No one treats, composts, hauls, stores, distributes, or land-applies sewage sludge in Maryland without a Sewage Sludge Utilization Permit from the Department of the Environment, and COMAR 26.04.06.10 makes a performance bond part of the application. The amount turns on what you do with the sludge — from $10,000 for hauling and marketing up to $125,000 for an in-State treatment facility. Premiums cost 2% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, after a soft credit check that never affects your score.
















Once you know which activity tier your permit falls in, this is a short application. Enter the amount, consent to a soft pull, and file with MDE:
Your entity details, the permit number or numbers the bond covers, the bond amount for your activity tier, an effective date, and the mailing address for the original — plus a one-time consent to a soft credit pull.
Your exact premium is calculated from the amount you enter — 2% of the bond amount, with a $100 minimum. Larger facility bonds may draw a brief review before issuance.
The executed bond arrives by email and the wet-ink original is mailed to the address you give. The principal signs the original before it is filed with the Department.
Maryland regulates sewage sludge — biosolids and septage — under Environment Article Title 9, Subtitle 2, with the operating rules in COMAR 26.04.06. A person may not treat, compost, transport, store, distribute, market, land-apply, incinerate, or run a research or innovative project with sewage sludge in the State without a Sewage Sludge Utilization Permit from the Maryland Department of the Environment.
The performance bond is filed with the permit application and is payable to the Department, obligating you to comply with the terms and conditions of the permit. A permittee may satisfy the requirement with liability insurance or another approved form of security instead, or by depositing cash, negotiable federal or State bonds, or other acceptable securities with the Department. Municipal landfills meeting the stated conditions, complying Class A sludge marketers, and local, State, or federal government agencies are exempt.
The amount is tiered by activity, not by revenue, and a permittee holding several permits pays a formula rather than a stack: the amount required for the first site plus 40 percent of the amount required for each additional site, capped at $200,000. The Department may release the bond once it determines all terms and conditions of the permit have been complied with. Utilization permits run up to ten years — five for agricultural, marginal land, and research projects — so plan the bond around a long term and renew before it lapses.
These are the actual underwriting fields, including your bond amount, permit numbers, the mailing address for the wet-ink original, and a one-time consent to a soft credit pull.
Start the application →Premiums from $100, soft pull only. Enter your amount and file with MDE the same day. Free until issued.