Stormwater Facility Maintenance Program

Maintenance Transfer Program

If you own a stormwater facility and would like to transfer it into the County's Stormwater Facility Maintenance Program, use the guidance outlined here. Residential facilities located on HOA/CA common areas are eligible for transfer into the County's maintenance program.

The transfer process has three stages:

• Stage 1: Gather Documents and Contact DEP 
  Gather information to prepare the application.

• Stage 2: Submit Application 
  Submit the completed application and required documents for DEP and County Attorney review.

• Stage 3: Record Documents 
  Finalize the transfer by recording the documents and obtaining a certified copy.

Once you have completed these stages, the County becomes responsible for structural maintenance of the facility, such as leaks, stone replacement or replacing concrete and pipes. The property owner remains the owner of the facility and continues to be responsible for non-structural maintenance around the facility, such as trash removal, grass cutting, and landscaping.

DEP highly recommends that you contact us before you submit your transfer paperwork to ensure that all the necessary documents have been prepared and to learn more about the transfer process. 

NOTE: Although DEP encourages homeowners' associations to submit transfer documents as soon as possible, transfer documents will not be forwarded to the County Administrative Officer until the facility has an approved final inspection and the facility is in proper working condition as determined by DEP. However, DEP review of the transfer documents can occur concurrently with repair work to bring the facility to proper working condition.

Stage 1: Gather Documents and Contact DEP

A variety of documentation is required for the transfer. This documentation helps to ensure that you are the verified owner and that the former owner (in many cases the developer) transferred the common area property, such as the stormwater facility, as required. The documents required include:

• Stormwater easement and covenants

• Information on the stormwater facility

• Information on property location

Use the following outline as a guide for gathering the appropriate information for the application:

 

1. List the number and types of stormwater facilities you wish to transfer and the property parcel(s) numbers (tax account numbers) on which the facilities are located.

   • Much of this information can be found on the maintenance/inspection letters provided by DEP annually or every 3 years.

   • If unknown, contact DEP for the stormwater facility numbers (each stormwater facility has a number, which is separate from the property parcel number).

   • Note that storm drains are not part of the Stormwater Facility Maintenance Program and may not be transferred.

2. Provide a deed for the property.

   • Was the property transferred from the developer to the homeowner's association? A deed will determine whether the developer transferred the common property. A copy of the original deed that shows transfer of the parcel from the developer to the property owner is a vital document.

3. Provide the appropriate easements and covenants for the stormwater facility or facilities. The easement defines the boundaries within which DEP will have legal authority to access the property to inspect and structurally maintain the facility. The covenant defines the stormwater responsibilities of the homeowners' association and DEP.

   • If your facility has an existing "Grant of Stormwater Management Easement and Right-of-Way" and "Declaration of Covenants Inspection/Maintenance of Stormwater Management Facility," complete the  Amendment of Declaration of Covenants  (.doc, 37KB) and attach the text description of the easement area (metes and bounds) as Exhibit A, the graphic depiction of the easement area as Exhibit B, and the original Declaration of Covenant as Exhibit C.

   • If your facility does not have an existing stormwater easement or covenant, complete the  Grant of Stormwater Management Easement (.doc, 53KB) and the  Declaration of Covenant (.doc, 51KB) documents. If requested, DEP can help provide the required easement metes and bounds (Exhibit A to the easement) and graphic depiction (Exhibit B to the easement) for the facility. The new Declaration of Covenant will be Exhibit C to the easement. Please be sure to request this service in a written letter when submitting your application documents to DEP. If you are a Condominium owner, please contact DEP prior to submitting your application because additional documents are required with your application.

   • Consider hiring an attorney. DEP suggests that property owners hire an attorney to assist in researching and preparing documents to complete the transfer process. An attorney can be especially helpful if the deed can't be located.

4. Provide your most recent tax bill. Available online.

Do You Need Help?

DEP is happy to assist you with this process. Please email us at  SWMF.Transfer@montgomerycountymd.gov or call 311 and provide the location of the stormwater facility. DEP can provide the structure type, the facility number, and insight into what to expect during the transfer process.

Stage 2: Submit Application to DEP

Once most or all of the information described under Stage 1 has been collected, fill out the  Stormwater Facility Maintenance Transfer Application form.  

Instructions for filling out the form are available.

You must complete, sign, and notarize all the appropriate transaction documents, such as grants of easement, declaration of covenants, or covenant amendments. Submit the application form and supporting documents for legal review by DEP and the Montgomery County Office of the County Attorney. Refrain from executing the documents until DEP approves the drafts. Please provide drafts in Word format for easier editing.

After legal review and certification, the County Attorney returns the documents to DEP for submission to the County Administrative Officer. After the County Administrative Officer has signed the documents, DEP returns the fully executed documents to you so they can be recorded in the land records (see below).

Stage 3: Record Documents

Once DEP returns the fully executed documents to you, the transfer process is almost finished. All that remains is for the signed documents to be recorded at  County Land Records. You must record the document with County Land Records.  Be sure to record only documents that have been signed and approved by the County. Notify DEP when you have recorded the documents. 

The official approval letter will not be sent until you provide DEP notice that the documents have been recorded with County Land Records. Once DEP receives notification, Montgomery County becomes the only entity responsible for structural maintenance of the stormwater facility. You will receive a letter indicating such.

The time needed to complete the full transfer process varies depending on:

1. Whether the application was completed correctly and, if not, how quickly corrections were submitted to DEP

2. Whether you signed the application as requested and provided a copy of the deed, property tax bill, easement information, and eventually executed the amended covenant or new covenant

3. The number of transfer applications currently being processed

Before submitting your application to DEP, contact us at  SWMF.Transfer@montgomerycountymd.gov  or call 311 to confirm that you have all the information you need to submit an application.