The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has issued a statewide general permit for various activities in state-regulated freshwater wetlands and adjacent areas, protected waterbodies, and navigable waters. The Basic Freshwater Wetlands General Permit (GP-0-25-003) has an effective date of June 13, 2025, and an expiration date of June 12, 2030. GP-0-25-003 authorizes the following activities: repair, replacement, or removal of existing structures and facilities; construction or modification of various residential, commercial, industrial, or public structures; temporary installation of access roads and laydown areas; cutting trees and vegetation; drilling test wells; and routine beach maintenance and replenishment in areas under DEC jurisdiction. The permit authorizations include ECL Article 24 Freshwater Wetlands; ECL Article 15, Stream Disturbance; and ECL Article 15 Excavation & Fill in Navigable Waters.
The General Permit containing a full description of the types of activities eligible for coverage, along with all the terms and conditions is provided below. Additionally, the application form used to apply for coverage under this GP and detailed application instructions are provided below.
General Permit GP-0-25-003 (PDF)
GP-0-25-003 Application Instructions (PDF)
GP-0-25-003 Application (PDF)
Authorized Activities
The general permit includes the following activities:
- Repair, reconstruction, and/or in-kind replacement of existing functional structures and facilities in a freshwater wetland or freshwater wetland adjacent area, excluding septic systems in freshwater wetlands. The maintenance of existing drainage ditches adjacent to public roads and highways may be covered under this authorized activity, but all other activities involving drainage ditches are excluded from coverage.
- Repair, reconstruction, and/or replacement of septic systems in wetland adjacent areas. Repair, reconstruction, and replacement may not change design capacity but does allow for upgrades to an existing system to meet design standards.
- Construction and/or modification of the following residential, commercial, industrial or public structures that results in permanent and/or temporary disturbance totaling no more than 1/10-acre to freshwater wetlands and totaling no more than 1/10-acre to freshwater wetland adjacent areas:
- Utility lines from an existing distribution line to a structure including the following types of utilities:
- Electric and gas utility lines less than one mile in length;
- Sewer and water lines; and
- Telecommunications lines (e.g., internet, telephone, etc.).
- Dry hydrants for fire protection
- Elevated walkways or unenclosed platforms built on open-work supports (no-fill supports)
- Utility lines from an existing distribution line to a structure including the following types of utilities:
- Construction and/or modification of the following residential, commercial, industrial or public structures that results in permanent and temporary disturbance totaling no more than 1/10-acre of freshwater wetland adjacent areas:
- Parking areas, driveways, and pools;
- Home additions or accessory structures;
- Water wells limited to serve an individual residence but not municipal or commercial wells;
- Fencing installed at least 5 feet from the wetland boundary; and
- Infrastructure associated with single-family renewable energy projects including solar photovoltaics, solar water heating, geothermal systems, and battery energy storage systems.
- Temporary access roads and/or laydown areas in the wetland adjacent area that results in no more than 1/4-acre of temporary disturbance and where no woody vegetation above 3 inches diameter at breast height is cleared.
- Selective cutting and hazard tree removal of any species and/or removal of dead ash trees not including clear cutting.
- Cutting of trees or other vegetation in the wetland adjacent area necessary to complete any other authorized activity in this permit within the disturbance thresholds identified except where prohibited in Authorized Activity 5 and Authorized Activity 6.
- Drilling test wells for sampling including geotechnical borings and piezometer installation, and other temporary water measurement devices using mechanized equipment. Test wells for mineral exploration or the testing of water supply wells are not covered under this General Permit.
- Routine beach replenishment, regrading, and/or cleaning that does not expand the existing footprint of the beach.
- Removal of debris and existing structures in a freshwater wetland or freshwater wetland adjacent area for the purpose of debris removal or where necessary to complete any other Authorized Activity in this General Permit.
Exclusions
The permit is not applicable in the following areas:
- Within Sovereign Indian Nation territories in New York State;
- Within areas under the jurisdictional authority of the Adirondack Park Agency;
- Within areas designated as a Coastal Erosion Hazard Area;
- If a proposed activity is subject to jurisdiction under 6 NYCRR Part 182; and
- Sites undergoing remediation under 6 NYCRR Part 375 or adjacent to solid waste facilities.
Authorization Procedure
Anyone proposing to undertake an activity that is included in the permit must submit an Application Form (PDF) to the DEC regional office that covers the county where the project is located. View a list of DEC regional Environmental Permits offices.
Before work may begin, projects eligible for coverage under this general permit must be approved in one of the two following ways:
- Notice of Intent and Waiting Period: For project types requiring a Notice of Intent (NOI), if DEC does not contact you regarding any environmental concerns or missing information within 10 business days of DEC’s receipt of the Application Form and all required attachments, the application may proceed without further approval. Otherwise, the project may not proceed until concerns are resolved.
- DEC Countersignature: For project types requiring a DEC Countersignature, the project may not proceed until a copy of the general permit that has been validated with a DEC countersignature, is received by the permittee.
If the project does not qualify for coverage under the general permit, or cannot be approved under the general permit, an individual permit is required.
Comments
A public comment period for the Freshwater Wetlands General Permit (GP-0-25-003) was provided. In response to public comments received on the draft Freshwater Wetlands General Permit, the Department has prepared a Response to Comments provided below.
