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Maryland/Virginia Boundary on Potomac Settled

Potomac River
creative commons
Potomac River

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Maryland court has weighed in on a dispute over the state boundaries of Virginia and Maryland along the Potomac River.

At issue was whether the state line between the states moved over time as the profile of the shoreline changed through natural erosion and growth.

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals court ruled Friday that the low-water-mark boundary in the Potomac River moves and isn't fixed where the mark was when the boundary was established in 1877.

It affirmed the lower court's decision that a landowner on the Maryland side of the Potomac River did not own small amounts of property formed by growth on the Virginia side.

The court agreed with a friend of the court brief filed by attorneys general from Virginia and Maryland in May.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.