REGULATORY ALERT Pennsylvania Environmental Permitting Reform

Dec 28, 2025
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Under Governor Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania has identified environmental permitting as a priority to help attract manufacturing growth, power plant and infrastructure construction, and data centers to the Commonwealth. As part of the 2025/2026 state budget negotiations and resolution in November 2025, Pennsylvania has now expanded the optional “SPEED” permitting program to include additional types of permits and also has imposed mandatory permit decision timelines and automatic approvals for many “general permits” that are commonly required by manufacturers, utilities, and developers for new construction projects.

SPEED Permit Streamlining Program

In 2024/2025, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) instituted a new Streamlining Permits for Economic Expansion and Development (SPEED)  permit review process using third-party consultants to review permit applications and draft permits. The SPEED process is optional for permit applicants but is intended to ensure expedited review and issuance of permits. SPEED was originally implemented for three permit types: Air Quality Chapter 127 Plan Approvals; Chapter 102 Earth Disturbance Permits; and Chapter 105 Individual Water Obstruction and Encroachment & Dam Safety permits.

As part of the Pennsylvania 2025/2026 fiscal budget negotiations, Act 45 of 2025 (House Bill 416) was passed on November 12, 2025 and amends the state’s fiscal code while also providing additional PA DEP permitting reforms. Act 45 requires PA DEP to add several new permits to the SPEED program and also requires the DEP to make decisions on certain air and water “general permits” within 30 days. The new permits that will be added to SPEED are:

  • Storage tanks permitted under 25 Pa. Code Ch. 245
  • Short-term construction permits for non-coal surface mines under 25 Pa. Code Ch. 77
  • Concentrated animal feeding operations under 26 Pa. Code Ch. 92

 

It should be noted that the SPEED program is an expensive option, requiring that applicants provide PA DEP with the third party permit review fees prior to starting the review process. To date, less than 10 DEP permits are in the SPEED program, compared to an average of about 740 permits that are issued every week by the DEP.  In addition, DEP has greatly improved the speed by which they review/issue permits and has significantly reduced its “permit backlog” over the past 2 years. The public comment requirements that apply to many permits remain unchanged under the SPEED program, and any public comments have the potential to slow the review/approval process. For these reasons, the SPEED program is unlikely to provide applicants with a guarantee that permits will be issued much more quickly than the standard DEP review process.

Permit decision timelines and automatic approvals

Act 45 requires DEP to make decisions on certain air and water general permits within 30 days. These general permits encompass a wide range of air and stormwater permits that are required for construction/expansion projects. DEP must now respond within 20 days of submission to an application under the Air Pollution Control Act for coverage under a general plan approval or general permit. If the applicant addresses the technical deficiencies within 25 days, DEP must issue a final determination on the application within 30 days after that. If DEP misses this deadline, the application is deemed to have been approved. Similarly, DEP must respond to an application to renew a water quality  NPDES general permit within 40 days of submission, and if the applicant addresses each identified technical deficiency within 50 days, DEP must issue a final determination on the renewal application within 60 days after that. If DEP misses this deadline, the application is deemed to have been approved.

Specifically, the air quality general permits and general plan approvals include the following:

  • GP-1 Gas and No. 2 Oil Fired Small Combustion Units
  • GP-2 Storage Tanks for Volatile Organic Liquids
  • GP-3 Portable Nonmetallic Mineral Processing Plants
  • GP-4 Burn-Off Ovens
  • GP-5/5a Natural Gas Compressor Stations, Processing Facilities, and Well Pads
  • GP-9 Diesel or No.2 Fuel-Fired IC Engines
  • GP-13 Hot Mix Asphalt Plants
  • GP-14 Human or Animal Crematory Incinerators
  • GP-15 Feed Mills
  • GP-16 Gaseous Fuel-Fired Spark Ignition Internal Combustion Engines
  • GP-19 Dry Abrasive Blasting Operations
  • GP-20 Natural Gas-Fired Combined Heat and Power Facilities
  • GP-21 Coal-Mine Methane Enclosed Flare
  • GP- 22 Landfill Gas-Fired Simple Cycle Turbine(s)
  • GP-24 Pharmaceutical & Specialty Chemical Production

 

The water quality general permits (under the federal NPDES program) include the following:

  • PAG-03 Discharges of Stormwater Associated with Industrial Activities
  • PAG-04 Discharges from Small Flow Sewage Treatment Facilities
  • PAG-05 Discharges from Petroleum Contaminated Groundwater Systems
  • PAG-06 Discharges from Combined Sewer Systems

Summary

The Pennsylvania permit reform changes have the potential to provide improved certainty for many types of projects. However, it is important that permit applications be administratively and technically complete to avoid any “deficiencies” which can slow or stop the permit review process.

Liberty Environmental’s Regulatory Compliance practice assists clients secure air quality and water quality permits in Pennsylvania, and in many other states. Our extensive permitting experience in Pennsylvania (more than 100 permits issued in the past 3 years) has resulted in more than 98% of Liberty’s permit applications being deemed administratively and technically complete by DEP.