Off-Grid Living in Dorchester County, Maryland

I've been digging through Dorchester County, Maryland's code to figure out what off-grid living actually looks like here, and the short version is: this is a countywide-zoned county with active health and building oversight, not a "wide open" rural spot. Here's what I found, organized by topic.

Zoning. Dorchester County has had a countywide Zoning Ordinance since 1998 (Ordinance No. 259), administered by the Department of Planning and Zoning. What you can do with raw land depends entirely on the zoning district it sits in, so this is very much a "call and ask" situation before you buy.

Dwellings, tiny homes, RVs. The county's code draws a sharp line between a "manufactured home" (built on a permanent chassis, connectable to utilities) and a "recreational vehicle" (explicitly described as not intended for permanent dwelling). RVs and travel trailers are not permitted as permanent residences. Manufactured home placement is also constrained by older zoning provisions tied to a 1999 cutoff. Accessory dwelling units seem limited to an "accessory apartment" inside an owner-occupied home; I could not confirm whether a detached tiny house qualifies as its own dwelling under current code, so ask Planning and Zoning directly before assuming yes.

Building permits. Dorchester has adopted the International Building Code and, for one- and two-family homes, the International Residential Code, each with local amendments. Notably, no building permit gets issued until the county Health Department has approved your water supply and waste disposal plan (and stormwater/grading permits are secured where applicable). Small accessory structures under 300 square feet are exempt from IRC review, and structures between 300 and 500 square feet get modified treatment, per the county's building code chapter.

Septic and composting toilets. Dorchester adopts Maryland's own minimum statewide standard (COMAR 26.04.02) as its floor, so this is a state-set baseline with county enforcement. A permit from the Dorchester County Health Department is required before any septic or well work, and an owner can do the installation personally as long as it's permitted and inspected. I found nothing specific to composting toilets in county code, so treat that as unconfirmed and check with the Health Department's Environmental Health Division.

Greywater. No county-specific greywater rule turned up in my research. This appears to default to Maryland's state standard, which allows reuse of shower/tub/bathroom-sink water under certain conditions.

Rainwater harvesting. Same story: no county ordinance found. This inherits the state MDE baseline, which permits rainwater collection for non-potable uses.

Wells. Well permits run through the same Health Department chapter as septic, and the county's Environmental Health Division lists wells and water-supply sanitary surveys among its core duties. This is the state's well-permitting delegation being carried out locally.

Full off-grid / utility disconnection. There's no standalone Dorchester ordinance addressing disconnecting from the electric grid. But because a building permit can't be issued until water supply and sewage disposal are approved by the Health Department, going fully "off-grid" without an approved well/septic system is effectively not workable for anything requiring a permit.

My honest read: Dorchester is livable off-grid in the sense of well/septic/solar, but it is not a lawless-land county, and RV or tiny-home-as-primary-residence plans need real vetting first.