Duluth, MN (Northland's NewsCenter) The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) recently issued a report on permitting activities at the agency.
The “Environmental Permitting: MPCA’s Semiannual Permitting Efficiency Report” shows that the agency issued 90 percent, or 841, of the construction-focused permits received between March 4 and June 30, 2011.
Legislation passed in March requires the agency to establish a goal to:
• finalize permit decisions within 150 days of receiving completed applications;
• notify applicants of incomplete applications within 30 days;
• submit permitting efficiency reports in August and February of each year.
In addition to permitting timeliness data, the report includes administrative and program-enhancement efforts underway aimed at improving the overall process.
The MPCA has initiated a number of process-improvement efforts including:
• increased coordination with the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Employee and Economic Development, and the Department of Agriculture;
• increased communication with the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and various business groups to improve responsiveness and encourage open feedback;
• development of permit managers teams that implement process changes, resolve issues and ensure consistency;
• evaluation of the current permit application review process to find communication, consistency and efficiency improvements.
The report is available on the MPCA website at www.pca.state.mn.us/legislative/reports
Written for the web by Melissa Burlaga
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