Pittsburgh, PA and Washington, DC
FNREL Water Law Newsletter
(by Lisa M. Bruderly, Jessica Deyoe and Mackenzie M. Moyer)
On October 5, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) published notice of the final Erosion and Sediment Control General Permit for Earth Disturbance Associated with Oil and Gas Exploration, Production, Processing, or Treatment Operations or Transmission Facilities (ESCGP-4). See 54 Pa. Bull. 6341 (Oct. 5, 2024). ESCGP-4 became effective October 5, 2024, and will expire on October 5, 2029. The current ESCGP-3 is scheduled to expire on January 6, 2025, following an administrative extension from October 6, 2023. PADEP will continue to accept applications for ESCGP-3 until October 11, 2024.
There are several notable differences between ESCGP-3 and ESCGP-4. ESCGP-4 requires that if a discharge approved for coverage under ESCGP-4 subsequently exhibits a condition rendering it ineligible for coverage under the permit, ESCGP-4 requires the permittee to promptly take action to restore eligibility, notify PADEP in writing of the condition, and submit an individual erosion and sediment control permit application to PADEP if eligibility cannot be restored. ESCGP-3 had no such requirement for discharges that became ineligible after approval under the permit.
Under ESCGP-3, weekly inspections of controls were required, as well as inspections following stormwater events. ESCGP-4 adds an inspection requirement following “snowmelt sufficient to cause a discharge” and requires that inspections be documented using PADEP’s Chapter 102 Visual Site Inspection Report form (No. 3800-FM-BCW0271d) or a similar form that contains the same information. ESCGP-4 also requires that “qualified personnel, trained and experienced in erosion and sediment control and post-construction stormwater management” complete the required inspections and outlines requirements for such qualifications. Further, ESCGP-4 requires the initiation of repair or replacement of a best management practice or stormwater control measure (SCM) within 24 hours of discovery of an issue, if there is no likelihood of a pollutional incident. When there is a likelihood of a pollution incident, repair or replacement must occur immediately.
ESCGP-4 also requires that any SCM implemented by an operator that is not in PADEP’s Erosion and Sediment Pollution Control Manual (No. 363-2134-008) or the Water Quality Antidegradation Guidance (No. 391-0300-002) be approved by PADEP. Additionally, operators must document the implementation of each structural SCM using a PADEP form—“SCM Construction Certification Form” (No. 3800-FM-BCW0271j)—and submit this documentation to PADEP within 30 days of completion of construction.
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