Only registrations for Chapter 105 General Permits are currently accepted through e-permitting. This includes those General Permit Registrations reviewed by DEP and Chapter 105 Delegated County Conservation Districts.
Prospective applicants for projects requiring a standard permit or small project application, or an Environmental Assessments (EA) will continue using the Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Army Corps of Engineers (Baltimore, Philadelphia, And Pittsburgh Districts) Joint Application for Pennsylvania Chapter 105 Water Obstruction and Encroachment Permit and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Section 404 Permit, Document #3150-PM-BWEW0036A.
The DEP or a Chapter 105 delegated county conservation district can only authorize activities when the activity meets the terms and conditions of the Chapter 105 General Permit. Therefore, it is imperative that potential applicants read the terms and conditions of the Chapter 105 General Permit(s) for which they are applying. Confirming that the activity meets the terms and conditions will result in quality applications and shorter timeframes for DEP or delegated county conservation district review and authorization. See the General Permit Types page for more information on the general permits and links to the permits.
How ePermitting Works
ePermitting is different than the traditional process where an application or registration is submitted to DEP on a form a paper or PDF form via mail or electronic means. The system is account based which provides many benefits. Like many other online accounts, communications, drafts, past history, etc. will be available and occur through the system. This provides many benefits such as easy access, data entry and tracking, responsive communication and information receipt to name a few.
With an account-based system, an account manager(s) will need to manage the applicant/owner account for all submissions, not just one submission. In e-permitting this is the Electronic Filing Administrator(s) (EFA). The EFA(s) can then grant access to other users. All users must enroll with ePermitting for the Bureau of Waterways Engineering and Wetlands to submit GP registrations.
Fees: Fees paid to DEP for general permits are paid electronically through ePermitting using credit card or electronic check. Fees paid to Chapter 105 delegated conservation districts will be paid by check mailed to the conservation district. Specific questions concerning fees and delegated county conservation districts should be directed to the delegated conservation district. See the General Permit Registration Instructions for more information.
Because this is account based, how applicants/owners work with consultants does change slightly, but only in a way to ensure that applicants/owners have control over who is working on their behalf within e-permitting.
Please watch these System Overview Videos which help explain the overall framework of the e-permitting system related to Chapter 105.
Ch. 105 ePermitting – System Overview - (2 min)
Ch. 105 ePermitting – User Role Overview - (4 min)
Ch. 105 ePermitting – Dashboard Overview - (4 min)
Key Concepts to Understand
1. ePermitting is an electronic process. This means the GP registration form is not used, and all communications will occur through the ePermitting system. Note: other forms such as impact table, fee worksheet, etc. and a General Permit Certification Form are still utilized and uploaded within ePermitting.
2. ALL users need to have and create their own account. This includes applicants and consultants. This means each person, not each company as accounts are personal accounts, not corporate accounts.
3. Each applicant must have an Electronic Filing Administrator (EFA). This EFA must be the applicant or be authorized to manage the applicant and user data and submit applications, such as an employee of the applicant company. The EFA manages and controls access of other users (employees, consultants, etc.).
4. GP registrations that are reviewed by DEP will pay fees online and GP registrations reviewed by Delegated County Conservation Districts will mail fees to the appropriate conservation district.
5. Users other than the EFA must request access from the EFA(s) using the EFA’s ACCESS ID. This must be obtained from the EFA, DEP does not provide the access ID’s to users.
6. Users must register for e-permitting for each DEP Program you wish to utilize e-permitting for. Example, if someone is already registered for e-permitting for Chapter 102 (Bureau of Clean Water), they will also have to register for e-permitting for Chapter 105 (Bureau of Waterways Engineering and Wetlands).
7. Chapter 105 e-permitting uses DEP’s Greenport to access the system. Greenport allows you to access multiple DEP online applications, including e-permitting.
Where and How to Access e-permitting
1. Unless one has already been created, a prospective user will need to create a GreenPort account to access e-permitting.
See the Username & Password Enrollment User Guide.
2. Once a person/user is registered and enrolled, they can access e-permitting either through GreenPort or go to and bookmark e-permitting directly.
Note: Greenport Accounts are not Corporate Accounts, but are accounts for an individual person.
The public can view all submissions made through DEP’s e-permitting through DEP’s eFACTS on the Web. You first locate the submission with eFACTS on the web, and if it was submitted through e-permitting there will be a link to view the submission for that record.
The e-permitting system is undergoing constant updates. The release notes for each update can be found here.