Economic development projects will benefit from two new programs designed to deliver state permits faster.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will hire more staff and expand permitting capacity, using new bipartisan funding delivered by Gov. Josh Shapiro and the state Legislature. 
The Streamlining Permits for Economic Expansion and Economic Development (SPEED) program and the Chapter 105 Joint Permit Pilot Program will help DEP continue to reduce backlogs and process permits more quickly, officials said.
“Pennsylvanians deserve a state government that moves at the speed of business and processes their permits quickly to ensure Pennsylvanians receive a timely response,” Shapiro said.
“We are going to continue to carefully review each permit to protect public health and safety, while moving as quickly as we can to get stuff done for the people we serve,” he said.
Increasing state investment in economic development is a priority of the Shapiro Administration.
The recently enacted 2024-25 state budget includes $500 million for site development; $20 million for the Main Street Matters program that supports small businesses and commercial corridors; a $30 million increase in funding for Career and Technical Education programming and equipment; $20 million for the Historically Disadvantaged Business Program that supports small minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses; and $15 million for tourism marketing.
The new programs at DEP build on previous efforts to modernize permit processing. The agency already has reduced a backlog of permit requests by nearly 1,300.
“Speaking at LVEDC’s Annual Meeting in 2023, Governor Shapiro spoke of wanting Pennsylvania government to move more at the speed of business,” said Don Cunningham, President and CEO of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. (LVEDC). “This effort to improve the DEP review process timing and efficiency is a big step in the direction of making that happen. Speed to market is one of the critical issues often raised by companies as to why a particular state, region, or site is selected.”
A new pilot program for common construction permits was launched in 10 counties, including Lehigh, and reduced permit reviews by an estimated 73 days.
DEP has also implemented the PAyback program, the Shapiro Administration’s online money-back guarantee system where application fees are refunded if permits are not delivered on time. Since implementing the program, DEP has processed 14,947 permits without issuing any refunds.
“DEP is continuing to improve our permit processes to make sure we are moving at the speed of business – without sacrificing the environmental and public health safeguards that protect our air, land, and water,” said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “Both of these programs will help DEP move further, faster for Pennsylvania. These continued improvements will benefit communities and businesses in having more certainty about their projects – whether it is a new development or repairing the dam at a beloved local park.”
Under the SPEED program, applicants can choose to have a DEP-verified and qualified private professional conduct the initial application review. DEP staff then review the professional’s recommendations and issue a final decision or identify technical deficiencies to the applicant. DEP has final authority over all permit decisions.
Starting this fall, DEP will solicit qualified professionals to review applications for certain Air Quality Plan Approvals (Chapter 127), earth disturbance (Chapter 102), dam safety (Chapter 105), and individual water obstruction and encroachment (Chapter 105) permits. Applicants for those permits must pay any review fees incurred by the private professional, in addition to permit application fees.
Changes already made by DEP include clarifying the registration form and instructions for the Chapter 105 Water Obstruction and Encroachment General Permit to make them more user-friendly. It also created a new Chapter 105 Pilot Program for Individual Joint Permit Applications that should reduce errors in applications and cut the total time to process an application by 63 days.
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