The Department of Environmental Protection Friday issued the fourth update on the Permit Decision Guarantee Program which reported 95 percent of the permits covered by the program were decided within the required decision schedule.

DEP said it improved the efficiency of the permit review process significantly since the program began a year ago.  Mining permits were reviewed in 37 percent fewer average days, 13 percent for oil and gas permits, 9 percent for waste, air, radiation and remediation and 25 percent fewer days in water programs.

Between November 2012 and October 15, 2013, DEP received 31,338 permit applications and made decisions on 26,180, 649 were returned or denied and 328 applications were withdrawn.

“One year has passed since Gov. Corbett challenged DEP to improve our efficiency as it relates to permit applications. During that year, DEP staff rose to the occasion; came up with a plan; and have carried out that plan. This has allowed us to clear the backlog of permits without sacrificing the quality of our permit review process,” said Acting DEP Secretary Chris Abruzzo.

A copy of the fourth report is available online.

For more information, visit the DEP’s Permit Decision Guarantee Program webpage.

11/4/2013