PA Dam Safety and Encroachments Act / 25 Pa. Code Ch. 105 — Waterway Permits & Wetlands (PA)
Tracked preemption from the Pennsylvania overlay bundle.
Overview
← All state preemptionsPennsylvania overlay roll-upPennsylvania zoning wikiPennsylvania building codesFederal overlaysGlossaryFederal-conflict: Yes
Effective
1978-11-26
Sunset
—
Authority
state
Scope
state:PA
Other Pennsylvania preemptions
Pennsylvania Act 13 — Oil & Gas Operational Preemption (58 Pa.C.S. §3303)Chesapeake Bay Watershed — Riparian Buffer & E&S Control (25 Pa. Code Ch. 102)Pennsylvania Natural Diversity Inventory (PNDI) Environmental ReviewMPC §503(1.1) — Manufactured / Industrialized Housing PreemptionPennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC) — Building Code PreemptionFirearms — Local Regulation Preemption (18 Pa.C.S. §6120)Pennsylvania History Code — State Historic Preservation Review (Pa.C.S. Title 37)Pennsylvania Agricultural Area Security Law — Agricultural Security Areas (Act 43 / Act 38 of 2005)
Trigger predicate
When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.
OR
project.includes_waterway_encroachment==Trueproject.affects_jurisdictional_wetland==Trueproject.includes_dam_or_reservoir==True
Preempted fields
3 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.
| Field | Op | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
review_type | require | dep_chapter_105_water_obstruction_encroachment_permit | Any dam, water obstruction, or encroachment (including culverts, bridges, stream enclosures, fills, levees, floodwalls, stream crossings, outfalls, docks, bulkheads, dredging) within a regulated water of the Commonwealth requires a DEP Chapter 105 permit (or qualifies under a General Permit, 25 Pa. Code §§105.441–105.449). Joint permit application is processed under federal Clean Water Act §404 where USACE jurisdiction applies. |
review_type | require | dep_wetland_replacement_ratio_1to1_or_greater | PA regulates Waters of the Commonwealth more broadly than federal Waters of the US: includes isolated wetlands and Exceptional Value (EV) wetlands not subject to federal §404 (post-Sackett). EV wetlands generally cannot be impacted; other wetland fills require minimum 1:1 acreage replacement, often higher under §105.20a. |
base_districts[*].max_lot_coverage_pct | subject_to_floodway_prohibition | no_obstruction_in_regulatory_floodway | Encroachments within the regulatory floodway that would raise base-flood elevation are prohibited absent a no-rise certification under 25 Pa. Code §105.161. |
Citation
Authority source
Dam Safety and Encroachments Act, Act of Nov. 26, 1978, P.L. 1375, No. 325, 32 P.S. §§693.1–693.27; implementing regulations 25 Pa. Code Ch. 105 (Dam Safety and Waterway Management)
§ 32 P.S. §693.6; 25 Pa. Code §§105.11 (permit requirement), 105.17 (EV wetlands), 105.20a (wetland replacement), 105.161 (floodway no-rise), 105.441 et seq. (general permits)
Research notes
Federal conflict check enabled because Ch. 105 operates in parallel with USACE §404 and Section 10 (Rivers and Harbors Act) permits — joint permit application is standard. State jurisdiction is broader than federal post-Sackett v. EPA, 598 U.S. 651 (2023) on isolated wetlands. PA does not have a wetland-mapping program comparable to NWI; jurisdiction is field-delineated at permit application.