Environmental Control Board

Popular Services

What We Do

The Environmental Control Board (ECB) is responsible for the adjudication of environmental citations issued by other agencies that affect sanitation, environmental, health, safety, and other quality of life issues.

At the ECB, we aim to provide a fair and educational hearing process where property owners, businesses, and City residents can challenge their citations in an informal setting. The hearings are not court proceedings, and they are not presided over by judge. Rather, the hearings are run by hearing officers who are barred attorneys in good standing with the State.

The hearing process is very simple. During the hearing, the City agency that issued the citation has the burden of proof. As the respondent, you have an opportunity to ask questions, present your own evidence, and present any additional testimony. At the conclusion of the hearing, the ECB's independent Administrative Hearing Officer determines whether the citation is valid and whether the imposed fine amount should be dismissed, reduced, or upheld.

The following City agencies can issue environmental citations:

The Department of Housing and Community Development
The Baltimore City Health Department
The Department of Transportation
The Fire Department
The Department of Public Works
The Department of Recreations and Parks
The Police Department

The ECB also hears water bill disputes and Water-4-All denials, after they have been reviewed by the Water Advocacy & Customer Appeals (WACA) office.

Separate from the hearings, the ECB is also home to BMORE Beautiful, a grassroots beautification program.

Office Hours

8:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Walk-ins are for general inquiries only.

All requests must be submitted in writing via postal mail, email, or fax. If sending a letter via postal mail, we would recommend using certified mail so that it can be tracked.

Email a Request

BMORE Beautiful

BMORE Beautiful is a grassroots peer-to-peer program created to change behaviors and attitudes towards the beautification of the City.

Learn more about this program

COVID-19 Impact on Hearings

Until further notice, all ECB hearings will be held remotely.

For information on the ECB's remote hearing process, please review the remote hearing page. If you are not equipped to attend a remote hearing, please contact the agency to request an accommodation.

Board Meetings

Meetings are held virtually at 11:00 am EST on the third Tuesday of every month. The next Board Meeting is February 17, 2026 via ZoomGov at 11 am. To dial in, please call 551 285 1373.

Meeting ID: 160 495 7514.

Passcode: 372011

Public Information Act Requests

The agency head or Executive Director is the custodian of records for this entity. You can request records by writing a letter to Brittany (Vendryes) Richardson at One South Street, 800 Suite, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, or by sending an email. If you have any questions, you can call our office at 410.396.6909.