Maryland’s Forest Conservation Act and Critical Area Act: Extending NEPA-like Analysis to Non-Government Actions

ABSTRACT The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) has since 1970 functioned as an innovative, interdisciplinary planning tool for actions of the federal government. However, elements of NEPA have also entered state and local environmental planning regulations and processes over the years. The concept of interdisciplinary evaluation of alternatives established under NEPA for federal actions has thereby influenced planning of many non-federal development actions under state and local regulatory jurisdiction as well. The following paper discusses how aspects of the NEPA process may be found in two state-level environmental planning statutes established by the State of Maryland: the Maryland Forest Conservation Act and the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Act. The former applies to development projects throughout most of Maryland, and the latter applies to development projects in lands close to Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay. If environmental planning of the type promoted by NEPA is to be successful on a macro level, then those planning objectives must be extended to non-government as well as government projects. State environmental planning statutes such as Maryland’s accomplish that purpose. Furthermore, as federal politicians continue to emphasize federalism and devolution of regulatory requirements to states and localities, state environmental planning requirements such as Maryland’s may play an even increased role in environmental protection in the future.