E-Enterprise Project Update:
ePermitting
Return on Investment Calculator
Bob Zimmerman, Delaware Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control
David Nicholas, US EPA Office of Land and Emergency Management
June 27, 2017
Inception & Background
• 2015 ePermitting scoping study commissioned by
EELC, Georgia EPD and OLEM co-chair

Workgroup members:

GA conducted survey, responses from 35 states

Recommendation: develop ROI metrics to enable state
adoption of ePermitting systems
GA VA CO DE SC MD AR IA OR OH, EPA: OW
OAR OLEM
• 2016 Supplemental report: ROI metrics
 Methods/sources to calculate metrics and baselines
 State experiences, academic literature & public data
 Validated baselines & methods w/EPA NCEE
•
2017 ROI Calculator: Action Item from 4/16 EELC meeting to
OLEM/CO, MA, DE co-chairs
 Tool for States to estimate potential increased
economic activity, efficiency from ePermitting
 Commercial construction permits as proxy
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The ROI Calculator For States IS…
 Intended for states; to help gauge impacts of potential streamlining
efforts
 Includes 3 metrics:

Primary: Time to Market

Additional: Trusted Transactions

Additional: Right Info, Right Time
 Captures economic impacts to industry & public from ePermitting or
other process reforms (beyond cost and burden savings to agency)
 Uses publicly-available economic (BEA) and labor rates data
 Generates clear reports with estimates tailored to the states and
industries chosen by the state user
 Tribes can use the tool by selecting a bordering state to estimate
impacts in their programs
The ROI Calculator is NOT…
o A data flow to EPA
o A formal cost-benefit analysis
 Scenario analysis tool
o A way to estimate cost savings/burden reductions to internal
State agency or EPA budgets

Focus is on macroeconomic benefits to industry & public
• AND… it is not onerous to use
 Enter available data and/or tailor the national averages
provided

For data users do not have, tool will provide evidence-based
baselines and estimates based on user-entered values.
Primary ROI Metric: Time to Market
Time to Market: Estimate gains in economic activity associated
with reduced permit processing times.
In which state is your project being implemented?
Select a state from the drop down list by clicking in the cell below.
Select 'United States' to use national-level data.
State:
What industry does the permit in question affect?
This tool assesses the time to market benefits associated with projects that
reduce processing times for a given permit. Select the industry regulated by your
permit from the dropdown list in the cell below.
Commercial Construction
If your permit addresses multiple sectors or if you are not sure which sector(s) is
most applicable, the model recommends that you select "commercial
construction" as a default proxy for economic activity. Commercial construction
is a reasonable indicator of "typical" economic activity in this context because:
How does it work?
1) it is similar in scale (size, in percentage of GDP) to other key sectors that
require environmental permitting, such as the waste remediation sector;
 Based on World Bank assessment of permit processing time as a barrier
to economic activity
 Suggests use of commercial construction permits as “default industry”:
in all 50 states, requires permits, used by World Bank as proxy,
comparable in size to other sectors requiring environmental permits
2) it is present in all 50 states;
3) it explicitly requires permits to begin operation at most sites;
4) it is used by the World Bank as a consistent metric for the intersection
between economic activity and permitting.
If you know that your permit affects a specific industry, select that industry from
the dropdown list below to obtain an estimate of economic activity associated
with that industry. If your permit does not affect a specific industry, or you would
like to obtain a general estimate comparable to environmental permitting costs,
select “commercial construction” from the dropdown list below.
Industry:
Select an industry from the drop-down list by clicking in the cell above
How much of the industry is affected by the permit in question?
Most permit programs affect only a portion of commercial or industrial activity in
any one year.
To measure the number of facilities affected by permitting each year:
(A)
OR:
 User enters:
(B)
 State e.g., Colorado
Enter the percent of the industry that is subject
to permit requirements each year:
What is (was) the initial av erage permit processing time for your permit
program?
Prior to your project being implemented, enter the TOTAL average time in days,
starting with submission and ending with approval of a permit application. Include
time related to typical correspondence and revisions.
 Industry (if improved process targets permits affecting specific
industry) e.g., Commercial construction
 Number of facilities / percent of industry affected e.g., 50%
For example: The average processing time for construction permits in the U.S. is
81 days from submission to approval, according to the World Bank's Doing Business
report.
Days for permit approv al:
What will be your new permit processing time, after you’v e streamlined the
process?
Estimate the total time (in days) to process a permit AFTER your process
improvement is implemented, beginning with submission and ending with final
approval. Include time associated with typical correspondence and revisions.
For example: If the average processing time for construction permits in the U.S.
were reduced by 25%, the new permit processing time would be 61 days (81 [25% × 81] = 61).
Days for permit approv al:
 Pre-improvement permit processing time e.g., 80 days
 Post-improvement permit processing time e.g., 40 days
(50% reduction)
Output
Enter as a whole
num ber (e.g.,
"50" for 50%)
Enter the number of permit applications as a
whole number you wish to analyze:
Additional ROI Metrics
Two metrics that describe economic benefits (cost savings) to the regulated community and the public from
ePermitting streamlining.
Trusted
Transactions
Gains in productive value-added time for industry when
uncertainty in the review process is reduced
Right Info,
Right Time
Increased economic activity from efficiency in
requesting and accessing information
 Trusted Transactions: quantifies the value to regulated entities of realigning compliance staff to
additional value-added use due to reductions in uncertainty in information exchanges and
indeterminate schedules

Key inputs: compliance staff wage rates; number of interactions

Sources & Literature: Thomson Reuters, Cost of Compliance 2015; U.S. Census Bureau, Statistics of U.S Businesses – fullyloaded wage rate for compliance officers.
 Right Info, Right Time: estimates benefits of reducing time spent by public/industry on searching
for/accessing data (e.g., online driver’s license renewals vs. in-person)

Key inputs: number of transactions/requests, average wage rate, % reduction in time to
complete transaction/request

Sources & Literature: Deloitte, Digital Government Transformation (for Australia), 2015; Bureau of Labor Statistics, National
Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates.
Access the Tool
ePermitting Beyond ROI Metrics Calculator
Primary Metric
TIME TO MARKET
click here
Estimate gains in economic activity associated with reduced permit
processing times.
Additional Metrics
These metrics describe two types of economic benefits (and cost savings) to the regulated community and the
public that often result from improved permitting systems. These metrics expand on traditional ROI measures
because they are not typically considered in direct cost savings estimates, which tend to focus on immediate
savings to agencies and applicants.
Trusted Transactions
click here
Gains in productive valueadded time for industry
when uncertainty in the
review process is reduced
Right Info, Right Time
click here
Increased economic activity
from efficiency in requesting
and accessing information
Questions and Discussion
Comments welcome by July 13 to:
David Nicholas, US EPA OLEM
[email protected]
202.566.1927
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