VILSACK ANNOUNCES MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS
TO AIR QUALITY PERMIT PROCESSING
Issuance time reduced by 81 percent; backlog cut in half

DES MOINES - Governor Tom Vilsack announced today that a successful business improvement technique applied to state government has resulted in dramatic improvements to the processing of air pollution control permits by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The time to issue standard air pollution control permits has fallen 81 percent, with the average review time of 62 days reduced to 12 days. The process improvement effort streamlined the number of review steps by 70 percent - from 23 steps to seven steps - and focused on eliminating process delays and backlogs and improving efficiency without reducing the actual time state engineers review permits. The number of handoffs in the process - when the permit moves from person to person - decreased from 18 to four.

"This is about good government, good business and ensuring good, clean air for Iowans," Vilsack said. "It's a tremendous success story, and one that is being replicated through improvement efforts all over state government to improve customer service and save money."

Last summer, the DNR underwent an intensive weeklong "Kaizen" review, a business process improvement technique inspired by Japanese methods used to improve efficiencies in corporations. The effort focused on collecting data on the permit process, targeting waste and rapidly implementing recommendations. The Iowa Coalition for Innovation and Growth funded the project with support from the Iowa Business Council. The review team included DNR staff and representatives from regulated industries.

"Each permit still receives the same time for scrutiny, but the overall time needed to issue the permit is reduced dramatically, thanks to cutting out unproductive time when applications sit idle in the process," said DNR Director Jeffrey Vonk. "Instead, permit applications are routed internally so standard permits are tackled quickly, while a separate team reduces a backlog of permit applications and a third team reviews complex permits that require additional procedures and longer review times."

Additional changes include obtaining higher quality information from businesses to avoid additional information requests and delays. DNR established a hotline, 1-877-AIR-IOWA, that businesses call to discuss potentially difficult issues and seek help. DNR also streamlined the permit application forms and eliminated one form.

Key to the improved process was reducing a permit backlog that slowed permit issuance. A special team of DNR staff is tackling a backlog of nearly 600 permits, reducing it by half within three months. The backlog should be eradicated by January to allow more staff resources to focus on complex permits for new factories or major expansions at existing facilities.

"The past review time was already one of the quickest and most efficient in the nation, but now we can better respond to keep up with changing industry production methods that focus on rapid changes to industrial processes and the need for timely permit issuance," Vonk said.

Mike Blouin, director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development, said the process improvement demonstrates the results that can be achieved through public-private partnerships.

"This is a major step in reducing the frustration level of businesses waiting for permits," Blouin said. "We're going to expand this streamlined process across state government to continue to improve our response time to best meet the needs of businesses."

Members of the Kaizen process improvement team were Karin Peterson, Roger McComb and Alexa Heffernan from the Iowa Business Council; Joe Wesselman and Bill Zinkewich from IPSCO; Alan Arnold from Alliant Energy; Dan Nickey from University of Northern Iowa; Joe McGuire from Cessford Construction; David Roederer from the Iowa Chamber Alliance and Sherry Timmins from IDED.

Peterson, vice president of human resources at the Pella Corporation and a representative of the Iowa Business Council on the team, said the improvement process involved real teamwork and breaking through differences between government and business.

"Everyone who worked on this learned a lot from each other, and I think this is just the beginning," Peterson said. "DNR is truly committed to eliminating waste, improving processes and providing good customer service. The most exciting part is the resources that will eventually be freed up that can be put where they're really needed."

DNR's Air Quality Bureau is the state's air quality regulatory authority, implementing the federal Clean Air Act and managing air resources. Bureau staff issues nearly 2,000 air pollution control permits annually for new equipment or major expansions at existing facilities.

For more information cantact Brian Button of the Iowa DNR Air Quality Bureau by phone at 515-281-7832 or by email at brian.button@dnr.iowa.gov.