Additional Instructions:

The map presents the entirety of Maryland by default, but as a user zooms in with the + and – buttons, the site clusters disperse and reveal individual sites along with the relevant compliance status and available information from the Open MDE portal. An address search bar is also available by clicking on the magnifying glass icon next to the legend to help users locate their community or a location of interest. 

The map legend on the left of the screen explains  the symbols at each site. If a square symbol is shown, its size corresponds generally with the number of times that a site has been inspected by a Maryland Department of the Environment (“MDE”) inspector since July 1, 2016, (the earliest date in the Open MDE portal). The color of the square is determined by the past and present status of inspections of the permitted site. 

Green Square: each inspection resulted in a finding of “compliance”

Half Green Square:  relatively minor issues, such as one or a few inspections that result in findings on the MDE inspection report of “additional inspection required” or “compliance assistance”. 

Half Red Square: significant issues based on MDE inspection findings, such as a few findings of “additional inspection required” or “compliance assistance”, or a single past finding of either “noncompliance” or “corrective action required.” 

Red Square: repeated findings by an MDE inspector of “noncompliance”, which may also include a current status of “noncompliance.” 

Diamond: the site has been found in significant noncompliance by the MDE Water Compliance Program, with the color indicating whether the violation has been resolved or not. 

Star Symbol: the site has recently had an enforcement action taken (e.g., penalties or a legally enforceable order) by MDE to resolve a significant violation. 

Regardless of which symbol is present on the map, the user can click to see the latest entry and all previous data entries of inspection results, along with any significant violations or enforcement actions. We strongly encourage the user to proceed to the Open MDE portal for more information.

About: this Maryland Violation Tracker presents MDE data showing inspection results, significant violations identified, and enforcement actions taken by the Department’s Water and Science Administration. These data can be found on the Department’s “Open MDE” data portal at: https://mdedataviewer.mde.state.md.us/. We encourage users of this map to visit the Open MDE data portal to see the full scope of updated compliance information available, including Water and Science Administration links to the “inspections”, “violations”, and “enforcement actions” databases. The data depicted on this tracker are updated periodically, but the latest data are only available on the Open MDE portal. All data in this Tracker are reproductions of MDE records posted on the Open MDE portal and the Chesapeake Legal Alliance cannot guarantee the accuracy of MDE data.

In addition to the compliance data, this tracker tool highlights communities more affected by environmental injustices and the proximity of those communities to sites that may be releasing illegal or excessive amounts of water pollution. The areas shaded in varying shades of red correspond to census tracts with higher environmental justice (“EJ”) index values as determined by the methodology used in the the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EJSCREEN Mapping Tool. The scores are a composite of Demographic data and proximity to toxic concentrations of waste water pollution. The darker the shade of red of a particular census tract the greater the index score, or vulnerability based on those criteria.

For more information about the tracker or how to use it, please email or . For more information about a particular site, please visit the Open MDE portal. For information about MDE enforcement and compliance activities, including annual reports visit the MDE Enforcement and Compliance site. For more information about EJ indices please visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EJSCREEN: Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool and please also visit the Maryland EJScreen Mapper Tool. The Maryland EJScreen Mapper Tool is a project of the University of Maryland School of Public Health Community Engagement, Environmental Justice & Health (CEEJH) lab, produced in conjunction with several state, federal, and academic partners. If you have a specific concern about your community or favorite waterways and how clean water permits and Maryland and federal clean water regulations might help, feel free to fill out this form.

This tracker tool was produced by The Commons. The Chesapeake Legal Alliance thanks The Commons for their technical support.