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Educational summary, not legal or engineering advice. Confirm with the agency before you start. Checked Oct 4, 2026.

Permit plan · Herbicide, algaecide or pond dye

Your permit plan: Herbicide, algaecide or pond dye

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

Your answers (change any of them)
  1. Who owns the water and the lakebed? My own pond, entirely on my land · change
  2. What do you plan to put in the water? An herbicide or algaecide (including copper products) · change
  3. Who will apply it? A hired applicator · change
  4. Will treatments cover 80 acres of water or more in a year, or 20 linear miles of shoreline? Not sure · change
State

Joint DEP/PFBC Chapter 91 permit (herbicides and algaecides)

DEP (for ponds and lakes, the application goes to DEP only)

Form: 3800-PM-BCW0094b

Fee: $250

Timing: Approval must arrive before any treatment; there is no minimum amount.

Before any herbicide, algaecide or fish-control chemical goes into surface water in Pennsylvania, including a private pond, you need a joint DEP/PFBC "Chapter 91" permit. There is no minimum amount: any use needs it, and use may not start until the approval arrives. Apply on form 3800-PM-BCW0094b, one application per site (a tax parcel or contiguous parcels, up to 20 water bodies). For ponds and lakes the application goes to DEP only, by upload or mail. DEP usually issues the permit to the person who owns or manages the property. Permits are typically issued without an expiration date; changing the water bodies, the product or a higher dose or more treatments needs a new application. Application fees: $250 new, $250 renewal, $100 amendment, $50 transfer; no annual fee.

What to have ready

  • The pond's name and location, with a topographic map (pond circled and named) or its latitude and longitude.
  • How the pond is used and which fish live in it.
  • The pond's total area, the area you'll treat, and the average depth (try the pond size calculator).
  • The plant or algae you want to control (see the plant guide).
  • Each product's brand and manufacturer: Only products registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, and labeled specifically for aquatic use, can be listed on the Chapter 91 permit application.
  • The dose and number of treatments per year, taken from the product label.
  • A PNDI environmental review receipt: Include a PNDI environmental review receipt (PA Conservation Explorer) with the application.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Sources: Water Quality Permitting for Pesticide Applications in Pennsylvania: FAQ (rev. Feb 21, 2025), FAQ #14; Permit Requirement for Use of an Aquatic Herbicide in Ponds (updated Sep 8, 2025) This may be outdated

Info

Follow the label: the label is the law

The product label

Follow the product label; the label is the law. This site gives no dosing advice. Only products registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, and labeled specifically for aquatic use, can be listed on the Chapter 91 permit application.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Permit Requirement for Use of an Aquatic Herbicide in Ponds (updated Sep 8, 2025) This may be outdated

Info

Treat in sections to protect your fish

PFBC; Penn State Extension

Killing a lot of plants or algae at once can crash the pond's oxygen: PFBC says lack of oxygen from decaying plants is the most common cause of fish kills in treated ponds. Penn State advises treating early in the growing season and, where a lot of vegetation must be treated, doing a third to a half of the pond at a time with one to two weeks between treatments. The product label still controls.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Pond Management (FAQ: controlling submerged vegetation) This may be outdated

Info

Large-scale NPDES permit: not needed below the thresholds

DEP

A separate NPDES permit for weed and algae control applies only at large scale: treating at least 80 acres of water, or at least 20 continuous linear miles at the water's edge, in a calendar year. Below those thresholds, use is automatically covered by DEP's PAG-15 general permit with no application, but the joint Chapter 91 permit is still required. Above them, DEP wants the Notice of Intent or permit application at least 30 days before the threshold is exceeded. The current PAG-15 took effect October 29, 2023 and expires October 28, 2028.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Water Quality Permitting for Pesticide Applications in Pennsylvania: FAQ (rev. Feb 21, 2025), FAQ #1, #2, #7, #8, #20 This may be outdated

State

Hiring an applicator? Check the PDA license

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA)

A business that applies pesticides for others must hold a Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture pesticide application business license, renewed every year with a $35 fee, and must employ at least one certified applicator in each category it works in. Aquatic work falls under business category D (Aquatic Pest Control), applicator category 09. PDA publishes a public search of licensed businesses by category and county. Ask who will file the Chapter 91 permit: DEP usually issues the permit to the person who owns or manages the property, not to the person who applies the product.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Sources: Pesticide Application Businesses; Water Quality Permitting for Pesticide Applications in Pennsylvania: FAQ (rev. Feb 21, 2025), FAQ #2, #3, #8, #10, #11, #28, #29 This may be outdated

Also check

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/2h00m · Checked Oct 4, 2026

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