Environmental Rules in Bethlehem, PA (2026)
5 verified environmental rules for Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Stormwater Management
Bethlehem regulates land development, subdivision and earth-moving activity across its Lehigh River, Catasauqua Creek, Monocacy Creek, Nancy Run and Saucon Creek watersheds under the City of Bethlehem Stormwater Management Ordinance. A Drainage Plan is required for regulated activity creating more than 10,000 square feet of new impervious cover, with runoff-rate and water-quality controls enforced by the City Engineering Bureau.
Bethlehem Stormwater Management Rules
Some RestrictionsCodified Ordinances of the City of Bethlehem § 925.06, § 925.99
A. Impervious Cover - Any proposed Regulated Activity, except those defined in Section 925.05I and 925.05J, which would create 10,000 square feet or less of additional impervious cover is exempt from the Drainage Plan preparation provisions of this Ordinance except as cited in Section 925.06D and E... F. ... No exemptions shall be provided for regulated activities as defined in Sections 925.05I...
Erosion Control
Bethlehem requires an approved Erosion and Sediment Control Plan before any regulated earth-disturbance activity can start under Codified Ordinances Section 925.14. The City Engineer can order corrective work within 10 days of finding a deficiency and can pull construction permits and stop the job until controls are fixed, on top of state DEP permits for sites over 5,000 square feet.
Bethlehem Construction Erosion and Sediment Control
Significant RestrictionsCodified Ordinances of the City of Bethlehem § 925.14
A. No Regulated Earth Disturbance activities within the City shall commence until approval by the City of an Erosion and Sediment Control Plan for construction activities. ... Should the City Engineer determine that erosion control on any area of land is deficient and impacting or threatening to impact on offsite land, either directly or indirectly (such as through the creation of sinkholes tha...
Flood Zones
Bethlehem bans ordinary development inside the Floodway District overlay established by Article 1327 unless the effect on flood heights is fully offset by state-approved stream improvements. Only agriculture, outdoor recreation, and similar unimproved uses are allowed outright; structures, fill, and most other activities need a special exception from the Zoning Hearing Board. The district applies wherever the FEMA-based flood study maps the one-hundred-year flood.
Bethlehem Floodway District Development Rules
Significant RestrictionsCodified Ordinances of the City of Bethlehem § 1327.05
In the Floodway District no development shall be permitted except where the effect of such development on flood heights is fully offset by accompanying stream improvements which have been approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Dams and Encroachment Division. (a) Permitted Uses. In the Floodway District the following uses and activities are permitted provided that t...
Boat Dock Permits
Bethlehem restricts boating and docking on park waters to locations the Director designates, and bars anyone from launching, docking or operating a boat at all between a park's closing hour at night and its opening the next morning. Section 941.05(b) governs both rules for South Mountain, Monocacy and Saucon Parks' waterways.
Bethlehem Park Boating and Docking Rules
Significant RestrictionsCodified Ordinances of the City of Bethlehem § 941.05(b)(1), (3)
(1) Designated areas. ... No person shall bring into a park or operate any motorized boat, raft, or other motorized watercraft, whether motor-powered or not, upon any waters, except at places designated for boating by the Director. Such activity shall be in accordance with applicable regulations by the Fish & Boat Commission as are now or may hereafter be adopted. ... (3) Prohibition during clo...
Flood Elevation Requirements
Any structure in Bethlehem's Flood Fringe District used to produce, store, or maintain listed hazardous substances must sit at least one and one-half feet above the one-hundred-year flood elevation, under Codified Ordinances § 1327.06(a). That eighteen-inch freeboard margin is locked into the code so tightly that the Zoning Hearing Board can't grant a variance from it, even though it can waive other requirements in the same subsection.
Bethlehem Flood Fringe Freeboard Requirement
Heavy RestrictionsCodified Ordinances of the City of Bethlehem § 1327.06
(a) Any structure, or substantial improvement to any structure which is used for the production, storage, or maintenance of a supply of any of the substances listed in Section 1327.05(d)(1) shall: (1) Be elevated or designed and constructed to remain completely dry up to at least one and one-half (1-1/2') feet above the one hundred (100) year flood elevation. (2) Be designed and constructed to ...