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Office of the Legislative Auditor State of Minnesota

Office of the Legislative Auditor State of Minnesota. Environmental Review and Permitting September 28, 2011. Legislative Branch . Executive Branch . Judicial Branch . OLA. OLA in State Government . Governor. Constitu-tional Officers. House of Representatives.

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Office of the Legislative Auditor State of Minnesota

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  1. Office of the Legislative AuditorState of Minnesota Environmental Review and Permitting September 28, 2011

  2. Legislative Branch Executive Branch Judicial Branch OLA OLA in State Government Governor Constitu-tional Officers House of Representatives Senate Courts State Agencies

  3. Office of the Legislative Auditor • Nonpartisan • Financial Audit Division • Program Evaluation Division

  4. Purpose of the Evaluation • What are key elements in the environmental review and permitting processes? • How timely are the processes for undergoing environmental review and obtaining permits? • How well does the environmental review process meet its objectives?

  5. Overview of Key Findings • Not all environmental reviews fully meet all objectives • Expertise and experience vary widely • State agencies lack adequate data to measure timeliness • Time taken varied greatly and for different reasons

  6. Environmental Review and Permits • Purpose: To understand the impact that a project will have on the environment • Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) • EAW determines need for environmental impact statement (EIS); EAW 31 questions • EIS analyses impacts, discusses alternatives, explores mitigation • Public review periods • Environmental review and permitting are separate processes; they sometimes intersect

  7. FY 2008 Total FY 2009 FY 2010 Numbers of Private Sector Environmental Reviews and Permits FY 2007 EAW EIS Total Environmental Reviews 99 2 101 229 7 236 70 2 72 38 2 40 22 1 23 Environmental Permits 1,457 310 1,492 224 6,506 1,133 PCA DNR l 1,949 243 1,608 356

  8. Objectives for Environmental Reviews • State rules lay out objectives • Not all environmental reviews fully meet all objectives • Provide usable information on primary environmental effects of proposed projects • Provide access to decision makers to encourage accountability in decision making

  9. Unmet Objectives for Environmental Reviews • The structure for access to decision makers to maintain public awareness of environmental concerns has flaws • Notification process has limitations • Lack of meaningful participation • Process does not consistently allow public agencies to reduce delay and uncertainty or eliminate duplication

  10. Varying Levels of Expertise, Experience • Some work only sporadically on environmental review • Inexperience and lack of expertise can lead to problems

  11. Recommendations • To strengthen environmental review process: • Develop a continuous improvement process • To strengthen local governments’ ability to conduct environmental reviews: • Cooperative arrangements • On-demand training • To change the EAW process: • Allow certain low-risk projects to bypass EAW on a trial basis

  12. Measuring Timeliness • PCA and DNR lack adequate data to measure timeliness • PCA and DNR do not record dates for all phases of environmental review or permitting • Problematic formats • Prevents the agencies from monitoring compliance and identifying areas for improvement

  13. Minimum EAWs Maximum Median Environmental Review Timeliness • Timelines varied greatly and reflected individual circumstances Days to Complete 52 4 8 PCA DNR LocalCase Studies 76 70 39 785 406 195 181 334 120

  14. Days for PCA to Complete EAWs Days

  15. Days for Local Government Case Studies to Complete EAWs Days for comment period Days

  16. PCA Days to Issue Select Private Sector Permits Days to Complete 1. Constructionstorm water 2. Air quality general new 3. Air quality general reissue 4. Air quality individual high priority 5. Air quality individual low priority Permits Minimum Median Maximum • 5,304 • 94 • 12 • 53 • 174 • 0 • 14 • 337 • 48 • 47 • 7 • 126 • 789 • 193 • 306 • 366 • 484 • 1,481 • 912 • 1,680

  17. PCA Overall Timeliness Issuing Permits for Private Sector Applications Permit Applications 150 Days 180 Days Days to Complete All Applications • New or Modified Permit Applications • 9,510 • 7,628 • 85% • 93% • 83% • 92%

  18. Recommendations • PCA and DNR should improve their data’s value by routinely compiling timeliness information • PCA and DNR should set explicit timeliness standards • PCA and DNR should consistently inform proposers of: • What is needed to complete EAWs • Timeliness standards • Agency expectations of proposers

  19. Environmental Review and Permitting is available at: www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us

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