PRINTER'S NO. 909 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE BILL No.873 Session of 2025 INTRODUCED BY ZIMMERMAN, HAMM, REICHARD, GREINER, PICKETT, KAUFFMAN, KRUPA, SCIALABBA, JAMES, GLEIM, GROVE, MOUL, ROWE AND METZGAR, MARCH 11, 2025 REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE PROTECTION, MARCH 11, 2025 AN ACT Providing for an erosion and sediment control permit, for compliance, for annual report and for duties of the Department of Environmental Protection. The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows: Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the Erosion and Sediment Control Permit Act. Section 2. Definitions. The following words and phrases when used in this act shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: "Administratively incomplete." Lacking required documents and related information necessary for department review. "Department." The Department of Environmental Protection of the Commonwealth. "Licensed engineer." An engineer licensed under the act of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 May 23, 1945 (P.L.913, No.367), known as the Engineer, Land Surveyor and Geologist Registration Law. Section 3. Permit requirements. Except those projects subject to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System requirements, a person proposing an earth disturbance activity regulated by 25 Pa. Code Ch. 102 (relating to erosion and sediment control) shall obtain an erosion and sediment control permit from the department in accordance with 25 Pa. Code Ch. 102 prior to commencing the earth disturbance activity. Section 4. Issuance of permit. (a) Issuance.--The department or a conservation district which has a delegation agreement executed with the department to administer and enforce all or a portion of the requirements contained in 25 Pa. Code Ch. 102 ( relating to erosion and sediment control) shall issue a permit within 45 days of submission of a permit application unless the permit application: (1) is administratively incomplete; or (2) fails to comply with the provisions of 25 Pa. Code Ch. 102. (b) Approval.--A permit application submitted in accordance with this act by a licensed engineer shall be approved within 20 days of receipt. An application shall include the name, signature and license number of the licensed engineer. (c) Notification of denial.--If a permit application required under this section is denied, the department shall notify the applicant in writing within five days of the denial of the permit application. The notification shall specify the reason for the denial of the permit application. 20250HB0873PN0909 - 2 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Section 5. Compliance with laws of this Commonwealth. The department, or a conservation district authorized under section 4, may impose permit terms and conditions necessary to ensure compliance with laws administered by the department. Section 6. Annual report. No later than January 31 of each year, the department shall submit an annual report to the General Assembly. At a minimum, the report shall contain the following: (1) Number of permit applications , broken down by industry sector, received under this act in the prior calendar year. (2) Number of permit applications , broken down by industry sector, approved. (3) Average time frame for review of applications, organized by regional office of the department. (4) Number of permit reviewers on staff in the department, including the number and names of licensed engineers, and the average workload of each permit reviewer, organized by regional office of the department. (5) Reasons cited for administrative or technical deficiencies or permit denials. (6) Total revenue of permit application fees collected under 25 Pa. Code Ch. 102 (relating to erosion and sediment control) and broken down by industry sector. Section 7. Effective date. This act shall take effect in 60 days. 20250HB0873PN0909 - 3 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26