Under both Pennsylvania’s Clean Stream Law and the federal Clean Water Act, wastewater treatment plants and industrial facilities that discharge anything through a pipe or other identifiable source are deemed “point sources” and require a permit to limit the amount of pollution those discharges contribute to our rivers and streams. That permit addresses the processes happening often during a facilities operations before the discharge flows out to the river or stream.
In addition, if the plant or facility is not covered by a municipality’s MS4 permit, the plant or facility will need a stormwater permit to address the runoff from its site. The plant or facility might be eligible for a general industrial stormwater permit depending on the site and what is stored on site. Individual industrial stormwater permits are often required for plants and facilities where streams and rivers are high quality or exception value streams, as is the case for some streams in the Christina Basin. To learn more about industrial stormwater permits in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s Industrial Stormwater webpage.