Any violation of Chapter 18A, Article 6 (the Building Energy Use Benchmarking and Performance Standards law) is a civil, Class A violation. This includes failure to complete required annual energy benchmarking, meet the interim or final performance standard, or file a building performance improvement plan according to each covered building’s deadlines.

Fines and Penalties | Citation Information

Fines and Penalties

$500 is the fine for a Class A violation. Subsequent citations of $750 could be issued. Citations also carry a request for an Order of Abatement meaning that if the building still does not come into compliance after the Order of Abatement is entered, then a defendant could be found in contempt of the order and the judge could impose further sanctions including additional fines if the court sees fit. 

County Code, Sec. 1-19. Fines and penalties.

Class A Criminal Violation

• Maximum Fine: $1000
• Maximum Jail Term: 6 months

Class A Civil Violation Maximum Penalty

• Initial Offense: $500
• Repeat Offense: $750

County Code Sec. 1-20. Other remedies; continuing violations.

1. In addition to or instead of any other remedy allowed by law, the County may enforce any County law, or correct any violation of County law, by seeking appropriate injunctive declaratory, or other relief from any court with jurisdiction.
2. Any court with jurisdiction may temporarily or permanently enjoin any violation of County law, order any person to correct any violation of County law, or order any other appropriate remedy.
3. Each day any violation of County law continues is a separate offense.

State law has recently increased counties’ fining authority from a maximum of $1,000 to $5,000. This change has not yet been reflected in County code, but could be before the interim or final performance deadlines.

New: Legislation ( HB 49) passed by the Maryland General Assembly this session will go into effect on October 1. This law will exempt buildings in Montgomery County from having to comply with the State's benchmarking and BEPS requirements. Buildings covered by the County's benchmarking/BEPS program would instead be subject to County requirements. This law also authorizes Montgomery County to impose and collect penalties up to the same amount and in the same manner allowed by MDE under §2-610. This change has not yet been reflected in County code, but could be before the interim or final performance deadlines. The County Council would have to adopt any changes to the penalty provisions of the County’s BEPS program. 

Citation Information

Citation status and court scheduling information can be obtained for active cases by by searching the citation number on the  Maryland Judiciary Case Search website. 

If you received a citation but have since resolved the issue and have received confirmation from DEP staff that the citation will be dismissed without prejudice, you may still receive a letter informing you of a court hearing date. The County Attorney can only file a dismissal with the Court once the District Court has a trial date set. As such, though you may have received a notice of a court date, please refer to DEP confirmation about your citation status. Once a dismissal is filed, a copy of the official dismissal letter will be mailed to the defendant at the address on the citation, after court has taken place. Please contact [email protected] with questions related to citations, court dates, and dismissals.