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PADEP’s SPEED Program Seeks to Improve Pennsylvania’s Permitting Process but Significant Questions Remain
In July 2024, the Shapiro administration announced the Streamlining Permits for Economic Expansion and Development (SPEED) program as part of an effort to reduce current delays associated with certain permits issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). The SPEED program, authorized by the 2024-25 budget legislation, allows applicants to have an initial review of specific environmental permits conducted by qualified professionals approved by PADEP. Depending on the number of available qualified professionals for the specific permit, PADEP will either assign a qualified professional or the applicant will be able to choose from a list of three provided by PADEP. Regardless, applicants must agree to pay the qualified professional’s fees upfront as part of the initial review. After considering the qualified professional’s review and recommendation, PADEP, which retains final decision-making authority, will either issue a final permit decision or notify the applicant of any technical deficiencies within the application. Permits eligible for the SPEED program include air quality plan approvals (state-only), earth disturbance permits, individual water obstruction and encroachment permits, and dam safety permits.
In October 2024, PADEP began accepting bids for qualified professional reviewers and plans to begin implementing the SPEED program in 2025. As defined in the SPEED program, a qualified professional must have, among other things an applicable professional license and at least five years of relevant permitting experience. Significant questions remain, however, regarding how PADEP will determine and address potential conflicts of interest between the qualified professional and applicant, and whether such rules will dissuade experienced consultants from applying. Notably, the deadline to apply to be a qualified professional was recently extended to March 31, 2025, and it remains to be seen whether enough consultants will apply by then to improve permitting timetables in a meaningful way.
