Erosion and Sediment
Pollution Control (E&SPC) Program

Click here to access a copy of the Westmoreland Conservation District's
Application for Plan Review, which is available in Adobe Acrobat format.

Authority and Applicability

A. The Westmoreland Conservation District (District) is delegated the authority to administer the Commonwealth’s Erosion and Sediment Pollution Control (E&SPC) Program under PA Chapter 102 rules and regulations and the Clean Streams Law in Westmoreland County.

B. Districts may charge fees for Erosion and Sediment Pollution Control Plan reviews as authorized by Act 217 - The Conservation District Law.

C. Review fees shall apply to all plans that are submitted to the District requesting E&SPC plan adequacy except as noted within.

Effective date: February 1, 2007

Fees

A. The following fees will be charged by the District for E&SPC plan reviews. Fees will be based on the amount of disturbed acres associated with the project. Applications will not be accepted for review without the appropriate fee.

District E&SPC Plan Review Fees

**Disturbed acres are defined as the area of the project in which the surface of the land is disturbed by excavations, embankments, land development, residential lot construction, mineral extraction and moving, depositing or storing of soil, rock, or earth, or other earthmoving activity.

B. The applicant will submit a check or money order (cash not accepted) made payable to the Westmoreland Conservation District and will submit this fee with the completed application form and the project plans. Plans will not be reviewed unless all components are submitted. Incomplete plan packages may be returned. The District reserves the right to retain the permit administrative processing fee when the application needs to be returned, and that a new administrative processing fee must accompany the permit application resubmital.

C. The District fee shall not be combined with any other municipal or county fee. The canceled check will be the applicant’s receipt. No separate receipt will be provided unless requested.

D. Stormwater management plans may be submitted with the E&SPC plan. See the Stormwater Fee Schedule.

E. If the plan, check, or application is incomplete, the applicant will be notified. If a check is returned due to insufficient funds, the plan will not be reviewed.

F. Plan reviews by the District will remain valid for three years from the approval letter date. Failure to initiate earthmoving activities within this time will invalidate this review (subject to IV-A-2).

G. A site requiring a District plan review may not begin earthmoving activities until the Erosion and Sediment Pollution Control Plan has been approved by the District technical staff.

H. Review Fees are non-refundable.

Fee Adjustments

A. Fees will be waived for an application filed under the name of a governmental sub-unit of the United States or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This waiver does not apply to private, non-profit organizations or school districts.

B. Fees may be waived for earthmoving operations with limited acreages such as individual homesites. The District is the sole determinant of this waiver.

C. If an application involves an NPDES Permit, the applicant shall attach an additional check to: Westmoreland Clean Water Fund (For NPDES filing fee). District review fee.

D. If an application involves a Stormwater Management Plan review, the application shall attach an additional check to: Westmoreland Conservation District.

E. The fee will not be applicable to agricultural operations such as plowing and tilling, and agricultural conservation practices completed in accordance with a conservation plan approved by the District. When a site disturbance occurs that is not an agricultural practice such as earth disturbance for a large building, the fee schedule for plan review would be applicable.

F. The fee schedule will not be applicable to timber harvesting operations. See timber harvest fee schedule.

G. The fee schedule will not be applicable to erosion control plans for 105 general permits when the plan is limited to the permit area (ie: road crossing, pipe outfall, etc.) In that case, a $125.00 fee will be charged for each separate application.

Additional fees

A. One fee is intended to cover the entire review process except for the following:

1. Where the applicant or his agent fails to directly address and attempt to resolve concerns expressed by the District after a review of the E&SPC plan, and such actions require the District to conduct more than three plan reviews, a $100.00 fee will be imposed for each submission thereafter.

2. If the original plan is no longer applicable due to changes in either the plan design or site conditions, it will no longer be valid and fees will be charged as indicated in section II-A above.

3. When site construction and final site stabilization are not completed within three years from the date of initial plan review, the District reserves the right to require the submission of a new plan and additional or upgraded controls if E&SPC standards have been revised. Fees will be charged as indicated in section II-A above.

Parceled projects

A. On parceled projects, the fee may be submitted in a lump sum with the E&SPC plan for the total project area, or may be submitted with individual parcels of the project when the E&SPC plan for each parcel as submitted for review. Parceling plans are subject to section IV-A-3 above.

Change of project

A. Each submission of a different project on the same site shall be considered as a new project and the fees shall be charged accordingly.

revised: 2/16/07