MD HB701

Requires the Maryland Department of the Environment to adopt regulations establishing and maintaining a list of qualified vernal pools and protections for these pools and their surrounding buffers

Defines "qualified vernal pools" as confined depressions with seasonal surface water that provide breeding habitat for obligate species (native amphibians and invertebrates) but do not meet federal wetland delineation criteria for existing protections

Prohibits regulated activities within qualified vernal pools and buffers, including excavation, dredging, filling, changing drainage patterns, and removing vegetation—with exemptions for agricultural and forestry activities

Mandates a mitigation hierarchy for any permitted impacts: first avoid, then minimize, then compensate for unavoidable losses to vernal pools

Effective date: October 1, 2026