Section 8-1002 - Powers and duties of DepartmentThe Department shall:
(1) Develop and implement a program to educate the public on every phase of shore and bank erosion, its causes and effects, the locations where erosion is a problem, and steps to be taken to control erosion;(2) Review petitions for formation of shore erosion control districts presented to any county and report to the county as provided in § 21-303 of the Local Government Article;(3) Provide technical assistance to individual property owners, municipalities, and counties having specific shore and bank erosion problems;(4) Design or cause to be designed shore erosion control projects, including vegetative cover, in shore erosion control districts;(5) Enter into agreements with any person to construct shore erosion control projects;(6) Administer the Fund to provide loans to any person in support of construction of shore erosion control projects;(7) Supervise or provide supervision of design and erection of any shore protective device the Fund finances in whole or part;(8) Prepare requests for appropriation of funds necessary to maintain the Fund;(9) Cooperate with the following units:(i) The State Highway Administration for shore erosion control where essential to protect municipal, county, or State roads;(ii) The United States Army Corps of Engineers to conduct shore erosion studies; and(iii) The Soil Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture to evaluate and apply vegetative measures for shore erosion control;(10) Design, construct, and maintain shore erosion control works on State-owned lands if these projects are included in the budget for the Fund;(11) Actively seek to obtain available funds from the federal government for shore erosion control projects; and(12) Adopt regulations to implement this subtitle.