Permit plan · Dredge or remove muck

Your permit plan: Dredge or remove muck

Based on your answers. Cards are in the order you'll usually need them. Checked Oct 4, 2026.

Your answers (change any of them)

Who owns the water and the lakebed? My own pond, entirely on my land · change
What kind of pond is it, and what will you remove? A man-made pond: removing built-up sediment to restore its original depth · change
Is the pond within all three limits: drainage area 100 acres or less, deepest water 15 feet or less, and capacity 50 acre-feet or less? No, it's bigger (it may be a DEP-regulated dam) · change
Will you lower the water level to do the work? Yes · change

State

Maintenance dredging waiver (man-made ponds)

DEP

Removing built-up sediment to restore an artificial pond to its original capacity is waived from a Chapter 105 permit when the drainage area is 100 acres or less, the deepest water is 15 feet or less, and it holds 50 acre-feet or less. Behind a DEP-permitted dam, removing accumulated sediment to the original design capacity is treated as maintenance. Either way, DEP says to run a PNDI environmental review first and get an erosion and sediment control plan in place with your county conservation district; the work may still need a U.S. Army Corps authorization and a PFBC drawdown permit.

What to have ready

Records showing the pond's original depth or capacity, if you have them.
A PNDI environmental review receipt (PA Conservation Explorer).
An erosion and sediment control plan for the dredged material (your conservation district).

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: 25 Pa. Code § 105.12(a)(14), Waiver of permit requirements This may be outdated

State

Erosion and sediment control

Your county conservation district (for DEP)

Any earth disturbance needs erosion and sediment control practices (BMPs). A written erosion and sediment control plan is required once the disturbance reaches 5,000 square feet (or if the work could discharge to a High Quality or Exceptional Value water), and it must be kept on site. Disturbing 1 acre or more generally needs an NPDES permit for construction stormwater. County conservation districts review these plans and may charge a review fee.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Frequently Asked Questions: Erosion and Sediment Control (rev. Aug 12, 2026), FAQ #5 This may be outdated

Info

Run a PNDI environmental review

PA Conservation Explorer (Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program)

PA Conservation Explorer screens a project area for possible impacts on threatened, endangered and special concern species. Include a PNDI environmental review receipt (PA Conservation Explorer) with the application.

PA Conservation Explorer

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Water Quality Permitting for Pesticide Applications in Pennsylvania: FAQ (rev. Feb 21, 2025), FAQ #14 This may be outdated

Federal

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Clean Water Act Section 404)

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, usually through DEP's joint application

Placing fill or dredged material in waters of the United States, including many wetlands, needs federal authorization under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. In Pennsylvania the Army Corps and DEP share one joint application: under the Pennsylvania State Programmatic General Permit (PASPGP-7), DEP or a delegated county conservation district can issue both the state and the federal authorization in most cases, and forwards the rest to the Corps. PASPGP-7 runs until June 30, 2031.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Pennsylvania State Programmatic General Permit-7 (PASPGP-7), Part I and Part VI (dated April 27, 2026) This may be outdated

State

PA One Call (811) before you dig

Pennsylvania One Call System

Timing: Notify between 3 and 10 business days before digging.

If you will dig with powered equipment, Pennsylvania law requires notice to PA One Call (call 811 or file online) at least 3 and no more than 10 business days before digging, and this applies to homeowners on their own land. Work may not start before the third business day after notice; weekends and legal holidays do not count. The service is free for homeowners. A contractor must make its own call: ask for its PA One Call serial number.

PA One Call: Homeowner FAQs

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: PA One Call: Homeowner FAQs; PA Act 287 as amended This may be outdated

State

Repairing a dam or outlet

DEP Division of Dam Safety

Any repair or change to a DEP-regulated (jurisdictional) dam should go to DEP's Division of Dam Safety first for a decision on what is required. Repairing a non-jurisdictional pond dam is not regulated under Chapter 105, but an erosion and sediment control plan must still be followed.

DEP: Dam Safety

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Introduction to Ponds and Chapter 105 (Dam/Outlet Repair; FAQ) This may be outdated

State

PFBC Permit to Draw Off Water from Impoundments

PFBC, reviewed with DEP dam safety staff

Form: PFBC Application to Draw Off Water from Impoundments (updated March 2026; file pfbc-dd01)

Timing: Apply at least 30 days before the drawdown.

Lowering the water in a pond, lake or other impoundment needs PFBC's Permit to Draw Off Water from Impoundments when the water body is larger than 1 acre, or at any size when the project needs another state permit (for example a DEP dam permit or a water obstruction and encroachment permit). Apply at least 30 days before the drawdown; there is no fee. PFBC and DEP's dam safety staff review it together. PFBC warns that drawing a pond down after turtles, frogs and salamanders begin hibernating in the mud can kill them.

What to have ready

The impoundment's name, county, municipality and receiving stream.
The DEP dam ID number, if the dam has one.
Surface area, maximum depth, and how far below normal pool you'll lower it.
Method (valve, gate, stoplog, siphon or pump) and the proposed dates.
Where any fish will be moved.
The purpose; for dam, dredging, shoreline, beach or dock work, the DEP supplement with plans and photos.
A map that locates the impoundment (USGS topographic or PennDOT county highway map).

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Apply to Draw Off Water from Impoundments This may be outdated

Info

Time it before hibernation

PFBC

PFBC warns that if you draw a pond down after turtles, frogs and salamanders begin hibernating in the mud, and that mud is exposed, the animals will likely be killed. A drawdown can dry out and partly control plants in the exposed area, especially together with freezing weather.

PFBC: Drawdown considerations

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Apply to Draw Off Water from Impoundments: Drawdown Considerations This may be outdated

Also check

Local

Also check with your municipality

Your township, borough or city (and county)

Ask about zoning, building and floodplain permits. Your county, township or municipal government may have its own rules, codes or permits for pond construction or maintenance, so check with every level of local government before you start, especially for a new pond.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Pond Agencies and Permits in Pennsylvania: Local Government (updated May 19, 2025) This may be outdated

A summary, not legal or engineering advice. The regulation, the permit documents and the product label control. Confirm with the agency before you start.

Pros for this work

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Pond & Shore PA plan · lakepennsylvania.us/plan/2d00g · Checked Oct 4, 2026

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