DEP’s Chapter 105 Rewrite Is Back – Shale Needs a Seat at the Table

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is taking a second crack at rewriting Chapter 105, the state's rules for anything built in, along, or across a stream or wetland. Those rules were last overhauled in 1991. On Nov. 4, DEP walked its Water Resources Advisory Committee (WRAC) through a 55-page draft of the new rules. Nothing in the draft targets shale drilling by name. But Chapter 105 is the permit every well pad access road, gathering line, and pipeline needs when it crosses a creek or wetland, so a lot of what's in here lands right on the M-U industry. Consider this your heads-up: the time to get involved is now, while DEP is still asking for input, not after the text is locked in.

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