York County, PA Landscaping Rules: Tree Removal & Heritage Trees (2026)

Section 102.4(b) is a statewide Department of Environmental Protection regulation, so it applies in York County exactly as written. It covers earth disturbance activities other than agricultural plowing or tilling and animal heavy use areas, which have their own rules in subsection (a). A tree removal that also moves soil, such as pulling stumps, regrading a lot or clearing ground for a driveway, is measured against this subsection. The section never mentions trees, so the test is always whether the work disturbs earth and how much.

Paragraph (1) sets the floor for every project: E&S best management practices (BMPs) must be implemented and maintained to minimize accelerated erosion and sedimentation, and the duty expressly reaches activities that disturb less than 5,000 square feet (464.5 square meters). A homeowner with a small job still has to keep soil on the property.

Paragraph (2) decides when a written E&S Plan becomes mandatory, and any one of three triggers is enough. First, total earth disturbance of 5,000 square feet or more. Second, the person proposing the work is already required to prepare an E&S Plan under this chapter or under other Department regulations. Third, the site's proximity to existing drainage features or patterns gives it potential to discharge to a High Quality or Exceptional Value water under Chapter 93, so a small job beside the wrong stream can still need a plan.

Paragraph (3) requires the plan to be prepared by a person trained and experienced in E&S control methods suited to the size and scope of the project. Paragraph (4) tells planners to minimize the extent and duration of disturbance, maximize protection of existing drainage features and vegetation, minimize soil compaction and use other measures that prevent increased stormwater runoff, to the extent practicable.

Paragraph (5) lists the plan contents: drawings and narrative on topography, soils, runoff volume and rate, receiving waters, BMP installation sequence, calculations, a maintenance program with weekly BMP inspections and an inspection after each stormwater event, and identification of existing and proposed riparian forest buffers. Under subsection (e), any project needing permit coverage under § 102.5 must have it before the first cut into the ground.