Entities conducting earthwork in Indiana County who need to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit or need a review of an erosion and sedimentation control plan (E&S Plan) are now required to use the District’s online Permit Submittal Tool.
This launch comes after the Department of Environmental Protection discontinued the use of its Chapter 102 E-Permitting system.
[DEP announced a pilot program for its new electronic permitting program for Chapter 102 and 105 permits last August. Read more here.]
The District’s new permit submittal tool guides permit applicants through the process of applying for a General or Individual NPDES permit or E&S Plan review.
According to Executive Director Douglas Beri Jr., the District’s goal with this new tool is to help enhance the permit submission process in Indiana County to improve the completeness of submitted permits and reduce cost, review times, and paper waste.
The District stopped accepting paper permit applications and plan submissions in 2022 and had been requiring all applicants to submit permits through the DEP’s E-permitting system.
“When DEP discontinued the use of their e-permitting system in the fall of 2024, we decided that we would work on a replacement for submissions in our county. The submission tool isn’t designed to have the same functionality of DEP’s e-permitting, but instead focuses on helping applicants put together complete applications,” Beri stated.
“One of the easiest ways that we can reduce permit review times is to improve the quality of the applications we receive, and that starts with ensuring that applicants are submitting the required documents. Additionally, this enables us to easily transfer electronic files to the Northwest Regional Office of DEP, which eliminates delays caused by mailing or scanning large paper documents.”
Legislators in Pennsylvania have been advocating for steps to be taken to improve the permitting process and reduce wait times to make the Commonwealth more competitive for businesses.
This has included the creation of the SPEED Act of 2024 (Streamlining Permits for Economic Expansion and Development) and Governor Shapiro’s Pennsylvania Permit Fast Track Program.
“We’re excited to be able to take steps to improve the permitting process in Indiana County. Permitting shouldn’t be a terrible experience, and we remain committed to improving our processes and procedures to help ease the burden that permitting places on entities operating in the county while maintaining our commitment to conserving and protecting natural resources.”
Click Here to access the District’s Permit Submittal Tool. For questions or assistance regarding permits, please call their office at 724-471-4751 x 6.
Click Here for a copy of the announcement.
Visit the Indiana County Conservation District website for more information on conserving local natural resources.
Related Articles:
-- DEP Launches New Permit Tracking Webpage For Applicants, Public [PaEN]
[Posted: January 15, 2025] PA Environment Digest
No comments :
Post a Comment