Off-Grid Living in Union County, Pennsylvania

I'll be straight with you: Union County, Pennsylvania is one of those places where the county name on the map doesn't tell you much about the actual rules. There's no countywide zoning ordinance here. Zoning is set township-by-township and borough-by-borough, so what applies in Buffalo Township may not apply two miles away in Union Township. I'm laying out what I found, but you'll need to confirm with your specific municipality before you buy land or start building.

Zoning first. Union County Planning & Economic Development Department (the county's planning arm) plays an advisory role only, mostly on comprehensive planning and sustaining the county's rural character. It doesn't issue zoning permits itself, except as a fallback contact if your township has no zoning officer. From what I found: Buffalo Township, East Buffalo Township, West Buffalo Township, and Lewis Township require a zoning permit. Union Township and Limestone Township do not require one, but both still enforce property line setbacks. So "no permit needed" doesn't mean "no rules" - always check setbacks with the township office.

Building permits run through the Central Keystone Council of Governments (CKCOG), a multi-county body that administers Pennsylvania's Uniform Construction Code (UCC) instead of a single Union County building department. If you're building, enlarging, moving, or changing occupancy of a dwelling or accessory structure, you generally need a UCC permit, and zoning approval has to happen first. Some agricultural buildings, like chicken coops or ag storage, are exempt from the UCC permit but still need an Agricultural Building Exemption Form and may need other local approvals.

Septic is handled by municipally-appointed Sewage Enforcement Officers (SEOs), not a county health department, because Union County doesn't have one. You can't occupy a structure until your on-lot sewage system is inspected, approved, and covered by the SEO. Permits also expire if you don't start construction within a set window after issuance, so don't pull a permit too early.

Greywater isn't addressed separately at the county or (as far as I found) municipal level. It falls under the same state Sewage Facilities Act framework as septic, meaning you'd go through the local SEO.

Rainwater harvesting for non-potable use appears unregulated at the county and township level, going by state baseline rules, but I didn't find a specific local ordinance either way.

Wells don't have a separate county permitting layer that I found. The Union County Conservation District's role is mostly around erosion control and streambank/wetland work (Chapter 102/105), not well drilling itself, which falls under the statewide driller-licensing framework.

Utility disconnection (living off-grid without hookups) isn't addressed at the county level at all - if a township requires grid connection as a condition of occupancy, that would show up in that specific municipality's ordinance, not a county rule.

Bottom line: in Union County, the township or borough office is your first call, every single time.