Dorchester County - Well and On-Site Sewage Disposal Activities - Privatization Program

Dorchester permits private well and septic work

Maryland’s Department of the Environment can authorize private providers to perform certain delegated well and septic activities in Dorchester County. Both the county government and its delegated approval authority—the local health department or county agency—must request the program. Participants must be Maryland-licensed environmental health specialists with satisfactory experience and meet added work-quality requirements. The local approval authority must review and approve or reject their work within its delegated powers. The Department must define covered activities, specify whether the program is time-limited or ongoing, and require reporting, performance monitoring, and at least annual compliance audits. It must consider consumer protections, including fee caps and ways to settle disputes; these protections are not guaranteed. Participants must carry appropriate insurance and provide financial safeguards, including protection against State losses and bonds or similar security in Department-set amounts. The program must follow procurement laws, set ethics and conflict-of-interest rules, and transfer records to the local approval authority. Those records are subject to Maryland’s public records law. The Department and county must work together on implementation, and the Department can issue regulations. The Department can suspend or stop the program for noncompliance, reporting or monitoring failures, or health or environmental risks. The law took effect July 1, 2025, and expires automatically at the end of June 30, 2028.