Permit Decision Guarantee
On July 24, 2012, Gov. Corbett issued Executive Order 2012-11 (PDF), requiring DEP to implement a Permit Decision Guarantee by immediately:
- Assessing how best to make timely permitting decisions;
- Providing clear expectations for applicants to improve the quality of applications;
- Establishing performance measures for review staff; and
- Developing, improving and encouraging electronic permitting tools.
For the last 18 months, DEP has been reviewing all existing permitting procedures and now is working to make several effective improvements. Providing regulatory certainty to local governments, non-profit organizations and businesses is critical. DEP's focus will be on receiving complete and adequate applications and the amount of time it should take to review them.
Final Policies
Executive Order 2012-11 rescinded a 1995 Executive Order establishing the Money Back Guarantee. The "Permit Review Process and Permit Decision Guarantee" policy, which can be viewed below, replaces the former Money Back Guarantee policy. The "Permit Coordination Policy" provides how DEP will review projects in need of multiple permits. Each policy also has an accompanying comment and response document, which includes a discussion on comments received during the public comment period. DEP published draft versions of these policies on Sept. 1 for a 30-day public comment period that ended Oct. 1
2013 Public Comment Period - Comment Response Document
DEP held a public comment period on the "Policy for Implementing the Department of Environmental Protection Permit Review Process and Permit Decision Guarantee" (policy). This supplementary comment period offered on the final policy allowed stakeholders an opportunity to provide feedback on the effectiveness of the policy. Following the review of the internal and external comments the Department elected not to make any revisions to the policy. A comment response document has been prepared in response to the external comments that were submitted. The Department appreciates the feedback that was received and will continue to review the policy, process and timeframes yearly.
2013 Public Comment Period - Comment Response Document (PDF)
Quarterly Reviews
On Nov. 1, 2013, DEP released the results of the fourth, and final, quarterly report detailing progress under the new Permit Review Process and Permit Decision Guarantee Policy. Since permit improvement policies have been implemented, DEP now makes 95 percent of permit decisions within the guaranteed timeframes outlined in the Permit Decision Guarantee policy. A public comment period is open from Oct. 26 through Dec. 31, 2013, to comment on the policy. Please visit the Pennsylvania Bulletin website to see details of where comments can be submitted.
On Aug. 15, 2013, DEP released the results of the third of four quarterly reports detailing progress under the new Permit Review Process and Permit Decision Guarantee policy. The report shows that since July 2012, DEP acted on and disposed 66 percent of all of the applications that were backlogged. In just over a year, the number of applications has been decreased from 9,982 to 3,377. The report also demonstrates that DEP continues to work on ensuring that all new permit applications meet their target timeframes.
On May 15, 2013, DEP released the results of the second of four quarterly reports detailing progress under the new Permit Review Process and Permit Decision Guarantee policy. The report shows improvements made on the part of both permit applicants and DEP staff, as wells as the progress with clearing the queue of standing permit applications.
On Feb. 14, 2013, DEP released the results of the first of four quarterly reports detailing progress under the new Permit Review Process and Permit Decision Guarantee policy. The report shows improvements made on the part of both permit applicants and DEP staff, as wells as the progress with clearing the queue of standing permit applications.
Learning More about the Permit Decision Guarantee
If you have questions about the Permit Decision Guarantee and DEP's revised permitting process, visit the Permit Decision Guarantee FAQ (PDF) to learn more. Please click here for a printable one-page handout on the Permit Review Process and Permit Decision Guarantee.
Permit Decision Webinars
To register for upcoming Webinars or to view past sessions, click
here.
