It will be a four-month wait.

For development and construction projects in Pennsylvania disturbing more than one acre of land, project owners are required to obtain a PAG-02 NPDES General Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Construction Activities.

As of December 7, 2017, no new General Permits will be issued. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) will stop issuing new General Permits beginning that day, and likely won’t resume until spring 2018. According to the PA DEP:

“DEP and County Conservation Districts that are delegated to issue NPDES permits will be unable to approve General Permit coverage for new projects.”

During that time, the only mechanism for NPDES permit coverage for new stormwater discharges associated with construction activities will be to obtain individual NPDES permits.

Individual NPDES permits include more investigations, reporting, and planning than a general permit.

However, for the duration of the PA DEP not issuing new General Permits (which could be as long as 12 months), delegated County Conservation Districts will be empowered to issue individual permits without the requisite extra investigations.