Feb. 02, 2026
Statewide mandates must be addressed with statewide solutions
HARRISBURG – To address the unfair fee structure impacting homeowners, small businesses and nonprofit organizations from Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permits, Rep. Brenda Pugh (R-Luzerne) plans to introduce legislation that will preserve environmental outcomes and ensure costs are distributed fairly and responsibly across the Commonwealth.
Under the federal Clean Water Act and related interstate agreements governing the Chesapeake Bay watershed, Pennsylvania is obligated to reduce nutrient and sediment discharges from stormwater runoff. These MS4 permit requirements impose substantial compliance obligations on municipalities, often passing this “rain tax” directly to local property owners through stormwater fees.
“When fees disproportionately impact homeowners, small businesses and nonprofit organizations, often without regard to their ability to pay or proportional benefit received, the result is an inequitable system in which residents in certain municipalities bear significantly higher costs than similarly situated residents elsewhere in the Commonwealth, despite facing the same statewide environmental mandates,” Pugh said. “For many households and community organizations already under financial strain, these fees represent a growing and unsustainable burden. It is time to deliver clean water goals without punishing local communities for responsibilities that belong to all of us.”
Pugh further explained that the Commonwealth does not pay stormwater utility fees on state-owned properties, even though many of those properties include extensive impervious surfaces and generate substantial stormwater runoff. This exemption, she says, undermines the characterization of MS4 charges as legitimate user fees and shifts a statewide environmental responsibility onto a limited subset of local taxpayers.
“The Commonwealth must not be insulated from accountability for stormwater impacts originating from its own facilities,” Pugh added. “A system that exempts state property while imposing escalating costs on residents, businesses and nonprofits exposes municipalities to continued legal and financial risk.”
Pugh’s proposed legislation seeks to replace local, fee-based MS4 compliance models with a transparent, grant-only funding framework. This approach would leverage existing federal and state resources to support stormwater infrastructure, best management practices and water-quality improvements without forcing municipalities to levy regressive local fees. The intent of the model is to preserve environmental outcomes while ensuring that the compliance costs are taken off the backs of residents and are distributed fairly and responsibly across the Commonwealth.
Once formally introduced, the legislation will be assigned to a House committee for consideration.
Representative Brenda Pugh
120th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Melissa Fox
717.260.6522
mefox@pahousegop.com
RepPugh.com / Facebook.com/RepBrendaPugh