Pennsylvania DEP Revives Chapter 105 Rewrite After 34 Years

Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection has restarted a rewrite of Chapter 105, the state rulebook governing anything built in, along, or across a stream or wetland — and the draft is 55 pages long. The existing rules date to 1991. On November 4, DEP staff walked its Water Resources Advisory Committee (WRAC), the stakeholder panel that reviews water-related rulemaking, through the draft text. The last full overhaul of these rules predates the Marcellus-Utica (M-U) shale era by nearly two decades.

Nothing in the draft names shale drilling as a target. That omission does not make the rewrite peripheral to Appalachian operators. Chapter 105 is the permit every well pad access road, gathering line and pipeline needs when a crossing touches a creek or a wetland. A rule change that raises crossing costs, tightens mitigation requirements or lengthens review timelines will land directly on Marcellus and Utica development across Pennsylvania.

What is actually in the draft?

The November 4 presentation covered the full 55-page document for WRAC members. The draft does not single out shale activity by name. Instead, it rewrites the general framework that governs water obstruction and encroachment permits statewide. For upstream and midstream operators, that framework controls the paperwork behind every stream crossing on a gathering system and every wetland crossing on an access road.

The practical takeaway is simple: the rewrite applies broadly, and shale infrastructure sits inside its scope whether or not the text says so.

Why 1991 matters

The current Chapter 105 rules were last overhauled in 1991. Horizontal shale development at scale in Pennsylvania began roughly 2008. The rules now being rewritten predate the industry they will regulate, which is the core reason a routine environmental rulemaking has become a watch item for Appalachian producers.

A rulebook written before shale existed has been stretched across three decades of expanding well pads and pipeline networks. DEP's second attempt at a rewrite is the first real chance to align Chapter 105 with modern development footprints.

Why this is a second attempt

DEP describes the current effort as taking a second crack at the rewrite, meaning the department has tried and failed to complete this rulemaking before. The November 4 WRAC briefing marks the revival of that stalled process. DEP is still asking for input at this stage, before the text is locked in. The advisory-committee phase is where stakeholders can still shape definitions, thresholds and permit conditions. Once the draft moves toward finalization, the room for comment narrows considerably.

The message from industry advocates tracking the process is blunt: the time to get involved is now, while DEP is still asking for input, not after the text is locked in.

What operators should watch

For Marcellus-Utica operators and midstream companies, the material items to monitor include:

• Scope creep into shale infrastructure. Even without naming shale, the rewrite governs the permits behind access roads, gathering lines and pipeline water crossings.
• Advisory-committee calendar. WRAC reviews precede the formal comment period; the November 4 briefing is the first marker.
• Stakeholder window. DEP is soliciting input in this phase, which industry voices argue is the effective moment to weigh in.

The takeaway: a 34-year-old permitting rule is being rewritten, and Pennsylvania shale infrastructure lives inside its scope.

The watch item is the next WRAC session and the eventual move from advisory draft to formal proposed rulemaking, where the text's effect on stream-crossing permits for well pads and gathering lines will become concrete.