Contact: Nancy Miller, 507-206-2612
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; and
- 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; and
- evaluation of the current permit application review process to find communication, consistency and efficiency improvements.
The report is available on the MPCA website at /legislative/reports or by contacting Jess Richards, MPCA Industrial Division Assistant Director, at 651-757-2858.
