Who Doesn't Get Charged

 Exemptions: The following shall not be assessed a Clean Water Act Fee:

• Property located within the municipal limits of the City of Bowie*
• Property owned by the state, a unit of state government, the county, a municipality, or a regularly organized Volunteer Fire Department that is used for public purposes

* Property located within the municipal limits of the City of Bowie is not assessed a Clean Water Act Fee since the City of Bowie administers its own stormwater program.

Who Gets Charged

All properties in Prince George’s County, with some exclusions, will be subject to the Clean Water Act Fee (CWAF) on an annual basis as follows:

• Unimproved properties are subject to One (1) Administrative Fee of $20.58 per tax account.
• Improved properties are subject to One (1) Administrative Fee of $20.58 per tax account, plus an Impervious Area Fee per property account, (“improved” means a property with some impervious area as defined in County Code).

Special Cases

Gravel

Gravel Parking Lots and Railroad (ballast section): Areas that are covered with gravel material to the point where water cannot infiltrate into the underlying soils (e.g., parking lots, roads, railroads, unspecified compacted gravel areas, etc.), and where natural hydrologic patterns are altered will be assessed a fee as follows:

• One (1) Administrative Fee of $20.58 per tax account
• 100% Impervious Area Fee, unless a hydrologic disconnection from culverts and tributaries can be demonstrated, in which case the Impervious Area Fee can be reduced up to 50% (see Credits page for more information on the CWAF reduction credits)

Gravel Driveway (applies to agricultural residences only):

• One (1) Administrative Fee of $20.58 per tax account.
• 100% Impervious Area Fee, unless a hydrologic disconnection from culverts and tributaries can be demonstrated, in which case the Impervious Area Fee can be reduced up to 50% (see Credits page for more information on the CWAF reduction credits)

Farms

Only for the principal residential structure: A property that has an agricultural use assessment as determined by the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation shall be subject to a CWAF, including both the Administrative and Impervious Area Fee, based on the impervious area measurement only for the principal residential structure located on the property. The portion of the land under agricultural use for agricultural purposes will not be charged a CWAF.