Millcreek, PA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit trigger
- Any culvert, obstruction or structure in a right-of-way, piping included
- Issuing official
- Township Engineer; PennDOT for state highways
- Unpermitted work
- Permit fee doubled if work is done without a permit
- Permit term
- 12 months, with a new permit and fee after that
- Insurance minimum
- $500,000 per occurrence, $1,000,000 aggregate for street openings
- Fine range
- $300 to $500 per violation, each day separate
- Culvert blockage cure
- 10 days after written notice from the Township Engineer
Summary
In Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, no one can build, keep, or allow any culvert, obstruction or structure in a public right-of-way without a permit from the Township Engineer, and piping is included. Digging or opening the right-of-way needs a separate permit, the fee doubles for work done without one, and fines run from $300 to $500 per violation.
§ 121-19. Private drive culverts. A. No person shall construct, maintain or allow to be constructed and/or maintained in any right-of-way any culvert, obstruction or structure without first obtaining a permit under this article. This regulation shall include but not be limited to piping. B. Permits to construct, maintain or alter culverts and/or street ditches with structures of any type shall be issued by the Township Engineer upon application in accordance with this article and shall be issued or denied in compliance with rules and regulations relating thereto as adopted by the Board of Supervisors and amended from time to time. C. Any person who has constructed and now maintains any obstruction or structure in any culvert or street ditch which is determined by the Township Engineer to impede the free flow of drainage waters, within 10 days after the date of receipt of written notice from the Township Engineer to do so, shall remove such obstruction or structure or replace the same by an adequate structure, upon application for and issuance of a permit in accordance with this article.
Full Breakdown
In Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, a private structure in the public right-of-way needs a permit. Section 121-19A bars anyone from constructing, maintaining, or allowing to be constructed or maintained in any right-of-way any culvert, obstruction or structure without first obtaining a permit under the Excavations Within Rights-of-Way Ordinance, and the rule includes piping. The Township Engineer issues these permits on application and grants or denies them under rules and regulations adopted by the Board of Supervisors (§ 121-19B). An existing obstruction in a culvert or street ditch that the Engineer finds impedes the free flow of drainage waters must be removed or replaced with an adequate structure within 10 days after receipt of written notice, on application for and issuance of a permit.
Section 121-17A separately bars anyone from occupying a public right-of-way to make an excavation or opening, or to construct, install, repair or reconstruct a storm sewer or driveway culvert, without a Township permit granted by the Township Engineer. State highways work differently: under § 121-17G no Township street excavation permit is required, but a PennDOT permit is. Permit fees are set by resolution of the Board of Supervisors, and under § 121-22C the fee is doubled if work is completed or substantially commenced without a permit. A permit stays in effect for 12 months (§ 121-25A). Street opening applicants must file certificates of insurance of not less than $500,000 for each occurrence and $1,000,000 in the aggregate (§ 121-21E), and most applicants post financial security under § 121-33.
Chapter 124, Article IV is a different instrument: a special encroachment permit lets an owner whose property cannot yield a reasonable return apply to the Board of Supervisors to build within the lines of a street or public ground on the Official Map. The Board holds a public hearing, and a refusal can be appealed to the Zoning Hearing Board within 30 days.
Violations & Fines
Under § 121-34, a person found by a Magisterial District Judge to have violated the article pays a fine of not less than $300 and not more than $500 for each violation. Each failure to obtain a permit is a separate violation, and each day a violation continues is a separate offense. Enforcement is civil under Chapter 48, Article I. The Township can also deny any future street opening or other permit to a violator and pursue all other legal and equitable remedies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to put a driveway culvert in a Millcreek Township right-of-way?
Who issues the permit, and what about state roads?
What happens if I start work without a permit?
What is a special encroachment permit in Millcreek Township?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Millcreek
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Encroachment Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle encroachment permits.