Pennsylvania Code & Bulletin
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

• No statutes or acts will be found at this website.

The Pennsylvania Code website reflects the Pennsylvania Code changes effective through 54 Pa.B. 5598 (August 31, 2024).

25 Pa. Code § 77.106. Fees.

§ 77.106. Fees.

 (a)  Payment. A permit application for noncoal mining activities shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable payment for the permit application fee payable to the ‘‘Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.’’ The applicable permit application fee amount is specified in subsection (e). For purposes of this subsection, permit applications include all of the applications listed in subsection (e).

 (b)  Assessment. The Department will assess an annual administration fee for each permitted activity and facility. For licensed mine operators, this annual administration fee will be assessed annually, will be collected as part of the mine operator’s license renewal application and will include the appropriate annual administration fee for each of the licensee’s permitted facilities. If the permittee is not required to maintain a mining license, a notice of the annual administration fee will be sent to the permittee for all of the permittee’s permitted facilities and the fee must be paid within 30 days of receipt of the notice. The applicable fee amounts are specified in subsection (f).

 (c)  Deposit of funds. Fees collected under this section and all enforcement cost recovery funds will be deposited in the Noncoal Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Fund. The fees collected under this section will be used by the Department for the purposes specified by the act.

 (d)  Regulatory amendment. At least every 3 years, the Department will recommend regulatory changes to the fees in this section to the EQB to address any disparity between the program income generated by the fees and program costs. The regulatory amendment will be based upon an evaluation of the program fees income and the Department’s costs of administering the program.

 (e)  Permit application fee schedule.

   (1)  Effective January 1, 2020, the permit application fee schedule is as follows:

   (i) New Permits. Fee
   Large Surface Mining Permit—Groundwater Pumping    Authorized $22,450
   Large Surface Mining Permit—No Groundwater    Pumping $15,000
   Small Surface Mining Permit $600
   Underground Mining Permit $22,450
   (ii) Major Amendments. Fee
   Large Surface Mining Permit—Groundwater Pumping    Authorized $4,250
   Large Surface Mining Permit—No Groundwater    Pumping $1,775
   Underground Mining Permit $2,950
   (iii) Minor Amendments. Fee
   Large Surface Mining Permit $775
   Small Surface Mining Permit $200
   (iv) Transfers. Fee
   Large Surface Mining Permit $975
   Underground Mining Permit $975
   (v) Other Actions. Fee
   Bonding Increment $500
   Completion Report Application $650
   Blast Plan $550
   Notice of Intent to Explore $65
   Pre-applications $3,750
   Renewal $175

   (2)  Effective January 1, 2022, the permit application fee schedule is as follows:

   (i) New Permits. Fee
   Large Surface Mining Permit—Groundwater Pumping    Authorized $25,525
   Large Surface Mining Permit—No Groundwater    Pumping $17,025
   Small Surface Mining Permit $675
   Underground Mining Permit $25,525
   (ii) Major Amendments. Fee
   Large Surface Mining Permit—Groundwater Pumping    Authorized $4,850
   Large Surface Mining Permit—No Groundwater    Pumping $2,000
   Underground Mining Permit $3,350
   (iii) Minor Amendments. Fee
   Large Surface Mining Permit $900
   Small Surface Mining Permit $225
   (iv) Transfers. Fee
   Large Surface Mining Permit $1,125
   Underground Mining Permit $1,125
   (v) Other Actions. Fee
   Bonding Increment $550
   Completion Report Application $750
   Blast Plan $675
   Notice of Intent to Explore $75
   Pre-applications $4,250
   Renewal $200

   (3)  Effective January 1, 2024, the permit application fee schedule is as follows:

   (i) New Permits. Fee
   Large Surface Mining Permit—Groundwater Pumping    Authorized $29,500
   Large Surface Mining Permit—No Groundwater    Pumping $19,750
   Small Surface Mining Permit $775
   Underground Mining Permit $29,500
   (ii) Major Amendments. Fee
   Large Surface Mining Permit—Groundwater Pumping    Authorized $5,625
   Large Surface Mining Permit—No Groundwater    Pumping $2,350
   Underground Mining Permit $3,900
   (iii) Minor Amendments. Fee
   Large Surface Mining Permit $1,050
   Small Surface Mining Permit $250
   (iv) Transfers. Fee
   Large Surface Mining Permit $1,300
   Underground Mining Permit $1,300
   (v) Other Actions. Fee
   Bonding Increment $650
   Completion Report Application $875
   Blast Plan $775
   Notice of Intent to Explore $85
   Pre-applications $4,950
   Renewal $225

 (f)  Annual administration fee schedule.

   (1)  Effective January 1, 2020, the annual administration fee schedule will be as follows:

   Permit Category—Permit Status Annual Fee
   Large Surface Mining Permit—Active $1,300
   Large Surface Mining Permit—Active with Blasting $1,675
   Small Surface Mining Permit—Active $400
   Small Surface Mining Permit—Active with Blasting $550
   Underground Mining Permit—Active $1,300
   General Permit $400
   All Permits—Not Started $125
   All Permits—Inactive $125

   (2)  Effective January 1, 2022, the annual administration fee schedule will be as follows:

   Permit Category—Permit Status Annual Fee
   Large Surface Mining Permit—Active $1,500
   Large Surface Mining Permit—Active with Blasting $1,925
   Small Surface Mining Permit—Active $450
   Small Surface Mining Permit—Active with Blasting $625
   Underground Mining Permit—Active $1,500
   General Permit $450
   All Permits—Not Started $150
   All Permits—Inactive $150

   (3)  Effective January 1, 2024, the annual administration fee schedule will be as follows:

   Permit Category—Permit Status Annual Fee
   Large Surface Mining Permit—Active $1,750
   Large Surface Mining Permit—Active with Blasting $2,250
   Small Surface Mining Permit—Active $500
   Small Surface Mining Permit—Active with Blasting $700
   Underground Mining Permit—Active $1,750
   General Permit $500
   All Permits—Not Started $175
   All Permits—Inactive $175

 (g)  The fees in subsections (e) and (f) will be adjusted by the Department every 2 years, beginning on January 1, 2026, based on the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Cost Index for State and Local Government Compensation, or an equivalent index recognized by the United States Department of Labor. The adjustment will be based upon the cost difference for the most recent 2-year period prior to the calculation. The fee schedule will be adjusted in increments of $25. The Department will provide the proposed fee schedule to the Aggregate Advisory Board for review prior to publication. The final adjusted fee schedule will be effective upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The fees shall not be adjusted if application of the index would result in fees exceeding the Department’s costs of reviewing, administering and enforcing the permit.

Authority

   The provisions of this §  77.106 amended under sections 7(a) and 11a of the Noncoal Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act (52 P.S. § §  3307(a) and 3311(a)); section 6 of The Clean Streams Law (35 P.S. §  691.6); and section 1920A of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P.S. §  510-20).

Source

   The provisions of this §  77.106 adopted March 16, 1990, effective March 17, 1990, 20 Pa.B. 1643; amended October 12, 2012, effective October 13, 2012, except that the annual administration fee under subsection (b) is effective January 1, 2013, and applied to all mining licenses being renewed which have an expiration date occuring on or after January 1, 2013, 42 Pa.B. 6536; amended May 17, 2019, effective January 1, 2020, 49 Pa.B. 2491. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (363946) to (363947).

Cross References

   This section cited in 25 Pa. Code §  77.126 (relating to criteria for permit approval or denial).



No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.


This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Code full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.