(a)
Permit requirements. A
person proposing or conducting an earth disturbance activity which requires a
permit under §
102.5 (relating to permit
requirements) shall:
(1) Submit to the
Department or a conservation district a complete application or NOI, an E&S
Plan meeting the requirements of §
102.4 (relating to erosion and
sediment control requirements), a PCSM Plan meeting the requirements of §
102.8 (relating to PCSM
requirements), and other information the Department may require. Unless
otherwise specified in this chapter, for NPDES permits, the application or NOI
must also meet the requirements in Chapter 92 (relating to National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System permitting, monitoring and compliance).
(2) Provide proof of consultation with the
Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program (PNHP) regarding the presence of a State
or Federal threatened or endangered species on the project site. If the
Department or conservation district determines, based upon PNHP data or other
sources, that the proposed earth disturbance activity may adversely impact the
species or critical habitat, the person proposing the earth disturbance
activity shall consult with the Department or conservation district to avoid or
prevent the impact. If the impact cannot be avoided or prevented, the person
proposing the activity shall demonstrate how the impacts will be minimized in
accordance with State and Federal laws pertaining to the protection of
threatened or endangered flora and fauna and their habitat.
(b)
Permit fees.
(1) A person submitting a permit application
or NOI shall submit a fee as follows: a $500 administrative filing fee for
general permits and a $1,500 administrative filing fee for individual permits.
In addition, $100 for each disturbed acre is required to be added to the base
administrative filing fee for projects of 1 acre or greater of disturbance. The
fees will be calculated based upon the following formula: base fee plus $100
for each disturbed acre. For fractional acreage, the acreage shall be rounded
to the closest whole number.
(2)
The Department will review the adequacy of the fees established in this section
at least once every 3 years and provide a written report to the EQB. The report
will identify any disparity between the amount of program income generated by
the fees and the costs to administer these programs, and contain
recommendations to adjust fees to eliminate the disparity, including
recommendations for regulatory amendments.
(3) Conservation districts may charge
additional fees in accordance with section 9(13) of the Conservation District
Law (3 P.S. §
857(13)).
(4) A Federal or State agency or independent
State commission that provides funding for program administration by the
Department through terms and conditions of a mutual agreement may be exempt
from the fees in this section.
(5)
Fees collected by the Department or conservation district under this chapter
will be deposited into a restricted revenue account known as the Clean Water
Fund and utilized to offset the operating costs to administer the
program.
(c)
Complete applications or NOI.
(1) An application or NOI for a permit is not
complete until the necessary information and requirements under The Clean
Streams Law (35 P.S. §§
691.1-691.1001) and this chapter have been
satisfied by the applicant.
(2)
When the Department or conservation district determines that an application or
NOI is incomplete or contains insufficient information to determine compliance
with this chapter, it will notify the applicant in writing. The applicant shall
have 60 days to provide the information necessary to complete the application
or NOI, or the Department or conservation district will consider the
application to be withdrawn by the applicant. Requests for a specific extension
may be sought by the applicant in writing. The applicant will be notified in
writing when an application or NOI is considered withdrawn. When an application
or NOI is considered withdrawn, the Department or conservation district will
close the application file and take no action to review the file.
(3) If the application has been withdrawn in
accordance with subsection (c)(2), the fees associated with filing the
application will not be refunded.