Philadelphia, PA Environmental Rules: Erosion Control (2026)

1(8) makes the building permit itself the enforcement lever: no building permit may issue once site clearing, grubbing or earth disturbance reaches 5,000 square feet unless an erosion control plan has been approved for the site under applicable state and local stormwater-management requirements. Subsection (9), added by Bill No. 260393 (approved June 12, 2026, effective July 1, 2026), lowers that trigger sharply on hillside lots: earth disturbance over 1,400 square feet on a slope of 15% or more within a Steep Slope Protection Area, defined at § 14-704(2), or over 500 square feet within the Wissahickon Watershed Overlay, defined at § 14-510, needs the same permit-and-plan process, unless the site is mapped Category 5 on the associated Impervious Coverage Map.

The zoning code backs this with a technical standard: under § 14-704(2)(e), any earth moving plan required on a steep-slope lot must be prepared by a Pennsylvania-licensed professional engineer, must set out the measures used to control erosion and sedimentation during earth moving and construction, must be filed with and approved by the City Planning Commission before a zoning permit issues, and a professionally sealed copy must stay on site and available for City inspection for the duration of the work. Licensed demolition contractors carry a parallel duty: § 9-1008 requires every Class "B" Demolition Contractor to abide by the Water Department's Storm Water Erosion and Sediment Control Regulations, on top of Air Management Code dust-control rules, whenever they perform demolition work.