Chapter 92a Annual Fees for NPDES Permits

Overview

25 Pa. Code Chapter 92a establishes application and annual fees for facilities with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits in Sections 92a.26 and 92a.62, respectively. These fees are intended to partially cover the costs associated with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) administration of the NPDES program, which includes permitting, compliance monitoring, enforcement, surface water standards, monitoring, and assessment activities. Notice of Intent (NOI) annual installment fees for coverage under general NPDES permits fall under application fees in Section 92a.26 and are incorporated into each General Permit. DEP has the responsibility under its regulations to review the adequacy of the fees every three years.

Individual Permit Fees

The NPDES individual permit initial application fee is designed to cover the cost of application review and issuance of the permit plus the first year of permit coverage. After the initial application fee, Chapter 92a fees will be due on each anniversary of the effective date of the permit and invoiced three months before the due date. If a permit is amended, transferred, or renewed the anniversary due date for the fee does not change. Amendment and transfer applications still require a separate application fee. As long as the renewal application is received in a timely manner, renewal application fees are no longer required though the renewal application itself is still required. If the application is late, a new application fee may be required in addition to the annual fees. Individual NPDES permits for stormwater discharges associated with construction activities under 25 Pa. Code Chapter 102 are the exception and renewal application fees are still required.

Chapter 102 permit renewal applications still require a renewal application fee. Chapter 102 permits will not be assessed an annual fee in the fifth year of the permit since a renewal application fee is expected for those permits. All other NPDES permits will be invoiced every year without skipping the fifth year.

Examples

Individual Permit Cycle

If a new individual NPDES permit was issued with an effective date of June 1, 2023, and an expiration date of May 31, 2028, the first invoice would be sent March 1, 2024, with a June 1, 2024, due date. The second invoice would be sent March 1, 2025, with a June 1, 2025, due date, and so on. Six months prior to expiration (i.e., December 31, 2027), the renewal application would be due, but there would be no renewal application fee (except for individual permits under Chapter 102). Regardless of the effective date of the renewed permit, the fee would continue to be due June 1 of each year. If the application is received late, a new application fee may be required in addition to the annual fees.

Note: If the same example permit was a Chapter 102 permit, a fee would be due with the renewal application, but no additional fee would be due in 2028, the year the permit would expire.

Amendments and Transfers

If an individual NPDES permit was issued with an effective date of February 1, 2024, and the permit is amended or transferred on June 10, 2024, the Chapter 92a fee invoice and due dates would not change; the next fee invoice would be mailed on November 1, 2024, and due on February 1, 2025. In the case of a transfer, the fee invoice would be sent to the new permittee, provided the transfer application was received prior to the invoice mailing date, in this case, November 1, 2024.

General Permit NOI Fees

General NPDES permits may be subject to Notice of Intent (NOI) installment payments. The initial general permit NOI fee for new permit coverage is submitted with the initial NOI. After that, most general NPDES permits are subject to NOI installment fees with due dates based on the type of general permit instead of the effective date, as detailed below. NOI installment fees are invoiced three months before the due date. The first NOI installment fee will be due on the next due date for the permit type after 12 months of permit coverage. For example, a PAG-03 permit issued June 1, 2023, would not have an NOI installment fee due on March 23, 2024, because it has not had 12 months of permit coverage at that time. The first NOI installment fee would be due on March 23, 2025, after at least 12 months of permit coverage. The NOI installment fee would then continue to be due every March 23rd for the term of the permit.

General Permit Invoice Due Dates by Permit Type

PAG-03: March 23
PAG-05: December 28
PAG-06: March 31
PAG-10: March 1
PAG-12: December 31
PAG-13: September 30
PAG-15: October 28

Financially Distressed Municipalities

To seek exemption as a financially distressed municipality under Act 47 of 1987, you must submit documentation of the determination from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) of financially distressed status with a copy of your invoice to the address listed on the invoice. Documentation will have to be resubmitted with your invoice each year for as long as you qualify as a financially distressed municipality.

Permit Termination

The annual fee must be paid unless the permit is terminated by DEP prior to the fee payment due date. Termination requests must be made in writing to the DEP regional office or conservation district that issued the permit. A permit is not terminated until DEP verifies the termination in writing. This applies to facilities that were never built, were decommissioned, or have ceased discharging. If requesting not to pay the invoice, please email a copy of the termination request that was submitted to the regional office along with the invoice to ra-annualfee@pa.gov. A physical copy of the termination request and the invoice may also be mailed to the address listed on the invoice. If DEP terminates your permit, you must apply for a new permit if you wish to resume a discharge to surface waters of the Commonwealth in the future. All NPDES permittees except for those with Chapter 102 permits should use the NPDES Notice of Termination (NOT) for Permits Issued Under Chapter 92a form 3800-PM-BCW0410. Permittees with Chapter 102 permits should use the Chapter 102 NOT form 3800-PM-BCW0229. These forms can be located by clicking the links or searching within DEP’s eLibrary.

Additional Information

If you receive an invoice from DEP for Chapter 92a fees or NOI installment fees, the fees must be paid in full by the due date. It is important to note that failure to receive an invoice does not excuse a permittee from paying the fee.

Do I Have a Fee Due? Was My Fee Paid?

You can find annual fee information specific to your permit(s) using the fees report at www.dep.pa.gov/wastewaterreports. The report is searchable by permit number or county and provides information about all annual fees past and present and whether they’ve been paid.

Pay Online

To pay online with a credit card, please visit the NPDES Annual Fee Electronic Payments site. A receipt will be emailed to the address provided when paying online.

Checks and money orders should be made out to “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania” and include the invoice remittance stub. Please include the permit number and invoice number on the check as well. The mailing address for Chapter 92a fees and NOI installment fees is:

PA Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Clean Water
Re: Chapter 92a Fee
P.O. Box 8466
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8466

For more information or to receive a W-9 form for DEP

Please contact DEP at ra-annualfee@pa.gov or 717.787.6744.