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of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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    The Bureau of Clean Water oversees the statewide Clean Water Program in DEP's six regional offices, and is responsible for protecting and preserving the waters of Pennsylvania, including 86,000 miles of streams and lakes, through implementation of the following program activities:

    • Establishment of water quality standards;
    • Water quality monitoring and assessments;
    • Municipal sewage management and planning (Act 537);
    • National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting and inspection of point source discharges;
    • Water Quality Management (WQM) permitting and inspection of land discharges and facility construction;
    • Technical outreach for wastewater treatment facilities and wastewater operators, and licensing for Sewage Enforcement Officers (SEOs);
    • Administration of the nutrient trading program;
    • Permitting and inspection of biosolids treatment/processing facilities and residential septage management;
    • Coordination between associated federal, interstate and intrastate agencies;
    • Regulation of nutrient and sediment pollution from agricultural operations; and
    • Black fly suppression and vector management/eradication associated with West Nile and Zika Virus

    Divisions

    The bureau consists of five divisions:

    • Municipal Facilities
    • NPDES Permitting
    • Data Management
    • Program Support
    • Water Quality

    Contacts for each division can be found in BCW's Directory. See the Related Information links on the right or bottom of this page for topics administered by BCW.