PRINTER'S NO. 112
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.174
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY BARTOLOTTA, HUTCHINSON AND STEFANO,
JANUARY 23, 2025
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, JANUARY 23, 2025
AN ACT
Providing for erosion and sediment control requirements.
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 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 complete." Contains the necessary
information, maps, fees and other documents requested as part of
the permit application process, notwithstanding whether the
information, maps and other documents would be sufficient to
justify issuance of the permit.
"Conservation district." A c onservation district, as defined
in section 3(c) of the act of May 15, 1945 (P.L.547, No.217),
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17 known as the Conservation District Law, which has a delegation
agreement executed with the department to administer and enforce
all or a portion of the requirements under 25 Pa. Code Ch. 102
(relating to erosion and sediment control).
"Department." The Department of Environmental Protection of
the Commonwealth.
"Earth disturbance." A construction activity or other human
activity which disturbs the surface of the land.
"Expedited application." An application for a permit which
is signed and sealed by a licensed professional.
"Licensed professional." A professional engineer, lan dscape
architect, geologist or land surveyor licensed to practice in
this Commonwealth.
"Oil and gas activities." Activities associated with oil and
gas exploration, production, gathering, processing, treatment
operations or transmission facilities.
"Permit." An erosion and sediment control permit required
under this act.
Section 3. Erosion and sediment control permits.
(a) Permit requirement.-- A person seeking to commence a
project involving oil and gas activities that will cause five
acres or more of earth disturbance at one time shall submit an
application and obtain a permit from the department or a
conservation district before commencing the project.
(b) Review and issuance of permit.--
(1) The department or conservation district shall
complete a review of a permit application within five
business days of receipt to determine whether the permit
application is administratively complete, including entering
receipt of the application into the department's publicly
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30 accessible online permit tracking system. If a permit
application is determined to be incomplete, the applicant
shall be notified in writing within five business days. The
notification shall specify the deficiency of the permit
application.
(2) If a permit application complies with 25 Pa. Code
Ch. 102 (relating to erosion and sediment control) and is
complete as determined by the department or a conservation
district, the department or conservation district shall issue
a permit to the applicant within 43 business days of
determining that the application is administratively complete
or within 14 business days of determining that the
application is administratively complete in the case of an
expedited application.
(3) If the department determines that the permit
application is technically deficient in that it does not
comply with 25 Pa. Code Ch. 102, notification to the
applicant shall specify each provision with which the
application does not comply. Nothing under this paragraph
shall be construed to extend the permit review time periods
under paragraph (2).
(4) The department shall create and implement an
expedited permit process for an application which is signed
and sealed by a licensed professional. An expedited permit
may be utilized for all projects except the following:
(i) Projects in a watershed designated as high
quality or exceptional value under 25 Pa. Code Ch. 93
(relating to water quality standards).
(ii) Projects located entirely in or on a
floodplain.
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30 (iii) Projects on lands that are known to be
currently contaminated by the release of regulated
substances as defined in section 103 of the act of May
19, 1995 (P.L.4, No.2), known as the Land Recycling and
Environmental Remediation Standards Act.
(iv) Transmission projects.
(5) If a permit application is denied, the department or
conservation district shall notify the applicant in writing
within five business days of denying the permit application.
The notification shall specify the justification for denying
the permit application, including citing the relevant law or
regulation of this Commonwealth which is not sufficiently
addressed in the permit.
Section 4. Compliance with laws of this Commonwealth.
The department or a conservation district shall utilize a
general permit to implement this act. The general permit shall
impose only those terms that are strictly necessary to ensure
compliance with the laws of this Commonwealth administered by
the department.
Section 5. Fees.
A permit application shall be accompanied by a $500
administrative filing fee, plus an additional $100 for each
disturbed acre. Fees shall be paid to the primary reviewing
entity in the event that both the department and a conservation
district complete the review. No earlier than three years after
the effective date of this section, the Environmental Quality
Board may, by regulation, increase the fee to cover the
administrative costs of processing the permit applications.
Section 6. Quarterly reports.
(a) Contents.--The department shall submit a quarterly
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30 report to the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of
the Senate and the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee
of the House of Representatives detailing the department's
implementation of this act. The report shall contain the
following:
(1) The number of permit applications received in the
prior 12 months.
(2) The number of applications approved.
(3) The average time frame from date of submission for
administrative review of permit applications, organized by
the regional office of the department.
(4) The average time frame from the date of submission
for technical review of applications, organized by the
regional office of the department.
(5) The number of permit application reviewers on staff
in the department, organized by regional office of the
department.
(6) The average workload of each permit application
reviewer, which shall be organized by the regional office of
the department.
(7) Primary reasons for administrative or technical
deficiencies or permit application denials, including the
citations to the relevant laws or regulations of this
Commonwealth which were not sufficiently addressed in each
application, which shall be organized by the regional office
of the department.
(8) The number of licensed professionals sanctioned by
the department due to the submission of routinely deficient
expedited applications and the primary reasons for the
sanctions.
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30 (9) Details, including dates and locations, of
professional trainings administered or sponsored by the
department related to the permit requirements imposed under
this act.
(10) Other relevant information as determined by the
department.
(b) Submission.--The initial quarterly report shall be
submitted within 60 days of the effective date of this
subsection. Subsequent quarterly reports shall be submitted no
later than 30 days after the last day of the preceding quarter.
Section 7. Annual evaluation.
The department shall annually commission an evaluation of the
erosion and sediment control permit review process. The
evaluation shall be conducted by a qualified, third-party entity
knowledgeable in the department's permitting application
process. The evaluation shall, at a minimum, examine and include
the following:
(1) Consistency in application review time frames and
criteria among the department's regional offices, including
among conservation districts.
(2) Adherence by department and conservation district
permit review staff to established permit review protocols.
(3) Sufficiency of available professional trainings for
department and conservation district permit review staff and
the regulated community.
(4) Recommendations on increasing the effectiveness,
consistency and predictability of the permit review process.
Section 8. Construction.
Nothing in this act shall be construed to exempt a person
seeking to commence a project involving oil and gas activities
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30 that will cause less than five acres of earth disturbance and
that is not required to obtain a permit from complying with
other applicable provisions of 25 Pa. Code Ch. 102 (relating to
erosion and sediment control).
Section 9. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 30 days.
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