Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has reduced its permit backlog by 75 percent since November 1, 2023 – and has completely eliminated the backlog for oil and gas permits.
“At DEP we are moving at the speed of business – taking care of backlogged permits and not adding to the list – while protecting clean air and water and public health,” said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “We’ve invested in people and technology to meet the needs of the people and businesses of Pennsylvania and those investments are paying off.”
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.
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.
Governor Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania General Assembly approved $7 million for technology updates and upgrades in the 2024-25 state budget, which will be used to increase transparency for permit applicants and residents and improve DEP’s record keeping systems.
DEP will also implement the SPEED program, which was part of the bipartisan 2024-25 budget signed by Governor Josh Shapiro. The SPEED program offers increased flexibility, allowing permit applicants to have a DEP-verified and qualified professional conduct the initial review of the application. DEP staff will review the recommendations of the qualified professional and either make a final permit decision or identify technical deficiencies to the applicant. DEP will have final authority over all permit decisions. Applicants for eligible permits will agree to pay any review fees incurred by the qualified professional, in addition to permit application fees.
Invitations for Bids are being accepted through the Pennsylvania eMarketplace for the qualified professionals to review SPEED permit applications. The SPEED program will be available for certain Air Quality Plan Approvals, earth disturbance, dam safety, and individual water obstruction and encroachment permits.
DEP has sped up its permitting process through the PAyback program, which went into effect in November 2023 that assures a moneyback guarantee for permit applicants if their application is overdue. Since going into effect, DEP has evaluated and decided on more than 40,000 permits without having to refund a single application fee.
DEP is continuing to identify process improvements in its permitting programs. In May 2024, DEP launched a pilot program for Chapter 102 Individual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit applications in ten counties. The goal of the pilot program was to reduce overall time between application and decision. This pilot program is already showing results, with one permit application submitted through the program receiving approval 73 days quicker than the average review time.
DEP has also significantly improved the Chapter 105 Water Obstruction and Encroachment General Permit registration process by updating the registration form and instructions to make them easier to understand. DEP also launched a new Chapter 105 Pilot Program for individual Joint Permit Applications that should reduce errors in applications and cut the total time to process an application by 63 days. Similar to the Chapter 102 Pilot Program, applicants will need to meet with DEP prior to submitting a permit application. The Chapter 105 individual Permit Pilot Program will give review priority to publicly funded energy projects and environmental restoration projects.
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