Trends in the Law

Under the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act, every new subdivision and land development that involves the use of sewage facilities must be approved as a revision to the municipal sewage facilities plan. This plan (sometimes referred to as the “537 Plan”) is maintained and updated periodically by each Pennsylvania municipality.



Before a land development can proceed, a “plan revision” must be adopted for that development by the municipality, and in most cases, approved by the State Department of Environmental Protection. If the proposed development is inconsistent with the municipality’s base sewage facilities plan, the municipality or the department may reject the plan and prevent the development from going forward.



The planning process must comply with a stringent and complex set of state regulations. Land developments that propose to use on-lot subsurface sewage systems must establish that the soils and topography of each building lot meet the criteria for such systems. On-lot, subsurface sewage facility permits are issued only by state certified, municipally hired sewage enforcement officers, whose activities are governed directly by state regulation.



If a development using on-lot systems is proposed in an area where groundwater has been found to be high in nitrate-nitrogen, a sewage facilities plan revision for such development will not be approved unless a preliminary hydrogeologic evaluation is conducted. This evaluation must establish that the proposed sewage systems will not cause the groundwater to exceed the maximum contaminant level for nitrate-nitrogen, which is 10 milligrams per liter.



On-lot systems with de-nitrification components are available however, which could be utilized to allow development to take place in these high nitrogen areas.



Small-flow individual treatment facilities with discharges to surface water are also available, but these require state-issued permits under the Clean Streams Law and the Federal Clean Water Act. Use of these systems also requires revision to the municipal 537 plan.



Such systems require a high degree of maintenance, and special provisions to guarantee the performance of that maintenance must be adopted by the local municipality.

Flood Plain Management

Pennsylvania’s Flood Plain Management Act requires virtually all municipalities to adopt flood plain management ordinances. These ordinances must, at a minimum, impose the standards necessary to comply with the requirements of the Federal National Flood Insurance Act of 1968.



Even though about a third of Pennsylvania’s municipalities have no municipal planning or zoning regulations, all municipalities with areas subject to flooding, as shown on maps compiled by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, are required by the Flood Plan Management Act to have a flood plain management ordinance.



This means that structural development in the floodway of any watershed that would cause an increase in the 100-year flood elevation is prohibited. While the state mandated program generally tracks the minimum standards of the Federal Flood Insurance Program, the Pennsylvania statute exceeds federal requirements in two areas:



* Any structures housing activities that may endanger human life are prohibited within any delineated floodway area. To implement this requirement, the regulations list hazardous compounds that may not be manufactured or stored in new or substantially improved structures in the floodway.



* The Pennsylvania Act also identifies special hazard facilities (hospitals, nursing homes, jails, and mobile home parks) which cannot be built or substantially improved in a flood hazard area without a special permit.



Note also that under Pennsylvania law as interpreted by Commonwealth Court, municipalities may supplement the minimum statutory requirements with additional, local requirements.

Storm Water Management