On January 14, Acting DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley briefed DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council on a new Permit Tracking webpage that just became available for applicants and the public to see where permits are in the DEP review process.

With this new tool, users can search by county, program area, permit type or by the authorization (permit) ID or by keyword.

Program areas include air quality, clean water, environmental cleanup & brownfields, mining, oil & gas, radiation protection, safe drinking water, waste management and waterways engineering.

For each application, information is presented on the current status in the review process, general information on the permit application (county, but not always townships), target date for competing current review step, and contact information for the permit reviewer.

Permit applications reviewed by county conservation districts are not in this application since they are not part of DEP's eFACTS database.

In a January 16 announcement, Acting Secretary Shirley said, “Our permit tracker continues DEP’s commitment to transparency and improving the user experience for applicants working with us to build a better Pennsylvania.

“We’ve heard the requests from the business community, and we have listened. This tool is also useful for residents to better understand the progress of permits for projects in their communities – everything from clearing land to build new businesses to regulating safe drinking water and ensuring safe air quality.”

DEP reviews more than 45,000 permit applications every year. These include permits for land clearing activities for construction projects, air quality permits for factories and power plants, permits to upgrade drinking waters systems to remove chemicals like PFAS, and permits for oil and gas wells.

Permit Review Modernization

DEP has reduced its permit backlog by 75 percent since November 1, 2023 – and has completely eliminated the backlog for oil and gas permits.

DEP is modernizing its permitting process by investing in technology and reviewing processes to identify and eliminate bottlenecks.

DEP began the backlog reduction initiative on November 1, 2023, and had more than 2,400 permit applications that required action received prior to that date.

As of November 15, 2024, DEP eliminated 1,750 applications from this backlog – a 73% reduction, while keeping up with new application reviews.

In the Office of Oil and Gas Management, staff have reviewed and made decisions on all 115 permit applications received before November 1, 2023.

Throughout the Shapiro Administration, DEP has been hiring staff to improve operational efficiency.

Since 2023, DEP has added 225 employees to carry out critical functions like public health and safety inspections and permit application reviews.

Pre-Application Meetings

Prospective applicants for DEP permits are encouraged to contact DEP and have a Pre-Application meeting, and use the Permit Application Consulting Tool to learn what permits may be required for a particular project.

Visit the DEP website for more information about the permit process, including the steps in the review process.

Visit DEP’s Permit Tracking webpage.

Click Here for DEP’s January 16 announcement of the permit tracker.

Related Tool - eFACTS

Additional information on permit applications “authorizations” for each of the permits is available in DEP’s eFACTS database, like more detailed location information.

Search by the permit authorization number.

Related Tool - eNOTICE

Sign up for DEP’s eNOTICE service which sends you information on oil and gas and other permits submitted to DEP for review in your community.

Related Tool - Oil & Gas Mapping

Use DEP’s Oil and Gas Mapping Tool to find if there are oil and gas wells near or on your property and to find wells using latitude and longitude on well inspection reports.

Related Tool - Oil & Gas Compliance

Visit DEP’s Compliance Reporting Database and Inspection Reports Viewer webpages to search their compliance records by date and owner.

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

Related Article:

-- Indiana County Conservation District Launches, Chapter 102, 105 Permit Submittal Tool To Help Applicants Put Together Complete Applications  [PaEN]

[Posted: January 14, 2025]

1/20/2025