Pittsburgh, PA
FNREL Mineral and Energy Law Newsletter
Pennsylvania – Oil & Gas
(by Joe Reinhart, Sean McGovern, Matt Wood and Alex Graf)
On January 14, 2025, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) launched a new webpage to track the progress of permit applications. See Commw. of Pa., “Track Your Permit Application” here (Permit Tracker). The Permit Tracker allows interested parties to search permits by program area (e.g., oil and gas, by county, permit type, and other details). Applicants can also check the status of a permit application, including which step of the review process the permit is in, the target date for completing that step, and contact information for the permit reviewer.
According to an accompanying press release, PADEP co-developed the Permit Tracker with the Commonwealth Office of Digital Experience (CODE PA) to modernize the permitting process, and in response to requests from the business community. Press Release, PADEP, “Shapiro Administration Launches New Permit Tracker; Businesses Applying for DEP Permits Can Now See Progress in Real-Time” (Jan. 16, 2025). PADEP said that it continues the agency’s “commitment to transparency and improving the user experience for applicants working with us to build a better Pennsylvania.” Id. In addition to PADEP’s efforts to reduce its permit application backlogs, the agency said the Shapiro administration has been hiring staff to improve operational efficiency. Id.
Implementation of the Permit Tracker follows CODE PA’s October 2024 launch of another website to educate stakeholders about state grant opportunities and assist applicants through the application process. That tool, available here, covers multiple grant categories, including energy and oil and gas. More information about CODE PA’s other efforts can be found on its website here.
Copyright © 2025, The Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, Westminster, Colorado
