The Environment Maryland Department Of

The Maryland Department of the Environment, Office of Fiscal Services Division (doing business as State of Maryland), operates as a U.S. state government entity delivering environmental regulatory oversight, water quality management, drinking water infrastructure financing, and hazardous waste remediation services to federal agencies as a grant recipient (99% of recent awards are prime grants rather than contracts). The entity does not compete for federal contracts but administers federal environmental grant programs and provides specialized regulatory and technical services to EPA, Department of Interior, Department of Homeland Security, and other federal agencies under cooperative agreements and formula grants.

MDE's footprint concentrates overwhelmingly in grant administration rather than contract performance. Federal grants account for the vast majority of awards, anchored by substantial capitalization grants for state revolving funds (drinking water and clean water infrastructure financing), nonpoint source implementation programs, abandoned mine land reclamation, and Superfund remediation oversight. Representative recent work includes a $27.29 million Drinking Water State Revolving Fund capitalization grant (EPA Region 3, CFDA 66.468, July 2025) providing low-interest financing to public water systems for drinking water infrastructure; a $71.5 million Clean Water State Revolving Fund grant (EPA Region 3, CFDA 66.458, July 2025) financing municipal wastewater treatment and stormwater projects; and a $9.458 million Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Emerging Contaminants grant (EPA Region 3, CFDA 66.442, January 2026) addressing PFAS in small disadvantaged communities with a subaward to the City of Salisbury for water treatment facility design and construction. MDE also administers a $4.8 million Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation grant (OSMRE, CFDA 15.252, October 2025) for coal mining site reclamation across Maryland and a $2.27 million Regulatory Program grant (OSMRE, CFDA 15.250, January 2026) for surface coal mining permitting and enforcement.

Customer concentration is dominated by EPA entities. EPA Region 3 and EPA headquarters combined account for 267 of 359 awards (69% by count, though dollar concentration is lower). The Department of Interior Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement places 44 awards for coal mining regulation and reclamation. The Department of Homeland Security Coast Guard, Department of Health and Human Services (FDA, NIH, CDC), and FEMA account for smaller shares. By potential dollar value, FDA's Maryland MQSA (Medical Quality Standards Act) contract ($1.34 million, August 2022, through March 2028) anchors the non-EPA set, along with NIH facility permits and Coast Guard Memorandum of Agreement cost-reimbursement orders.

MDE acts as a direct federal grant recipient, not a subcontractor. It administers revolving loan funds, regulatory programs, and technical assistance initiatives on behalf of federal agencies. The entity's recent award velocity shows 26 awards in 2022, 35 in 2023, 30 in 2024, and 28 in 2025, with a combined potential value of $6.1 million across 520 total awards (though obligated dollars — $2.47 billion — far exceed potential value, reflecting the nature of state revolving fund administration where capitalization grants cycle repeatedly). Thirty-four awards (combined potential value $1.4 million) reach completion within the next twenty-four months and will face recompete.

MDE's role is entirely administrative and regulatory. It does not compete in contract competitions, does not subcontract to other vendors, and does not purchase goods or services through federal vehicles. Its federal relationship consists entirely of receiving grants to carry out state environmental protection mandates (water quality management, drinking water safety, air quality monitoring, surface coal mining regulation, Superfund response, brownfields remediation, and hazardous waste oversight) on behalf of federal grantor agencies. Sub-awards flow from MDE to municipalities, counties, regional planning organizations, and other state agencies for on-the-ground project implementation (e.g., water treatment facility construction, stream restoration, pump station relocation), but MDE itself does not act as a prime contractor nor engage subcontractors in the traditional federal procurement sense.