Pennsylvania
The stormwater permit for construction in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania runs its own NPDES programme, so a state issued construction general permit governs. Below is what our engine can say about it, and where we have not read that permit, what it will not say.
Governing permit
PAG-02 NPDES General Permit for Discharges of Stormwater Associated with Construction Activities
- Issued by
- Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP), Bureau of Clean Water
- Permit number
- PAG-02
- Version determined against
- as published by the state agency
- Effective
- 2024-12-08
- Expires
- 2029-12-07
Who may prepare the plan
No preparer credential foundNo preparer credential was found for Pennsylvania. On what we have verified, a generated plan can be adopted by the operator without a credentialed signature. Local ordinances can still be stricter than state law.
PADEP PAG-02 instructions state the developer need not be a licensed professional. 25 Pa. Code 102.4(b)(3) requires only trained and experienced.
No permit section cited. Confirm this with your permitting authority.
Does a site in Pennsylvania need coverage
Worked for a one acre site as a reference point. Change the acreage in the tool below and the answer, and its reasoning, change with it.
Coverage
Permit coverage required
The project disturbs 1 acres, at or above the 1 acre threshold, so it needs permit coverage.
Determined against dataset version 2026-07-19.
Read these before you act on the answer
- Requirements below are what we have read and cited directly from PAG-02 NPDES General Permit for Discharges of Stormwater Associated with Construction Activities, not the federal CGP. A category we have not yet transcribed from this permit is omitted here rather than assumed to match EPA's rule.
- The verbatim Part A/B/C boilerplate permit conditions (weekly/0.25-inch-triggered inspections, 4-hour/5-day non-compliance reporting, 3-year record retention, 4-day stabilization trigger, NOI/NOT process mechanics) were confirmed against the complete text of the immediately preceding 2019-2024 PAG-02 General Permit, because PA DEP's document repository (greenport.pa.gov) returned an HTTP 500 'blocked' response on every attempt to fetch the reissued 2024-2029 sample permit PDF. The Pennsylvania Bulletin's official Aug. 31, 2024 final-permit notice (54 Pa.B. 5536) itemizes every 'significant change' between the 2019 and 2024-2029 permits and does not list any change to these specific provisions, so they are treated as carried forward; the exact Part/Section lettering within the final 2024 permit document itself was not independently re-confirmed. Facts sourced directly to the current (2024-2029) period or standing PA Code sections are unaffected. No PA-specific numeric turbidity/pH/TSS effluent benchmarks were found; PAG-02 relies on narrative, BMP-based performance effluent limitations only.
- No preparer credential was found for Pennsylvania. On what we have verified, a generated plan can be adopted by the operator without a credentialed signature. Local ordinances can still be stricter than state law.
- Basinwise does not perform the physical site inspections the permit requires. Those must be carried out on site by a qualified person.
How this answer was reached, step by step
- 1
Coverage threshold
The project disturbs 1 acres, at or above the 1 acre threshold, so it needs permit coverage.
- 2
Permitting authority
Pennsylvania. The state runs its own programme under PAG-02.
- 3
Preparer credential
No preparer credential was found for Pennsylvania. On what we have verified, a generated plan can be adopted by the operator without a credentialed signature. Local ordinances can still be stricter than state law.
What to do next
- 1. Confirm the governing permit. Read PAG-02 NPDES General Permit for Discharges of Stormwater Associated with Construction Activities directly. It is linked above, and it is the document an inspector will hold you to. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP), Bureau of Clean Water
- 2. Settle the preparer question before you draft. Getting this wrong costs a redraft at best. The detail is on the credential page for this state. Preparer credential in Pennsylvania
- 3. Screen the site. Run the real acreage and receiving water facts through the tool below. You get the inspection frequency, the stabilisation deadlines and the filing path with the permit section behind each.
- 4. Read the requirements in full. SWPPP requirements in Pennsylvania
Screen a Pennsylvania site now
Runs in your browser. Nothing about the site is transmitted.
What people ask about the Pennsylvania construction stormwater permit
Do I need a stormwater permit for a construction site in Pennsylvania?
Permit coverage is triggered at one acre of land disturbance, and below one acre if the project is part of a larger common plan of development or sale that will ultimately disturb an acre or more. The project disturbs 1 acres, at or above the 1 acre threshold, so it needs permit coverage.
Who issues the construction stormwater permit in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP), Bureau of Clean Water issues PAG-02 NPDES General Permit for Discharges of Stormwater Associated with Construction Activities.
Does Pennsylvania require a qualified preparer for the plan?
No preparer credential was found for Pennsylvania. On what we have verified, a generated plan can be adopted by the operator without a credentialed signature. Local ordinances can still be stricter than state law.
Keep the record Pennsylvania will ask you for
The screening is free. Holding the written plan and the retained inspection log is what the permit actually demands.