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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? A federal reservoir (Army Corps of Engineers) · change
  2. What do you plan to put in the water? A pond dye · change
  3. Is the dye meant to control algae or weeds? No, only for color · change
  4. Does a stream flow into the pond and out again? Yes, water flows in from a stream and out · change
State

Pond dyes

DEP

A pond dye used to control algae or plants (for example by blocking light) needs the joint Chapter 91 permit like any other chemical. A dye used only for color does not, and in a pond fed only by runoff or groundwater it may be applied according to the label. But if a stream flows into the pond and water flows out, dyes and other products that change the water's appearance generally may not be used unless DEP authorizes it.

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: Water Quality Permitting for Pesticide Applications in Pennsylvania: FAQ (rev. Feb 21, 2025), FAQ #25 This may be outdated

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

Also check

Owner

Army Corps lake: ask the project office first

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the lake's project office)

Ask the lake's Corps project office first; Corps shoreline rules apply. At lakes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages, private docks and other private shoreline uses are allowed only in areas the lake's Shoreline Management Plan designates, and not at all on lakes where construction began after December 13, 1974 or where no private uses existed by then (older permitted facilities can continue).

Checked Oct 4, 2026 · Source: 36 CFR § 327.30, Shoreline Management on Civil Works Projects 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

Optional. We use it only to show pros who serve your area. It isn't saved with your plan.

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Pond & Shore PA plan · lakepennsylvania.us/plan/2h34g · Checked Oct 4, 2026

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