Off-Grid Living in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania

If you're looking at off-grid land in Lackawanna County, PA, the first thing I want you to understand is a structural quirk: the county itself has no countywide zoning ordinance. That's not an oversight on my part, it's just how Lackawanna operates. The Lackawanna County Regional Planning Commission handles regional planning coordination and comprehensive plan work, but it doesn't zone or permit individual parcels. That job belongs to each of the roughly 40 townships and boroughs (plus the City of Scranton) separately. So basically everything I'd normally tell you about zoning, dwellings, and building permits actually depends on which specific township or borough your land sits in, not on the county.

For zoning and land use, you need to call the specific municipal zoning office. I've seen Scott Township has its own zoning and subdivision ordinance, and Covington Township's zoning office explicitly tells residents to call before erecting any structure, including sheds and decks. That instinct (call first) is good advice countywide even though the actual rules differ town to town.

Building permits follow Pennsylvania's statewide Uniform Construction Code (UCC), but enforcement is local. Some municipalities enforce it directly, some hire a certified third-party agency, and municipalities that have "opted out" fall under PA Department of Labor & Industry enforcement for commercial work, with third-party agencies handling residential. Scott Township, for example, requires permits for any building over a certain small size threshold, plus decks, fences, and pools, but thresholds vary town to town, so don't assume Scott Township's rule applies elsewhere in the county.

Septic systems run through Pennsylvania's Sewage Facilities Act (Act 537), administered locally by each municipality's own Sewage Enforcement Officer (SEO), with DEP providing technical oversight. Covington Township, for instance, names its own SEO. You'll need a permit from your local SEO before installing any onlot sewage system, and permits do expire if construction doesn't start within a few years, so timing matters. Composting toilets aren't specifically addressed locally that I could find, so the state NSF-41 baseline seems to be what applies.

Greywater and rainwater harvesting don't appear to have any Lackawanna County or municipal-specific rules in what I found. That means you're likely working off the state DEP baseline for greywater (folded into sewage regulation) and general state allowances for rainwater collection for non-potable use. I'd still confirm with your township, since I can't rule out a local ordinance I simply didn't find.

Private wells are permitted, with no county-level well permit requirement identified. PA DEP's Northeast Regional Office covers Lackawanna County for water testing guidance, and Penn State Extension's local office runs a well-testing education program that's worth using if you're relying on a well or spring.

Living off-grid utility-wise (no grid electric, no municipal water/sewer hookup) isn't addressed at the county level. Whether your occupancy permit requires a utility connection is, again, a municipal call.