New York issues five-year stream work permit; no work may start before state countersignature
DEC's new Stream Activities General Permit covers bank stabilization, culvert and bridge repair and utility line repairs from May 21, 2026 to May 20, 2031. It requires DEC countersignature for every authorization and sets a 500-foot limit on vegetation-based bank stabilization inside the New York City watershed.
The Department of Environmental Conservation ("DEC") has issued the Stream Activities General Permit, GP-0-26-003, effective May 21, 2026 through May 20, 2031. It authorizes listed work in and along regulated streams under ECL Article 15 (stream disturbance and excavation and fill in navigable waters), and addresses Article 24 freshwater wetlands and state water quality certification for that work. DEC's March 2026 notice described it as renewing and modifying GP-0-20-002. The practical question for owners and public works agencies is whether a project fits the permit's limits, because a project that does not fit needs an individual permit.
DEC Stream Activities General Permit GP-0-26-003 (effective May 21, 2026 to May 20, 2031); ECL art. 15; ECL art. 24