How PA DEP Decides Whether Your Facility Gets PAG-03 Coverage or Needs an Individual Industrial Stormwater Permit
Most Pennsylvania facilities that need industrial stormwater coverage get it through PAG-03, the general permit PA DEP issues under the federal NPDES program (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System). It's the standard route, and it's faster and simpler than the alternative. But PAG-03 isn't open to everyone, and some facilities end up with an individual permit instead, either because they never qualified or because DEP later decides the general permit isn't the right fit.
The short answer is that PAG-03 is built for typical industrial stormwater situations, and DEP steers a facility toward an individual permit when the site falls outside that mold. The usual reasons are discharging directly to High Quality or Exceptional Value waters, discharging to impaired waters for pollutants your site contributes, having discharges or activities the general permit doesn't cover, or a compliance record DEP considers serious. DEP also has discretion to require an individual permit when none of those is obvious. This article walks through each trigger, how a switch can happen after you're already covered, and how the two permits compare. If you'd like help working out which one applies to your site, you can reach out to RMA at any time.
Table of Contents
TL;DR
PAG-03 is PA DEP's standard permit for typical industrial stormwater discharges. DEP won't authorize it for facilities that discharge directly to High Quality or Exceptional Value waters, discharge to impaired waters for pollutants they contribute, have discharges or activities it doesn't cover, or have a serious compliance problem. DEP can also require an individual permit when it decides one is more appropriate, including after continued benchmark exceedances. An individual permit is written for one facility, so it takes more work and more time than filing a Notice of Intent. Which one you need depends on your receiving water, your activities, and your record, so check before you assume.
What Is PAG-03, and What Is It Designed to Cover?
A general permit is a permit DEP writes once for a category of similar discharges. Facilities that fit join by filing a Notice of Intent (NOI), which is the application for coverage, instead of getting a permit drafted for them alone. PAG-03 is the general permit for stormwater associated with industrial activity. The current version took effect March 24, 2023 and expires March 23, 2028. It sorts facilities into sector appendices based on their SIC code, the code that describes what your business does, and each appendix sets the sampling and benchmark requirements for that industry.
An individual NPDES permit is the other path. It's written for one facility, with conditions based on DEP's review of that site's operations, discharges, and receiving water. PAG-03 works well when a facility looks like the many others it was designed for. The individual permit exists for the sites that don't. If you're still sorting out the basic differences, our guide to general, individual, and No Exposure permits covers them.
How Does PA DEP Decide Between PAG-03 and an Individual NPDES Permit?
DEP makes the call at two points. The first is when you file your NOI. The permit lets DEP deny coverage and require an individual permit application based on the NOI or other information, including monitoring data. The second is after you're covered, which we'll get to below.
The permit's list of discharges it doesn't authorize is where the decision comes from. Most items are specific, such as discharges to certain waters or activities the permit excludes. The first item is broader. It excludes discharges that could contribute to pollution and are more appropriately controlled under an individual permit. That wording gives DEP room to use judgment, so a facility can end up on the individual permit track even when it doesn't match a specific exclusion. You can also choose the individual route yourself. A permittee can ask to be excluded from PAG-03 coverage by applying for an individual permit.
Which Situations Make a Facility Ineligible for PAG-03?
The permit's "not authorized" list has 18 items. These are the ones that come up most often, based on the current permit and DEP's FAQ and fact sheet.
Discharging directly to High Quality or Exceptional Value waters is the clearest. These are the most protected stream classifications under 25 Pa. Code Chapter 93, and PAG-03 doesn't authorize stormwater discharges directly to them. Facilities proposing a new, increased, or first-time-permitted discharge to one of these waters need an individual permit application that includes an antidegradation analysis. If a stream is redesignated while you hold PAG-03 coverage, you'd need to apply for an individual permit when your PAG-03 coverage expires, and a facility already covered at the time of redesignation doesn't need the antidegradation analysis. A No Exposure Certification isn't available in these watersheds either. Which designation applies to your receiving water is something to confirm early, because it can change the whole plan.
Discharging to impaired waters is the second. Impaired waters are streams DEP has found aren't meeting water quality standards. PAG-03 excludes discharges to impaired waters when the discharge contains, or is expected to contain, pollutants that cause or contribute to the impairment, including waters with a total maximum daily load (TMDL) wasteload allocation. A stream that's impaired for something your site doesn't release is a different situation from one that's impaired for a pollutant you do. Your NOI or application also has to include sampling results for the pollutant causing the impairment. Our article on TMDLs, impaired waters, and NPDES stormwater permits goes deeper.
Discharges or activities the general permit doesn't cover make up the third group. PAG-03 doesn't cover construction, mineral extraction, or sewage treatment stormwater, or facilities with cooling water intake structures. A facility that already has an individual permit for non-stormwater discharges uses that permit for its stormwater too. Discharges containing toxic or hazardous pollutants, or that could harm threatened or endangered species, are excluded as well. And if no sector appendix fits your operations, DEP may approve coverage under a catch-all appendix or require an individual permit.
A serious compliance history is the fourth. The permit excludes dischargers that aren't or won't be in compliance with the permit's conditions, water quality standards, or effluent limits. It also excludes a person responsible for other DEP-regulated activities who has failed and continues to fail to comply with a DEP regulation, permit, or order, or who has shown a lack of ability or intent to comply. The wording points to ongoing failure, not a single past violation, but DEP decides how it applies. If you're dealing with an open violation or a consent order, an environmental attorney may be the right person to talk to as well.
Can DEP Require an Individual Permit After You Already Have PAG-03?
Yes. Coverage under PAG-03 isn't permanent, and several things can move a facility off it. The most common is benchmark exceedances. Benchmarks are the pollutant levels in your sector appendix that signal your controls may not be working. Two consecutive monitoring periods over a benchmark trigger a corrective action plan, due within 90 days after the period ends. Four or more require that plan plus a Stormwater BMP Checklist. If exceedances continue after that, the permit says DEP may require you to submit an individual permit application. Our article on benchmark values and effluent limits explains the difference between a benchmark and a hard limit.
When DEP does require an individual permit, it has to send you written notice. The notice has to give the reasons, include an application form, set a deadline, and warn that failing to apply ends your authorization. Any interested person can petition DEP to require an individual permit for a facility, so the request doesn't have to come from DEP on its own. Your PAG-03 coverage ends on the effective date of the individual permit. Separately, if a change at your facility makes your discharge ineligible, you have to restore eligibility, tell DEP, or apply for an individual permit, and DEP will terminate coverage if the discharge causes adverse water quality impacts.
How Do PAG-03 and an Individual NPDES Permit Compare?
| Factor |
PAG-03 General Permit |
Individual NPDES Permit |
| How coverage starts |
NOI on DEP's form with required attachments, including your PPC Plan. No discharge may begin until DEP issues you a signed copy of the permit |
Facility-specific application on DEP's Individual NPDES Permit Application for Industrial Stormwater |
| Public notice |
The general permit itself went through public comment in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, and DEP says coverage approvals are published there too |
DEP publishes your draft permit in the Pennsylvania Bulletin with a 30-day comment period, and a hearing can be held. New facilities and significant changes also involve newspaper notice and notices to the municipality and county |
| What the permit requires |
Standard conditions plus a sector appendix by SIC code, with semiannual sampling, benchmarks, inspections, and eDMR reporting |
Limits, monitoring, and conditions set for your facility after DEP reviews your pollutants, receiving water, and drainage |
| Timeline |
Complete NOI at least 60 days before a new discharge. The permit doesn't state a DEP review time |
DEP's internal procedure refers to 198 business days for final action on new applications. Actual time varies by site |
| Term and renewal |
Current permit runs March 24, 2023 to March 23, 2028. Renewal is a new NOI when the permit is reissued |
Generally five years. A renewal application is due at least 180 days before expiration |
| DEP fees |
$500 with the initial NOI, then a $500 annual installment. Amendments are $500 |
Set by DEP. Confirm the current amount on the application |
| Effort |
Moderate: site evaluation, maps, PPC Plan, NOI |
Higher: a detailed evaluation of operations, discharges, drainage, and receiving waters, plus a longer review |
For a closer look at what each step involves on the PAG-03 side, our articles on how long PAG-03 coverage takes and the PAG-03 permit and sampling are good next reads.
What Do PAG-03 and an Individual Permit Cost, and How Much Work Is Each?
The DEP fees for PAG-03 are modest. The larger cost is the work behind the NOI, which includes the site evaluation, drainage mapping, and PPC Plan. For a relatively straightforward facility, professional help with the full PAG-03 application typically runs about $5,000 to $10,000, and ongoing compliance support can run another $3,000 to $6,000 per year depending on the site. An individual permit takes more evaluation, a more detailed application, and a longer review, so it can cost considerably more, and a discharge to High Quality or Exceptional Value waters adds the antidegradation analysis. What drives the number is site size, the number of outfalls, how complex the operations are, the receiving water, and whether a plan already exists. Our article on what a PAG-03 permit costs breaks this down further, and the pricing calculator below shows an estimate of RMA's help with the permitting itself, not the DEP fees.
How Can You Tell Which Permit Your Facility Is Likely to Need?
Nobody can answer this for certain without looking at your site, but a few checks narrow it down quickly. Start with where your stormwater goes. Find out what water body it reaches and how it's classified under Chapter 93, and whether that water is impaired and for what. Then look at your SIC code and the sector appendix it points to, and list any discharges other than stormwater, such as wash water or process water, since those can need their own authorization. Finally, review your record, including any violation history and any benchmark exceedances if you're already covered.
If everything at your site is stored and handled indoors or under roof, a No Exposure Certification may be an option instead of either permit. It isn't available in High Quality or Exceptional Value watersheds, and it needs DEP's approval and renewal every five years. Our article on what No Exposure means under an NPDES stormwater permit covers the conditions. If you're weighing whether to handle the paperwork yourself, getting a PAG-03 permit yourself covers what that involves. DEP's Division of NPDES Permitting can also answer questions about which path applies to a given facility.
How Can RMA Help You Sort Out PAG-03 vs an Individual Permit?
We start by looking at your facility, your receiving water, and your record to work out which path fits, whether that's PAG-03, an individual permit, or a No Exposure Certification. From there we can prepare your NOI or individual application, build your PPC Plan, and stay involved while DEP reviews it. We work with Pennsylvania facilities all the time, and our senior staff do the work. If you'd be better served by an engineer for part of the job, we'll tell you.
You don't need to be a client to ask us a question. You can call us, send an email, or fill out the form on our website, with no pressure or obligation, or contact RMA directly. If we're not the right fit, we'll say so and point you in a better direction.
