Pennsylvania moves to give its highest stream protection to waters in four counties
The state's environmental board approved a proposal to upgrade 16 stream basins, several to Exceptional Value, which would tighten the rules for new discharges. Publication and a comment period come next.
Developers planning warehouses, subdivisions or industrial sites near certain streams in Carbon, Bucks, Berks and Greene counties could face individual discharge permits and tighter treatment requirements under a Pennsylvania proposal. On October 13, 2026, the Environmental Quality Board ("EQB") adopted as a proposed rule the "Chester Creek et al." stream redesignations, Rulemaking No. 7-592, amending the water quality standards in 25 Pa. Code ch. 93. The proposal is not yet in force: it has not been published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, and the comment period has not opened.
Env't Quality Bd., Proposed Rulemaking, Water Quality Standards; Chester Creek et al. Stream Redesignations, No. 7-592 (Oct. 13, 2026) (proposed amendments to 25 Pa. Code ch. 93)