Off-Grid Living in Somerset County, Maryland

I've been digging into what off-grid living actually looks like in Somerset County, Maryland, and I want to be upfront: this is research, not legal advice, and not something I've personally built out there. Treat it as a starting map, then call the offices listed below before you buy land or start construction.

Zoning is countywide here. Unlike a lot of rural counties where individual towns each run their own rules, Somerset has one zoning ordinance covering the whole county, administered by the Department of Technical & Community Services (formerly Planning & Zoning). That ordinance sets what you can build and where, and it operates under authority granted by Maryland's Land Use Article. If your land sits near tidal water, there's an added layer: a Critical Area Overlay District tied to the state's Natural Resources Article, which brings extra restrictions.

Tiny homes, THOWs, and RVs as permanent dwellings are the fuzziest part of this research. I could not find an official Somerset document spelling out a size threshold or a clear rule for RV/tiny-home permanent occupancy. What I found suggests the Zoning Inspector makes these calls case by case, but that's not confirmed in an official ordinance text. If this is your plan, call Planning & Zoning before you buy anything.

Building permits are required, and the county has adopted its own building code ordinance and fee schedule (both administered locally). One state-driven wrinkle worth knowing: Maryland's newer EV-charging legislation now pushes Somerset to require certain electrical panel capacity and circuit installation specs on qualifying permits, so ask about that if you're wiring a new structure.

Septic and wells run through the Somerset County Health Department's Environmental Health division, which does perc tests, issues construction permits, and inspects systems, under state delegation from Maryland's well/septic licensing framework. I did not find a Somerset-specific allowance for composting toilets, so I'd assume the state's general restrictive stance applies until the health department tells you otherwise.

Greywater appears to just follow Maryland's state law limiting reuse to shower, tub, and bathroom sink water. I didn't find a Somerset-specific ordinance layered on top, but that's not fully confirmed either.

Rainwater harvesting looks permitted by default, no county restriction turned up in this research, likely governed by the state's environmental site design rules.

Full utility disconnection is genuinely unclear. Somerset runs a Sanitary District serving parts of the county with water and sewer, and properties outside that service area typically rely on private well and septic, which is fine as long as Health Department approval is in hand. But whether county code requires connecting to electric service where it's available, I couldn't confirm.

Bottom line: Somerset's zoning and building rules are centralized at the county level, which actually makes life a little simpler than in places with a patchwork of town rules, but the details on tiny homes, composting toilets, and utility disconnection need direct confirmation from the county offices below.