Youngkin unveils new permit transparency website
A screenshot of the homepage of the Virginia Permit Transparency website, which went live Friday, June 21, 2024.
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced the expansion of an online platform to give the public more information on the status of permits across several agencies, a process that started with the state’s environmental protection agency.
The Virginia Permit Transparency website went public Friday, giving an increased view of permit reviews for six state agencies: the Department of Environmental Quality; the Virginia Marine Resources Commission; the Department of Energy; the Department of Health; the Department of Transportation; and the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Youngkin, in a release, said the website “reaffirms our ongoing commitment to enhancing government transparency and ensuring it serves all Virginians effectively.”
The website, called VPT for short, is a continuation of the Permitting Enhancement and Evaluation Platform, known as PEEP, used by DEQ.
PEEP was created after DEQ Director Michael Rolband, a former privately-employed stormwater professional, wanted a platform so the public could keep tabs on permit requests. Prior to 2022, when Rolband joined DEQ, it took the agency an average of 339 days to process a permit.
“Once we get an alert that an application has come in [via DEQ’s website], or somebody submits it the old fashioned way … the entire process from receipt of application, to issuance of a final permit, should not be more than 255 days,” said Eric Seavey, water withdrawal permitting manager with DEQ. Seavey noted the timeframe on Monday during a PEEP presentation, at a meeting with the state’s workgroup to oversee groundwater management in the eastern portion of the state.
On VPT’s site, members of the public can search for permit applications by the agency reviewing them, their assigned numbers, the locality they’re proposed in and more. Clicking on a permit reveals a timeline of when the application was submitted, how long a step in the review process — like a site visit — may take, and when the whole thing is expected to be completed.
The types of permits currently on the website include requests for habitat management with the VMRC, Comcast’s undergrounding of utility lines with VDOT and construction of onsite sewage with VDH.
“VPT is a game changer for Virginia businesses and citizens as well as state agencies,” said Reeve Bull, director of the Office of Regulatory Management, in the statement.
The VPT website falls under the purview of the Office of Regulatory Management, created by Youngkin, who also proposed reducing regulatory requirements by 25%. In instances of certifications for professional geologists, wetland delineators and cosmetologists, members of those fields have raised concerns over losing the integrity of the programs by removing qualifications from state code.
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