Features Business/Policy Regulations State United States
Maryland Register publishes final NMP notice

October 9, 2012, Annapolis, MD – The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) recently announced that the Final Notice to Adopt its revised nutrient management regulations is published in the October 5, 2012, issue of the Maryland Register.

The regulations will go take effect October 15, 2012 and are designed to achieve consistency in the way all sources of nutrients are managed and help Maryland meet nitrogen and phosphorus reduction goals spelled out in its Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay.  

The final regulations include one technical, non-substantive change in the provision that refers to nutrient application setbacks and the department’s consideration of new practices developed by the USDA’s National Resources Conservation Service and the University of Maryland. MDA revised the provision to add “and other land grant universities.”

To read the Final Notice to Adopt, visit the Maryland Register.

A copy of the final regulations is available on MDA’s website.

A Frequently Asked Questions document is available online.

The Nutrient Management Advisory Committee has been working on the revised regulations for nearly two years. The new rules were originally introduced last October; however, due to overwhelming feedback, Governor Martin O’Malley asked that the proposed regulations be placed on hold to provide an additional opportunity for stakeholders to further discuss the proposal as well as input from his BayStat Scientific Panel. The regulations were revised and published in the Maryland Register on June 29, 2012. The MDA then held a series of four public meetings across the state in July to provide information to farmers, environmental interests, local governments and other stakeholders on the proposed changes to Maryland’s Nutrient Management Regulations and offer an opportunity for public comment.