VA’s PEEP is a Gold Star Example of Permit Efficiency
Back in December of 2022, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) was launching a pilot permit tracking system they playfully dubbed “PEEP” - the Permitting Enhancement and Evaluation Platform. We were impressed then - see our blog “If You Can Track a Pizza, You Can Track a Permit” - and we’re still impressed. Amongst the dozens of policy and tech efforts we’ve tracked, PEEP is a gold star example of the potential of technology to dramatically shorten permit backlogs. In two short years, DEQ went from piloting a permit tracking system to scaling it up to cover 12 different permits with metrics in place to evaluate performance. This is one of the most rapid and effective government technology deployments we’ve seen, with a 70% improvement in processing times reported recently. We think it’s worth telling the story and hope it inspires other government agencies.
Note: Sometime in the near future, PEEP will be integrated into a more encompassing statewide system, the Virginia Permit Transparency (VPT) initiative.
In a one-page case study, we summarize commonly-cited permitting bottlenecks - not exclusive to Virginia - that applicants face, and how PEEP addresses them.
We also created a tailored case study for the US Army Corps of Engineers, which could use PEEP as a model for enhancing their their current e-permitting and mitigation tracking systems for wetland and stream permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.
We are keen to deepen partnerships and work with folks that share similar goals - reach out if you’d like to collaborate!
Bonus, check out the best marketing video for a government website we’ve seen to date - a tour of PEEP, as explained by a talking PEEP marshmallow.
