Overview of Using Chapter 105 e-permitting
Which Chapter 105 Permits Currently Use e-permitting?
Only registrations for Chapter 105 General Permits are currently accepted through e-permitting. This includes those General Permit Registrations reviewed by DEP and Chapter 105 Delegated County Conservation Districts.
Prospective applicants for projects requiring a standard permit or small project application, or an Environmental Assessments (EA) will continue using the Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Army Corps of Engineers (Baltimore, Philadelphia, And Pittsburgh Districts) Joint Application for Pennsylvania Chapter 105 Water Obstruction and Encroachment Permit and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Section 404 Permit,
Document #3150-PM-BWEW0036A.
The DEP or a Chapter 105 delegated county conservation district can only authorize activities when the activity meets the terms and conditions of the Chapter 105 General Permit. Therefore, it is imperative that potential applicants read the terms and conditions of the Chapter 105 General Permit(s) for which they are applying. Confirming that the activity meets the terms and conditions will result in quality applications and shorter timeframes for DEP or delegated county conservation district review and authorization.
See the General Permit Types page for more information on the general permits and links to the permits.
How e-permitting Works
e-permitting is different than the traditional process where an application or registration is submitted to DEP on a form a paper or PDF form via mail or electronic means. The system is account based which provides many benefits. Like many other online accounts, communications, drafts, past history, etc. will be available and occur through the system. This provides many benefits such as easy access, data entry and tracking, responsive communication and information receipt to name a few.
With an account-based system, an account manager(s) will need to manage the applicant/owner account for all submissions, not just one submission. In e-permitting this is the Electronic Filing Administrator(s) (EFA). The EFA(s) can then grant access to other users.
All users must enroll with e-permitting for the Bureau of Waterways Engineering and Wetlands to submit GP registrations.
Fees: Fees paid to DEP for general permits are paid electronically through e-permitting using credit card or electronic check. Fees paid to Chapter 105 delegated conservation districts will be paid by check mailed to the conservation district. Specific questions concerning fees and delegated county conservation districts should be directed to the delegated conservation district. See the
General Permit Registration Instructions for more information.
Because this is account based, how applicants/owners work with consultants does change slightly, but only in a way to ensure that applicants/owners have control over who is working on their behalf within e-permitting.
Please watch these System Overview Videos which help explain the overall framework of the e-permitting system related to Chapter 105.
Ch. 105 e-permitting – System Overview - (2 min)
Ch. 105 e-permitting – User Role Overview - (4 min)
Ch. 105 e-permitting – Dashboard Overview - (4 min)
Key Concepts to Understand
1. e-permitting is an electronic process. This means the GP registration form is not used, and all communications will occur through the e-permitting system.
Note: other forms such as impact table, fee worksheet, etc. and a General Permit Certification Form are still utilized and uploaded within e-permitting.
2. ALL users need to have and create their own account. This includes applicants and consultants. This means each person, not each company as accounts are personal accounts, not corporate accounts.
3. Each applicant must have an Electronic Filing Administrator (EFA). This EFA must be the applicant or be authorized to manage the applicant and user data and submit applications, such as an employee of the applicant company. The EFA manages and controls access of other users (employees, consultants, etc.).
4. GP registrations that are reviewed by DEP will pay fees online and GP registrations reviewed by Delegated County Conservation Districts will mail fees to the appropriate conservation district.
5. Users other than the EFA must request access from the EFA(s) using the EFA’s ACCESS ID. This must be obtained from the EFA, DEP does not provide the access ID’s to users.
6. Users must register for e-permitting for each DEP Program you wish to utilize e-permitting for. Example, if someone is already registered for e-permitting for Chapter 102 (Bureau of Clean Water), they will also have to register for e-permitting for Chapter 105 (Bureau of Waterways Engineering and Wetlands).
7. Chapter 105 e-permitting uses DEP’s Greenport to access the system. Greenport allows you to access multiple DEP online applications, including e-permitting.
Accordion [1]
Expand AllClick here for a more accessible versionThe Applicant/Registrant is required to have at least one (1) person who is an Electronic Filing Administrator (EFA).
The EFA is a person who has authority to manage the applicant and user data and submit applications and is responsible for managing the applications and other user access. This includes paying fees, receiving and responding to correction notices, receiving final decisions by DEP.
The EFA is also responsible for reviewing and approving Non-EFA User enrollments, and providing those users with the applicant/registrant Access ID for the Bureau of Waterways Engineering and Wetlands. The EFAs approve these Non-EFA users, such as consultants, and set the security roles of these users.
A Non-EFA user is a person who is does not have authority to manage the applicant and user data and submit applications, but needs to view or work on registrations. It also includes users who may have that authority, but simply do not register as an EFA. These users can include members or employees of an organization or consultants hired to assist the applicant/registrant.
Non-EFA users are granted access and have security roles set by the EFA. Non-EFA users who are involved in submissions of General Permit Registrations also receive e-mail notifications regarding the registration submission.
There are thee categories of EFA enrollments, Organization, Individual, or Consultant for Individual.
Organization: This includes Non-profit organizations, Government entities, private companies, etc.
Individual: This category includes individuals which are submitting a general permit registration, such as homeowners.
Consultant for Individual: This is the category of EFA where an individual (Consultant in the term) is the EFA for another individual who does not have computer or email access to, or is otherwise unable to, utilize e-permitting on their own.
This option applies only to individuals and does not apply to organizations. The term “Consultant for Individual” can be confusing because the EFA does not need to be a consultant. While it could be, the EFA could also be a family member, friend, or neighbor.
When someone registers as a Consultant for Individual, they are then the EFA in e-permitting for that individual, for all submissions, not just the current one being submitted. This category requires a copy of a Signed Contracting Authority is required to be attached to the EFA enrollment. DEP does not have a template for this at this time. This statement should be a signed statement (Signed by the registrant) that names the registrant, and states that the named individual is authorized to be the EFA us submit on the registrant’s behalf.
When Non-EFA users are approved by an EFA, the EFA selects the Security Role for this user, Master Preparer or Preparer.
Master Preparer: This security role allows the user access to all of the EFAs Chapter 105 Permit information, including drafts, submitted, approved, withdrawn registrations. With this role, the user can see all GP registrations, including ones they may not be involved with. The Master Preparer has the ability to start a new Draft GP registration, to submit a GP registration, and to respond to correction notices. The Master Preparer also has access to edit all portions of the GP Registration.
Preparer: The Preparer security role does NOT have access to all Chapter 105 information of the EFA. The Preparer only has access to registrations to which they have been granted access, or to which they started the draft. EFAs can choose to allow a preparer to start a new draft or not, by selecting the “Allow Create New” option. A preparer can be given access to a registration once a draft is started using the “Grant Access” button. EFAs can also limit the Preparer by not allowing access to portions of the GP registration, if the EFA so wishes. Once a Preparer has access to a GP registration (Unless otherwise restricted) they can edit the portions assigned to them, submit the registration, Pay Fees, and respond to correction notices.
Where and How to Access e-permitting
1. Unless one has already been created, a prospective user will need to create a
GreenPort account to access e-permitting.
See the
Username & Password Enrollment User Guide.
2. Once a person/user is registered and enrolled, they can access e-permitting either through
GreenPort or go to and
bookmark e-permitting directly.
Note: Greenport Accounts are not Corporate Accounts, but are accounts for an individual person.
Accordion [2]
Expand AllClick here for a more accessible versionThe public can view all submissions made through DEP’s e-permitting through DEP’s eFACTS on the Web. You first locate the submission with
eFACTS on the web, and if it was submitted through e-permitting there will be a link to view the submission for that record.
The e-permitting system is undergoing constant updates. The release notes for each update can be found here.