Overview
Pennsylvania law requires fees for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. These fees help cover the costs of the state's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in managing water quality. DEP uses this money for tasks like issuing permits, checking if rules are followed, and testing water.
There are two types of fees: one when you apply and another you pay each year. DEP checks every three years to make sure these fees are set at the right amount.
If you receive an invoice from DEP for Chapter 92a fees or NOI installment fees, the fees must be paid in full by the due date. It is important to note that failure to receive an invoice does not excuse a permittee from paying the fee.
Additional resources:
How to pay your fees
You can find annual fee information specific to your permit(s) using the fees report at www.dep.pa.gov/wastewaterreports. The report is searchable by permit number or county and provides information about all annual fees past and present and whether they’ve been paid.
How to pay online
To pay online with a credit card, please visit the NPDES Annual Fee Electronic Payments site. A receipt will be emailed to the address provided when paying online.
Where to mail check and money orders
Checks and money orders should be made out to “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania” and include the invoice remittance stub. Please include the permit number and invoice number on the check as well. The mailing address for Chapter 92a fees and NOI installment fees is:
PA Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Clean Water
Re: Chapter 92a Fee
P.O. Box 8466
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8466
Individual permit fees
General permit
Information about terminating your permit
The annual fee must be paid unless the permit is terminated by DEP prior to the fee payment due date. Termination requests must be made in writing to the DEP regional office or conservation district that issued the permit.
A permit is not terminated until DEP verifies the termination in writing. This applies to facilities that were never built, were decommissioned, or have ceased discharging.
If requesting not to pay the invoice, please email a copy of the termination request that was submitted to the regional office along with the invoice to ra-annualfee@pa.gov.
A physical copy of the termination request and the invoice may also be mailed to the address listed on the invoice.
If DEP terminates your permit, you must apply for a new permit if you wish to resume a discharge to surface waters of the Commonwealth in the future.
All NPDES permittees except for those with Chapter 102 permits should use the NPDES Notice of Termination (NOT) for Permits Issued Under Chapter 92a form 3800-PM-BCW0410.
Permittees with Chapter 102 permits should use the Chapter 102 NOT form 3800-PM-BCW0229. These forms can be located by clicking the links or searching within DEP’s eLibrary.
Contact us
For more information or to receive a W-9 form for DEP, please contact DEP at ra-annualfee@pa.gov or 717.787.6744.