and are not served by public water. The County has determined that adding this annual charge to the property tax bill is the most cost effective way to accomplish this.

The fee that appears on the tax bill is only for those properties that are served by some type of private septic system; payment is not required on vacant land and properties served by public water and / or sewer will be billed via the utility bill. The list of County property owners who are served by private systems was compiled from many different sources. Please contact us immediately at 410-996-5385 or via email at tax@ccgov.org if you believe you were erroneously charged.

Bay Restoration Fee Financial Hardship Exemption - in order to qualify for an exemption to the Bay Restoration Fee, the property must be residential owner-occupied property, the property owner has applied for and received the Homeowners' Property Tax Credit for the same fiscal year, and the property owner must be receiving benefits from at least one (1) of the following programs:

Energy assistance subsidy
Public Assistance – WIC, Temporary Cash Assistance, Food Stamps
Social Security Disability Income (SSI) or Veterans Disability Benefits

Additionally, the Bay Restoration Fee Financial Hardship Exemption application must be received by September 1 of any given fiscal tax year. This date may be extended to coincide with the filing deadline for the Homeowners' Property Tax Credit as determined by the State of Maryland.

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