DEP Invites Comments On New Post-Construction Stormwater Management Manual

The Department of Environmental Protection invites comments on a new Post-Construction Stormwater Management Manual providing guidance on the construction, maintenance and operation of stormwater control measures.  (formal notice)

The deadline for comments is April 28.

DEP said the significant changes from the previous 2006 Manual include--

-- New interpretive guidance on the post-construction Stormwater Management regulations (25 Pa. Code § 102.8 (relating to post-construction Stormwater Management requirements)).

-- A proposed hierarchy of stormwater management objectives.

-- Additional detailed information on the performance of the stormwater analysis that is required for PCSM at 25 Pa. Code § 102.8(g), including the addition of new methodologies for the analysis of volume, water quality and rate management.

-- Proposed criteria for the protection of wetlands.

-- New best management practices—which are referred to in the draft Pennsylvania PCSM Manual as stormwater control measures (SCM)—including, but not limited to, managed release concept SCMs.

-- New incentives for the protection of natural open spaces and natural stormwater features.

-- New methods for the completion of the pre-development site characterization required by the regulations, including infiltration testing.

-- Introduction of methods for adjusting precipitation depths for stormwater analysis based on the known effects of climate change.

-- New guidance regarding: antidegradation requirements; the determination of discharge points and points of analysis; analyses of stream stability and erosion potential; off-site stormwater management; the evaluation of thermal impacts; and the assessment of projects located in areas of karst geology.

A copy of the revised Manual will be posted on DEP’s eComment webpage. Click Here for instructions on how to submit comments.

Click Here for a copy of a DEP presentation on the Manual given to DEP’s Water Resources Advisory Committee in November.  Click Here for a DEP presentation given to DEP’s Agricultural Advisory Board in December.

Questions should be directed to Sean Furjanic, PE, at sefurjanic@pa.gov.

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[Posted: January 27, 2023]  PA Environment Digest