Permits for Blasting and Explosives

General

A person may not put or place in waters, within or on the boundaries of this Commonwealth, explosives without first securing a permit from the Fish and Boat Commission.
Blasting operations near streams are prohibited in all cases where the effect of the blasting is liable to change the course or channel of a stream without first obtaining a permit from the Department.
Prior to any excavation activity the Pennsylvania One Call System must be contacted. If the Blasting Activity Permit applicant is not the designer or primary contractor for the excavation activity, the Blasting Activity Permit applicant must make sure that Pennsylvania One Call System was contacted by the designer or primary contractor.

To obtain a Blasting Activity Permit you must first obtain a Blasting Activity Permit application or plan to conduct blasting operations that qualify for Permits-by-Rule. A person can assume they have a permit for a blasting activity (permit-by-rule) if:

(a) The blasts are designed and performed for a scaled distance of 90 or greater.

(b) No more than 15 pounds (6.81 kilograms) of explosives are detonated per delay interval of less than 8 milliseconds.

If not, a Blasting Activity Permit is needed. These are issued through the local District Mining Office.

For full instructions, see the Blasting Activity Permit form.

e-Blasting online applications are available for blasting activity permits and permit-by-rule. This is primarily for trenching and construction blasting. To use e-Blasting, complete the security request form for eBlasting.

Blast Plans for Individual Mining Permits

Individual blast plans for individual mining permits should be submitted as part of the permit application.

Regulations

25 PA Code Chapter 210: Blasters’ Licenses

25 PA Code Chapter 211: Storage, Handling, and Use of Explosives