PRINTER'S NO. 1947
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
1325
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY BARTOLOTTA, RESCHENTHALER, VOGEL, MENSCH,
VULAKOVICH, STEFANO, ARGALL, YAW, WARD AND WAGNER,
JUNE 17, 2016
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, JUNE 17, 2016
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:
"Conservation district." A conservation district, as defined
in section 3(c) of the act of May 15, 1945 (P.L.547, No.217),
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
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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, landscape
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 shall submit an application
and obtain an erosion and sediment control permit from the
department or a conservation district before commencing the
project.
(b) Issuance of permit.--The following apply:
(1) Except as otherwise provided under this act, 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 45 business days of receipt or within 14
business days of receipt in the case of an expedited
application.
(2) The department or conservation district shall
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complete an administrative review of a permit application
within five business days of receipt. 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 specific deficiency of the
permit application.
(3) The department may impose reasonable prohibitions on
the use of an expedited permit, including prohibitions on the
following:
(i) Projects in, or with the potential to discharge
in, a watershed designated as high quality or exceptional
value under 25 Pa. Code Ch. 93 (relating to water quality
standards).
(ii) Projects in or on a floodplain.
(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.
(4) 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 any 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 may utilize a
general permit to implement this act and impose permit terms and
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conditions 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 completes 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
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. At a minimum, 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
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.
(6) The average workload of each permit application
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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 any relevant law or regulation of this
Commonwealth which are not sufficiently addressed in the
report, 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 permit applications and the primary reasons for the
sanctions.
(9) Any 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. Construction.
Nothing in this act shall be construed to exempt a person
seeking to commence a project involving oil and gas activities
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 8. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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