The PA Department of Environmental Protection recently launched a pilot program for Chapter 102 Individual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permits, and the agency is encouraging applicants to participate.

According to DEP officials, these permits are needed when earth disturbance of at least one acre occurs in special protection watersheds, and other situations (such as when soils on a site are contaminated.)

The pilot program was launched as the agency looks for ways to improve the quality of applications received and accelerate the review process. DEP officials are eager to include new projects in the pilot program to compare the current process to the pilot program.

They report that the review timeframe for applications accepted into the Pilot Program is significantly reduced, as compared to the standard review timeframe (i.e., 98 business days vs. 171 business days).

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