(a) In this section, "supplemental environmental project" means an environmentally beneficial project or activity that is not required by law but that an alleged violator agrees to undertake as part of a settlement or enforcement action. (b) (1) Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Department shall create and maintain a database of supplemental environmental projects that the Department may consider for implementation as part of a settlement of an enforcement action. (2) In creating and maintaining the database, the Department shall solicit input from communities in the State that are overburdened, underserved, or otherwise disadvantaged by environmental stressors. (3) The Department shall include oyster repletion projects in the database. (c) (1) The Department may, with reasonable justification, consider a supplemental environmental project that is not included in the database required in subsection (b) of this section as part of a settlement of an enforcement action. (2) The Department may not choose a supplemental environmental project offered by the violator unless the Department: (i) Approves the project; and (ii) Maintains documentation of the approval. (d) Before a violator undertakes a supplemental environmental project, the Department shall: (1) Give priority consideration to the selection of a project located in the same geographic area impacted by the alleged violation; and (2) Ensure that the scope and cost of the chosen project is reasonably related to the nexus of the violation or the adverse impact of the violation and that the cost is sufficient to allow the Department and the alleged violator to reach a settlement.
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