T he Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

(PennDOT) and the Department of Environmental

Protection (DEP) are working collaboratively to create

an environmental electronic permitting system. This new

system, named the Keystone Environmental ePermitting

System (KEES) will replace the aged and fragmented Joint

Permit Application System (JPA2). KEES will allow PennDOT,

as well as a large number of other organizations the capability

of having their DEP-required permits electronically processed

effectively and efficiently. With this new system PennDOT

and DEP intend to:

Provide increased efficiency in the electronic submission

and processing of permits issued by DEP under the

Water Obstruction and Encroachment program (25 PA

Code, Chapter 105), the Erosion and Sediment Control

(E&S) and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination

System (“NPDES”) Permit for Stormwater Dischargers

Associated with Construction Activities programs (25 PA

Code, Chapter 102).

Simplify and improve processing of permit modifications

and amendments.

Decrease administratively incomplete or technically

deficient responses by improving the quality of application

submissions.

Improve system availability and reliability for both DEP and

PennDOT.

DEP-JPA2 Renamed to KEES

Since 2008, PennDOT has submitted electronic applications for GP-11s (permits related to water obstructions and encroachments) and individual permits through the JPA2 (Joint Permit Application) system. In 2015, PA DEP and PennDOT decided that they wanted to expand this system, launching the DEP-JPA2 project. The project team (of both PA DEP and PennDOT participants) quickly determined that the

project should be rebranded, and given a new name. They agreed on a new name: KEES (Keystone Environmental ePermitting System). When considering the new name, the team’s proposals included key terms such as Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Keystone, environmental, and permitting. Ultimately, the name of KEES was chosen to differentiate the project from the existing systems.

Reduce costs associated with the application and permitting

processes.

Improve DEP and PennDOT’s visibility into and ability to

track the lifecycle of the environmental permits and permit

compliance.

KEES provides an exciting opportunity for DEP and PennDOT

to work collaboratively to solve known permitting issues.

Incorporating new tools and technology into the environmental

electronic permitting application will optimize the user experience

and permitting processing. Below are some examples of the

innovative features the team is considering incorporating in the

new system:

Mobile technology;

GIS integration;

Document redlining, highlighting, and commenting;

Automated project reprioritization and analytics;

Flexible sign-in security and login;

Auto-fill free type search capability; and

Interface with external sources outside of agency.

Design for KEES began in the summer of 2016. The KEES

team expects to roll out viable portions of the system over the

next several years.

Project Overview

PA Department of Transportation

PennDOT Bureau of Project Delivery (BPD) PennDOT Bureau of Maintenance and Operations (BOMO) PennDOT Center for Program Development and

Management (CPDM) PennDOT Information Systems and Technology Office

(ISTO) Multimodal Transportation

PA Department of Environmental Protection

DEP Bureau of Waterways Engineering & Wetlands (Central

Office) DEP Waterways and Wetlands Section (Regional office

staff)

Other State Agencies

PA Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (F&B) PA Game Commission PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

(DCNR) Department of General Services (DGS)

Federal Agencies

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Other Agencies/ Commissions

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) County Conservation Districts (CCDs) Local Entities and Municipal Authorities Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts (PACD) PA State Conservation Commission (SCC)

PennDOT and DEP Electronic

Permitting Stakeholders

KEES questions or

comments on this bulletin are welcome.

Please send your questions or comments

to PD, KEES Project.

Questions?

D ue to the size and complexity of implementing the Keystone Environmental ePermitting System (KEES), the KEES team will deploy the project in three stages.

The project is designed in stages to break it down into smaller and more manageable pieces. Individual stages typically require approval from executive management on cost, time and scope before starting. Each stage can have one or more releases in which a product is delivered to the end user. The KEES project intends to use three stages to onboard stakeholders and permit types methodically. The three stages are: Stage 1: Onboard Current Stakeholders & Electronically Submitted Permit Types

GP-11

Small Project

PASPGP-5

ACOE Nationwide

ACOE Individual Stage 2: Onboard County Conservation Districts & Below Permit Types

Chapter 105

GP-1 through GP-9

Emergency

Exx-9999

Chapter 102

Individual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)

General NPDES

Erosion & Sediment (E&S) Plan

Erosion and Sediment Control Permit (ESCP) Stage 3: Onboard PA Turnpike Commission (PTC), Multimodal Transportation, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), and Local Entities & Municipal Projects

Exx-9995 (PTC)

Exx-9910 (DCNR)

Exx-9920 (DCNR)

KEES will implement products from Stage 1 in three releases. The first release of Stage 1 is expected to be completed by spring 2017. This release will provide the core functionality for applicants and reviewers to process and approve a permit application.

Project Stages