On April 29, the Department of Environmental Protection announced the next step in efforts to modernize and improve its permitting process with a new 10-county pilot program to improve and accelerate the review process for construction stormwater discharge permits.

The process improvements in this pilot will also better facilitate compliance with environmental laws and regulations.

The pilot program is anticipated to reduce the average processing time for Chapter 102 Individual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit applications by 73 business days.

“The goal with our permit modernization efforts is always processing permit applications in the most efficient way possible while still maintaining the high standards that Pennsylvanians expect and deserve from DEP,” said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “The Chapter 102 Pilot Program aims to take a common permit and find ways to improve the process. DEP reviews more than 40,000 permit applications every year across all permit types, and we will take the lessons we learn from this pilot and see how we can apply them to other permits.”

The pilot program will be available beginning May 1, 2024, for Chapter 102 Individual NPDES Permit applications for projects in Allegheny, Beaver, Bucks, Chester, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, and York counties.

During the pilot, the Conservation Districts in the listed counties will accept a maximum of three Individual NPDES permit applications per quarter for consideration under the pilot program.

Full details of the pilot program are available on DEP’s Construction Stormwater page.

One of the requirements under the pilot program will be for prospective applicants to meet with Conservation District and/or DEP staff in two separate pre-application meetings where the District and DEP will assess the project’s eligibility for the pilot program and assist the applicant with ensuring the application is complete.

Applicants must also have a licensed professional prepare the stormwater plan and be retained throughout the project. 

The Chapter 102 Pilot Program is one part of DEP’s Permit Modernization efforts, which also include:

-- Creating a quarterly Agriculture Permitting Stakeholder Roundtable to engage farmers, conservation district managers, owners, operators, producers, and consultants to collect feedback on permitting processes.

-- Formalizing a pre-application meeting process to better inform potential applicants of the permitting process and the specific permits they need. The Permit Application Consultation Tool (PACT) is available online.

-- Undergoing User Experience (UX) research with key stakeholders that will provide useful insights into what they need and value during the application process. The goal of the customer experience initiative is to understand and improve the applicant’s experience and reduce bottlenecks in review.

The Shapiro Administration has already made significant progress by improving or eliminating the long wait times to receive hundreds of permits, licenses, and certifications.

In his first month in office, Governor Shapiro signed Executive Order 2023-07 directing all state agencies to standardize timeframes for how they issue permits, licenses, and certifications, and directed his Administration to create this money-back guarantee tool to request refunds when the Commonwealth does not meet those timeframes.

The Shapiro Administration’s efforts to enhance and improve permitting are showing early success as DEP improves online permitting, online payment, and delivers on-time permit decisions.

DEP has successfully implemented the PAyback program, the Shapiro Administration’s online money-back guarantee system, and begun making significant progress in reducing backlogs and speeding up processing timelines.

Through the PAyback program, led by the Office of Transformation and Opportunity (OTO) and the Commonwealth Office of Digital Experience (CODE PA), application fees are returned to applicants upon request if agencies don't take action on applications submitted on or after November 1, 2023 within set review timeframes.

To date, DEP has not been required to refund a single application fee.  [List of DEP permits covered by PAback Program.]

DEP has also pledged to address the backlog of permits that were overdue before the implementation of PAyback, and has seen a drastic reduction in the permit backlog.

DEP has hired 15 new staff members dedicated to processing permits, thanks to investments from the 2023-24 budget signed into law by Governor Shapiro, and has utilized some staff working overtime when needed to address the backlog.

Since hiring the additional staff members and cataloging and reviewing DEP’s nearly 800 available types of permits, DEP has reduced the backlog of permits by nearly 900 individual permits – or 41 percent – as of March 1, 2024.

DEP aims to complete more modernization projects in the coming months. DEP will provide updates to the public on process improvements and related review timeliness data as projects are completed.

For more information on the Chapter 102 Pilot Program visit DEP’s Construction Stormwater webpage.

For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website, Report Emergencies, Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; visit DEP’s Blog,  Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

Resource Link:

-- DEP Posts New Permit Modernization Webpage To Track Progress In ‘Getting Stuff Done’ Without Sacrificing Environmental, Public Health Protection

Related Articles This Week:

-- DEP Launches Pilot Program In 10 Counties To Speed Up Processing Chapter 102 Erosion & Sedimentation Permits Starting May 1 [PaEN]

-- Senate Republicans Pass Bill Authorizing An Authority To Take Over Permitting Large-Scale Energy Projects; Eliminating Public Comment; Waiving Any Regulation; Providing Immunity From Prosecution; Barbers Reviewing Permits?  [PaEN]

-- Bill Reported Out Of Senate Committee Would Allow Pipelines Like Mariner East To Apply For Waivers Of Any PUC Regulation, Law Or Policy  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- Capital & Main: US Oil/Gas Production Is Booming; So Are The Industry’s Donations To Its Republican Allies [PA Will See A ‘Flood Of Money From The Industry’]

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: DEP Pilot Seeks To Quicken Pace Of Stormwater Discharge Permit Process

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Pennsylvania’s Permitting System Is Broken And Gov. Shapiro Needs To Fix It - By Conservative Commonwealth Foundation

-- White House Finalizes Reforms To Modernize Environmental Review, Accelerate Clean Energy Future

[Posted: April 29, 2024]

5/6/2024