FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 17, 2013
NEW WATER PERMITTING PORTAL PROVIDES ONE-STOP ACCESS TO ALL WATER RESOURCE PERMITTING INFORMATION
~Access and education key to helping Florida residents and businesses~
TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, along with the state’s five water management districts, recently launched Florida’s Water Permitting Portal. This portal provides information about all water resource permitting in Florida in one place. The agencies have integrated existing online services with the portal, providing one place for residents and businesses to go to determine what permits may be needed and from which agency. The website will continue to add new features to enhance and simplify online access and make the work more transparent.
Governor Rick Scott said, “Our number one priority is growing more jobs and opportunities for Florida families, and DEP’s portal will help streamline the permitting process for businesses so we can create more jobs and be better stewards of our natural resources.”
This new online system is an open door for residents, local governments and the private sector to find information and assistance from the Department and water management districts. The water permitting portal enables users to apply for commonly issued authorizations, permits, certifications and renewals, pay fees and submit monitoring reports and other compliance documentation. It’s also a great place to get information about compliance and other water program information.
“The Department of Environmental Protection and the water management districts are focused on creating an effective regulatory process for all Florida citizens,” said DEP Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. “Educating Floridians on the regulatory process is key to the success of these efforts.”
The portal allows visitors to electronically apply for permits and other authorizations including:
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Environmental Resource Permits (and authorizations to use state-owned submerged lands, where applicable).
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Consumptive and Water Use Permits.
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Well Construction Permits.
- Works of the District Permits.
“By helping Florida’s businesses and residents understand when and how to apply for permits, the Water Permitting Portal serves as a great tool for continually providing excellent customer service—which is an important priority of the District,” said Jon Steverson, Executive Director of the Northwest Florida Water Management District. “Through our continued focus on improving service and efficiencies, the District has reduced our processing time by more than 40 percent for consumptive use and 80 percent for environmental resource permits over the last two years.”
“The website provides easy format for the public to determine basic permitting information,” said Ann Shortelle, Executive Director of the Suwannee River Water Management District. “This website is very helpful and allows anyone with a computer to search a single website for consumptive use and environmental resource permit information.”
“Online access to permitting provides an important benefit to citizens looking to manage different types of applications from the comfort of their business or home,” said Robert Beltran, Executive Director for the Southwest Florida Water Management District. “It’s important to provide citizens efficient and effective access to these services to make it easier for the public to interact with water management districts.”
“The statewide E-permitting site makes accessing water resources permitting information far more convenient for the public,” said Hans Tanzler III, Executive Director of the St. Johns River Water Management District. “This is one more step in our work to add transparency to our permits and data.”
“The new permitting portal exemplifies our shared focus on excellent customer service,” said Blake Guillory, Executive Director of the South Florida Water Management District. “It also supports the significant progress we’ve made in achieving statewide consistencies in the entire regulatory process. The process recognizes regional technical differences while streamlining and simplifying the administrative application and process.”
This new service is provided in keeping with efforts to conduct more paperless business. Applicants are able to apply for permits by submitting the application and associated materials online instead of having to submit paper copies to the Department. This will save time and money for applicants as well as staff. In addition to eliminating the cost of printing and mailing permit application documents, application fees for online submittals are reduced, and are entirely eliminated for self-certifications.
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