How DEP's Mining Program, GP-104, and PAG-03 Fit Together at Quarries, and Where an Asphalt or Concrete Plant Changes the Answer
Quarry operators in Pennsylvania hear about permits from every direction. There's the mining permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and there's the industrial stormwater permit that so many other facilities in the state have to deal with. It's natural to wonder whether you need one, the other, or both, especially if you've seen neighboring manufacturers filing paperwork for something called PAG-03 and nobody has ever mentioned it to you. Quarries sit in an unusual spot because DEP handles them through a separate program from most industrial facilities, and the stormwater rules follow that split.
A quarry needs a DEP mining permit, and its stormwater coverage generally comes through that same mining program as a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued alongside it. NPDES is the permit system that governs discharges to streams and other surface waters. For most quarries that means GP-104, a mining stormwater general permit, or an individual NPDES permit, rather than PAG-03, which is DEP's general stormwater permit for industrial facilities outside mining. The overlap shows up with any asphalt or concrete plant on the property, because those can land in either program depending on how they're set up and where their runoff goes. Below we cover how the pieces fit, what changes the answer, and how to confirm what your site needs, and if you'd like a second set of eyes on your situation you can reach out to RMA.
Table of Contents
TL;DR
A Pennsylvania quarry needs a mining permit from DEP, and the NPDES permit for its stormwater comes through the same mining program, usually as GP-104 or an individual permit. That means PAG-03, the general stormwater permit for industrial facilities, generally isn't the permit for the quarry itself. An asphalt or concrete plant on the property is where it gets mixed, because depending on the plant and where it drains, it may fall under GP-104 or need its own PAG-03 coverage. DEP decides based on your drainage, your receiving stream, and what you operate, so a site-specific review is the safe way to confirm.
What Does Pennsylvania's Mining Program Regulate at a Quarry?
Pennsylvania treats quarrying as noncoal surface mining, and DEP regulates it under the Noncoal Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act and Chapter 77 of Title 25 of the Pennsylvania Code. Anyone who wants to remove stone, sand, or other noncoal minerals for commercial use needs a mining permit first. The permit area isn't limited to the pit. DEP says it includes mining and support areas, facilities, and roads, and the operator has to hold an operator's license and post a bond so reclamation gets done.
DEP says a large noncoal permit doesn't expire or need renewal, but the NPDES permit tied to it runs on its own cycle, generally renewed every five years. Applications go to one of DEP's five district mining offices, not the clean water staff who handle most industrial stormwater permits, which is the first sign that quarries follow their own track.
Why Does a Quarry Need an NPDES Permit With Its Mining Permit?
NPDES is the permit system under the federal Clean Water Act, which Pennsylvania runs through its Clean Streams Law and 25 Pa. Code Chapter 92a, that governs what can leave a site and enter a stream, ditch, or other surface water. A discharge doesn't have to contain chemicals to need coverage. Rain that runs across a disturbed quarry floor and carries sediment to a creek is a regulated discharge too.
For mining, DEP's position is direct: all mining permits need an associated NPDES permit, and the district mining office issues it together with the mining permit. DEP's application guidance ties the NPDES requirement to activities that disturb an acre of land or more. So the stormwater question for a quarry usually gets answered during the mining permit process, not as a separate project later.
Stormwater is rain and snowmelt running off the site. Process water (wash water and the like) and pumped groundwater get treated differently, as we'll see next. Our article on the difference between stormwater and process water goes deeper on that split, and our explainer on stormwater associated with industrial activity covers the term regulators use for runoff from industrial sites.
When Does a Quarry Use GP-104 Instead of an Individual NPDES Permit?
GP-104 is DEP's general NPDES permit for stormwater discharges associated with mining activities. A general permit is a pre-written permit that covers a whole category of similar sites, so instead of negotiating a custom permit you register by submitting a Notice of Intent (NOI), a form describing your site and the discharges you expect. GP-104 is built for sites where the only potential pollutant is sediment carried by stormwater. DEP's 2025 reissuance notice says you need a qualifying mining authorization (existing or pending), an operator license in good standing, and a complete NOI sent to your district mining office with a $250 fee. If you want the bigger picture on permit types, we cover general, individual, and no-exposure NPDES permits in a separate guide.
Some quarries can't use GP-104, and DEP spells out the reasons. The general permit doesn't fit sites that already hold an individual NPDES permit or another NPDES general permit, sites where a condition in 25 Pa. Code § 92a.54(e) points to an individual permit as the better fit, mining activity that discharges or could discharge to High Quality or Exceptional Value streams (the state's most protected waters), mining activity draining to streams impaired for sediment, and any discharge of process water or pumped groundwater. In those cases DEP requires an individual NPDES permit.
An individual permit is written for your site, with its own limits and monitoring. DEP's published limits for noncoal mining discharges include a pH range of 6 to 9, plus any other parameters DEP decides the site needs. The application takes more work than an NOI, and the permit tends to carry heavier monitoring and reporting, so the route you land on shapes your obligations for years.
| Permit |
What it covers |
Where it's handled |
Typical fit |
| GP-104 |
Stormwater from mining, support areas, and haul roads |
District mining office |
Sediment is the only potential pollutant, and the stream isn't specially protected or sediment-impaired |
| Individual mining NPDES permit |
Process water, pumped groundwater, and stormwater at sites GP-104 can't cover |
District mining office |
High Quality or Exceptional Value streams, sediment-impaired streams, or any process water or pumped groundwater discharge |
| PAG-03 |
Industrial stormwater outside the mining program |
DEP clean water program |
Non-mining industrial activity, including some plants on a mine site |
Does PAG-03 Apply to a Quarry's Own Stormwater?
PAG-03 is Pennsylvania's general NPDES permit for stormwater from industrial activity. Facilities register with an NOI, build a Preparedness, Prevention, and Contingency (PPC) Plan, which is Pennsylvania's stormwater and spill plan for these sites, and then handle sampling, inspections, and electronic reporting. The current version runs from March 24, 2023 to March 23, 2028. Plenty of Pennsylvania manufacturers, recyclers, and fleet yards use it, and it's the permit most people mean when they say industrial stormwater permit in the state.
For a quarry's own stormwater, PAG-03 usually isn't the answer. The permit excludes stormwater associated with mineral extraction, and DEP's fact sheet says stormwater discharges associated with mining activities at mining sites must be covered by GP-104. Pit dewatering discharges at crushed stone, construction sand and gravel, and industrial sand operations are also ineligible for PAG-03 because federal effluent guidelines at 40 CFR Part 436 apply to them.
If you're sorting out PAG-03, an individual permit, or a No Exposure Certification (a filing that lets certain facilities skip permit coverage when all industrial activity is sheltered from rain and snow) for a facility that isn't a quarry, our guide on whether you need a stormwater permit in Pennsylvania walks through each path.
What About an Asphalt or Concrete Plant on the Quarry Property?
This is where the two programs overlap, and DEP's guidance gets specific. Its PAG-03 fact sheet says stormwater from non-mining industrial activities at mining sites may be covered by PAG-03, with exceptions for asphalt plants. An asphalt plant inside a permitted mine site that drains entirely to that mine needs coverage under GP-104, and so does an asphalt plant just outside but contiguous to the permitted mine site that drains entirely to it. If the mine closes and the asphalt plant keeps operating, the operator would need to apply for PAG-03 coverage or an individual NPDES permit.
A concrete plant on a quarry property falls under the general rule that non-mining industrial activities at mining sites may be covered by PAG-03. PAG-03 sorts facilities into sector-specific appendices based on their Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code, a four-digit code describing what a facility does. Ready-mix and other concrete plants (SIC 3271 to 3275) fall under Appendix N, and asphalt paving plants (SIC 2951 and 2952) fall under Appendix M, and each appendix carries its own monitoring and best management practices. Our guide to concrete plants and stormwater permits goes deeper on the concrete side.
These calls depend on where each area drains and how DEP views a plant's relationship to the permitted mine area, so the table below shows how common setups usually line up. It isn't a ruling on any particular site.
| Activity on the property |
Where it usually lands |
What decides it |
| Pit, stockpiles, support areas, and haul roads |
Mining program: GP-104 or an individual NPDES permit |
Whether sediment is the only potential pollutant, and the receiving stream |
| Pit dewatering, process water, and pumped groundwater |
Mining program: individual NPDES permit |
GP-104 excludes these, and PAG-03 excludes mine dewatering at crushed stone and sand and gravel operations |
| Asphalt plant inside the permitted mine area, draining entirely to the mine |
GP-104 |
DEP's exception in the PAG-03 fact sheet |
| Asphalt plant just outside but contiguous, draining entirely to the mine |
GP-104 |
The same exception |
| Concrete plant or other non-mining operation on the property |
May be PAG-03 |
Drainage, SIC code, and DEP review |
| Asphalt plant that keeps operating after the mine closes |
PAG-03 or an individual NPDES permit |
The mine no longer exists to receive the drainage |
What Do Opening or Expanding a Quarry Add to the Permit Picture?
Opening a new quarry or expanding an existing one adds a layer we don't handle. A new mining permit or revision involves reclamation and bonding plans, hydrogeology work on how the quarry could affect groundwater and nearby water supplies, and erosion and sediment control planning under 25 Pa. Code Chapter 102 for the earth disturbance. That work typically comes from mining engineers, geologists, and erosion and sediment control specialists, and we don't prepare mining permit applications or those construction-phase plans.
What comes after is where we help. Once a quarry is running, any asphalt or concrete plant on the property has operating requirements of its own: working out whether it needs PAG-03 coverage, building a PPC Plan, and handling sampling, inspections, and reporting. We can also point you toward the right professionals for the pieces we don't do. Our comparison of Pennsylvania stormwater plans, SWPPPs versus PPC Plans explains what the plan looks like for PAG-03 sites.
What Do Quarry and Plant Stormwater Permits Cost?
Agency fees are the easy part. GP-104 coverage carries a $250 NOI fee under DEP's 2025 reissuance notice. PAG-03 charges $500 when you submit the NOI and a $500 installment each year you hold coverage, with no fee to renew. DEP can change fees when it reissues a permit, so confirm against the current permit before you budget.
The bigger cost is usually the work behind the paperwork. For a plant that needs PAG-03, that's the site evaluation, drainage and outfall mapping, PPC Plan, and application package, followed by sampling, inspections, and reporting every year after. What you pay depends on how many outfalls the plant has, what the plant does, whether a plan already exists, and how much of the ongoing work you'd rather hand off. Our article on what a PAG-03 permit costs in Pennsylvania breaks that down. For the plant side of a quarry, the pricing calculator below gives you an instant estimate for the help we'd provide, with no email or sales call required.
How Can You Confirm Which Permits Your Quarry Needs?
Start with what you already hold. Your mining permit file should show how your NPDES coverage was authorized, either an approval of coverage under GP-104 or an individual NPDES permit with its own permit number. If you inherited a site or bought a quarry, finding that paperwork comes first, and DEP's eFACTS system, its public lookup for permits and facilities, can show what's on file. Next, list everything on the property that isn't extraction, such as asphalt or concrete production, and note where each area's runoff goes and how it leaves the site.
With that in hand, talk with your district mining office about the quarry's coverage and how it views any plants on the property. Local stormwater rules can differ by municipality, so check those separately. The answer can also change over time, since expanding the pit, adding an outfall (a pipe, ditch, or channel where stormwater leaves your site), installing a new plant, or closing the quarry can all shift which permit applies. If a plant does turn out to need PAG-03, plan for timing, since DEP's fact sheet calls for an NOI at least 60 days before a new discharge begins, and our article on how long PAG-03 coverage takes in Pennsylvania covers what to expect.
Because DEP decides these questions based on your drainage, your receiving stream, and what you operate, we'd encourage a site-specific review before you assume a plant is covered by your mining permit, or assume it needs its own.
How Does RMA Help With Pennsylvania Quarry Stormwater Questions?
We work with Pennsylvania facilities all the time, and we understand how the mining program and the industrial stormwater program can overlap on the same property. If you're not sure whether a plant on your site belongs under your mining NPDES coverage or needs its own PAG-03 permit, we can review your drainage and paperwork and tell you what we see. When PAG-03 does apply, we help with the NOI, the PPC Plan, sampling, eDMR reporting, and annual reports, and our online environmental training library can get your team up to speed on inspections and sampling.
We also tell people when they don't need us. If your quarry's stormwater is covered under GP-104 and there's no plant on the property, the mining program already has it handled, and you probably don't need a consultant for that. If you're opening or expanding a quarry, you'll need mining engineers and other specialists for the permit application and erosion and sediment planning, which we don't do. If you'd like to talk it through, there's no pressure and no obligation. You can call us, email us, or fill out the form on our website, and you can contact RMA whenever you're ready.
