How Pennsylvania DEP's Public Notice and Comment Process Works for Individual NPDES Stormwater Permits, and How Much Time It Adds
If you've applied for an individual NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) stormwater permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), sooner or later someone will tell you the application is going into the Pennsylvania Bulletin. That sounds like a big event, and for many facility managers it's the first moment the permit stops feeling like paperwork between you and the agency and starts feeling like a public process. The short version is that DEP finishes its technical review, writes a draft permit, publishes notice, accepts public comments for 30 days, and then makes a final decision. Most of the time nobody comments, and the notice simply runs its course.
In this article we'll walk through each step in order, explain when comments or a hearing request can come up and what they do to your timeline, and cover what you should be doing while the draft sits out for review. A timeline graphic is included so you can see the whole sequence at a glance. If you're looking at a draft permit right now and want a second set of eyes on it, you can reach out to RMA and we'll take a look.
Table of Contents
TL;DR
Before DEP issues an individual NPDES stormwater permit, it publishes the draft in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and accepts written comments for 30 days, which DEP can extend by 15. Anyone can ask for a public hearing, and DEP may hold one if there's significant public interest. DEP then considers the comments and makes a final decision. If nobody comments, the notice adds about a month to your timeline. Comments or a hearing can add more, but most industrial stormwater notices pass quietly.
What Is Public Notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin for a Stormwater Permit?
The Pennsylvania Bulletin is the state's official publication for government notices, and a new issue comes out every Friday. When DEP is ready to issue an individual NPDES permit, state regulations (25 Pa. Code § 92a.82) require the agency to tell the public first. The notice names the applicant, the facility, the county and municipality, and the stream the water flows to. It also states DEP's tentative decision and explains how anyone can submit comments or ask for a hearing.
The notice applies to individual permits because an individual permit is written for one specific facility. PAG-03, Pennsylvania's general NPDES permit for industrial stormwater, works differently. DEP gives public notice of the general permit itself, and the Bulletin later lists approvals of coverage, but each facility doesn't get its own draft permit and comment period. If you're not sure which route applies to your site, our guide to general, individual, and no-exposure NPDES permits walks through the differences, and our explanation of stormwater associated with industrial activity covers which operations fall under these permits in the first place.
Construction projects have their own individual stormwater permits, and those get public notice in the Bulletin too, listed in a separate section from industrial permits. Those are construction-phase approvals, and RMA doesn't prepare them. Most people handle that piece with their engineer or contractor. Where we help is the operational side, meaning the stormwater permit and plans a facility needs once it's up and running.
What Is the Step-by-Step Process From Application to Final Individual NPDES Permit?
Public notice sits in the middle of a longer process, so it helps to see where it falls. The graphic below shows the full path from application to final permit, with the notice and comment stages in the middle.
Individual NPDES Stormwater Permit: From Application to Final Permit in Pennsylvania
1
DEP reviews your application
DEP checks completeness, asks technical questions, and evaluates your discharge and receiving stream. Length varies by site and regional office.
2
DEP prepares a draft permit and fact sheet
DEP reaches a tentative decision to issue the permit and sends you the draft for review.
3
Notice is published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin
DEP publishes the notice, and you post a copy near the entrance to your facility.
4
30-day public comment period
Anyone can submit written comments or request a hearing. DEP can extend the period by 15 days.
5
Public hearing (only sometimes)
DEP may hold one if there's significant public interest, with notice at least 30 days ahead.
6
DEP considers comments and decides
DEP weighs what it received, may revise the draft, and makes its final decision.
7
Final permit issued and 30-day appeal window
Others can appeal to the Environmental Hearing Board within 30 days of the Bulletin notice of the final action.
The first stage is DEP's technical review of your application, and it's where most of the calendar time goes. DEP checks that the application is complete, asks questions about your outfalls, pollutants, and receiving stream, and decides what monitoring and limits the permit should include. How long that takes depends on the regional office, the complexity of your site, and how complete your application was when it came in.
When DEP is satisfied, it writes the draft permit and a fact sheet explaining the basis for its conditions. You'll receive the draft with a cover letter inviting your review and comment, along with a copy of the public notice. DEP's regulations require you to post that notice near the entrance to your premises, and at the discharge location if it's remote from the facility. Then the notice appears in the Bulletin, and the 30-day clock starts from publication.
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Comments and hearing requests both happen inside the 30-day window after publication. Anyone can send DEP written comments on the draft permit, whether that's a neighbor, a municipality, a watershed group, or you as the applicant. DEP can extend the comment period once, by 15 days. Comments usually focus on where the discharge goes, what the permit requires you to monitor, and whether the limits protect the receiving stream.
A hearing request works a little differently. Any person can ask DEP in writing for a public hearing, but asking doesn't guarantee one. DEP can hold a hearing if it decides there's significant public interest. If it does, DEP publishes notice of the hearing in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and in a local newspaper at least 30 days before the hearing date, so a hearing pushes the schedule out by at least that much.
Once the comment period closes, DEP considers what it received before it decides whether to issue the permit. When comments lead to real changes, DEP can revise the draft. Some DEP fact sheets for individual stormwater permits refer to earlier draft permits issued months or even years before the current one, which shows that a draft isn't always the last word.
How Much Time Does Public Notice Add to an Individual NPDES Permit Timeline?
If nobody comments, the notice adds the 30-day comment window plus whatever time DEP needs to finalize and issue the permit afterward. Anything beyond a quiet notice depends on what comes in. The table below shows how each scenario affects your schedule.
| What Happens |
What It Means for Your Timeline |
| No comments and no hearing request |
The 30-day comment window runs out, then DEP moves to a final decision. |
| DEP extends the comment period |
Adds up to 15 days to the comment window. |
| Comments lead to changes in the draft |
DEP reviews the comments and may revise the permit. The delay depends on how substantive the comments are. |
| DEP schedules a public hearing |
Hearing notice goes out at least 30 days before the hearing, so expect at least that much added time. |
| Someone appeals the final permit |
An appeal goes to the Environmental Hearing Board, and the added time depends on the case. |
For most applicants, the 30 days of public notice is the smallest piece of the schedule. DEP's review before it ever publishes the draft usually takes longer, and that part varies with the regional office, your site, and the receiving stream. We don't want to quote you a number we can't back up, and no consultant can promise a DEP timeline. For a sense of how the general permit route compares, see our article on how long PAG-03 coverage takes in Pennsylvania.
Do Most Individual Stormwater Permit Notices Pass Without Controversy?
Yes. Most notices for industrial stormwater permits pass without a single comment or hearing request. A draft for an existing facility with a long operating history rarely gives anyone a reason to object, and when no one does, the notice is a waiting period and nothing more. If you're worried that publication invites a fight, you can relax about that.
Attention is more likely in a few situations. A brand new discharge draws more interest than a renewal, and so does a discharge to a stream with a high protection level. Pennsylvania classifies its best waters as High Quality (HQ) or Exceptional Value (EV), and facilities that discharge to them can't use PAG-03, which is one common reason a site ends up needing an individual permit. A facility that sits close to homes or has a history of complaints can also see more comments. Even then, a comment is usually a request for DEP to look at something, and it doesn't stop the permit.
The less common scenario is an appeal. A person who is the subject of DEP's action has 30 days after receiving written notice to appeal to the Environmental Hearing Board, and anyone else aggrieved by it has 30 days from the date notice of the action is published in the Bulletin. If a neighbor or an advocacy group appeals your permit, you're dealing with a legal proceeding, and an environmental attorney is the right person to guide you through it.
What Should You Do While Your Draft Stormwater Permit Is on Public Notice?
First, post the notice where DEP's cover letter tells you to, and keep a record that you did. Then read the draft permit closely, because the comment period is the cheapest time to fix a problem. Check the parameters you'd have to sample, the numeric limits and benchmark values, the sampling frequency, and any deadlines or special conditions. If you're unsure how those thresholds work, our explanation of benchmark values versus effluent limits shows why the difference matters.
If something in the draft doesn't match how your facility operates, say so in a written comment before the period ends. Once the permit is final, your options shrink to a 30-day appeal or living with the terms, and neither is as easy as a comment submitted on time. Put the end date on your calendar the day the notice publishes, because a missed deadline can't be recovered later.
How Can RMA Help With a Pennsylvania Individual Stormwater Permit?
We work with facilities across Pennsylvania on individual NPDES permits, from working out whether an individual permit is the right route to staying involved while DEP reviews the application. During public notice, that can mean reading the draft permit alongside you, flagging conditions that don't fit your operations, and helping prepare comments for DEP. We'll also tell you straight if the draft looks fine and you don't need our help.
If you'd like to talk it through, there's no pressure and no obligation. You can call, email, or fill out the form on our website, and you can also contact RMA directly to tell us where your application stands.
