Pennsylvania board to consider stricter protection for 16 stream basins on October 13
On October 13, 2026 the Environmental Quality Board is to consider a proposal to redesignate 16 stream basins covering 138.47 miles, most as Exceptional Value. New or expanded discharges would face antidegradation review and individual permits. A proposal only; comment dates are not yet set.
The Environmental Quality Board ("EQB") has placed on the agenda for its October 13, 2026 meeting a "Consideration of Proposed Rulemaking" titled Water Quality Standards; Chester Creek et al. Stream Redesignations, 25 Pa. Code Chapter 93. According to the Board's executive summary and preamble, the Department of Environmental Protection ("DEP") proposes to redesignate 16 stream basins totaling 138.47 miles across seven drainage lists. This is a proposal that the Board has not yet voted to publish; it would not be in force until it is made final; the preamble says a final rule takes effect on publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin and that, once approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA"), the standards are used to implement the Clean Water Act.
25 Pa. Code Chapter 93, Water Quality Standards; Chester Creek et al. Stream Redesignations, proposed rulemaking (EQB agenda, October 13, 2026); Clean Water Act section 303(c)(1)