Frequently Asked Questions About the Restructuring of the Regulatory Division

The District is committed to provide quality service in a timely, convenient and consistent manner to the regulated community.

The District is restructuring its Regulatory Division to:

• Eliminate duplication
• Increase efficiency
• Increase consistency
• Reduce costs

We are accomplishing these goals by:

• Centralizing the permitting review process in our Tampa office to ensure that permit applicants throughout the District are treated consistently;
• Grouping staff by programs in a central location to increase efficiencies, eliminate duplication of services and reduce costs;
• Maintaining a local presence in service offices to ensure convenient access to District staff;
• Enhancing and improving online permitting to make it easier and more convenient to submit a permit application and access permit data

Frequently Asked Questions – Regulatory Restructuring

Question: If a permit is under review, will the consultant/permittee have to drive to Tampa to meet with staff now?

Answer: No. Our goal is to have as little effect on the regulated community as possible. Meetings will continue to be conducted at the service offices where they had previously been held.

Question: How easy will it be for consultants/permittees to meet with the permit reviewers now?

Answer: Applicants simply need to call to make an appointment to meet with the permit reviewer in the appropriate service office.

Question: Will staff still be conducting site visits during permit reviews?

Answer: We will continue to do site visits as we have previously.

Question: How will we handle walk-in permit applications now?

Answer: Applicants may continue to bring in permit applications to service offices or to apply online. Each service office will have administrative personnel along with technicians and compliance staff.

Question: Will there still be a person at the reception desk?

Answer: Yes. Each service office will have administrative personnel along with technicians and compliance staff.

Question: Will any permit review staff be maintained at the service offices? If so, how many?

Answer: No. At this time we anticipate that permit review staff will be headquartered at the Tampa office.

Question: Will staff from Tampa travel to the service offices on a regular basis?

Answer: Yes, Tampa staff will travel to service offices for scheduled meetings, including pre-application meetings.

Question: Will the District retain the service offices or downsize to smaller offices?

Answer: We are still reviewing our facilities needs. We expect to continue to have offices in Bartow, Brooksville and Sarasota. Any decision will be made with the intent of maintaining quality service to each of those regions serviced by those offices.

Question: How often will pre-application meetings be held at each service office?

Answer: Based on previous workloads we expect that pre-app meetings will be held in each service office several times a week. We will have personnel specifically assigned to handle pre-application meetings.

Question: Will it take longer to get permits reviewed under these reduced staffing levels?

Answer: No. Our intent is to reduce the time it takes to get a permit. With the Regulatory Division restructured to be more efficient and consistent, combined with the decreased number of ERP applications, we do not expect any additional time required for the permitting process.

Question: Will the vaults continue to be staffed?

Answer: Yes

Question: How will these changes affect services to the regulated communities, especially those like Ag, airports and school boards that currently receive specialized permitting assistance from the District?

Answer: The District will continue to provide specialized permitting support through its Ag, airport and school board permitting teams. Those services will continue.

Question: How will these changes affect services to the agricultural community?

Answer: The District will continue to provide specialized permitting support to the agricultural community through its Ag team.

Question: How can such a large staff reduction not affect quality of service?

Answer: The District is committed to not only maintaining but improving its quality of service, which includes access to staff and data, convenience, timeliness, consistency, fairness and clear communications. We can accomplish this because of several factors. We are receiving significantly fewer ERP applications, which is lowering the workload. We have restructured the division to be more productive by eliminating duplication, increasing efficiency and consistency. We have raised our performance expectations for our staff. And we are enhancing and improving our online permitting to make it easier and more convenient to submit a permit application and access permit data. As circumstances change – for example, if the rate of ERP applications increases – we will reconsider our staffing needs.

Any additional questions can be emailed to the Regulatory Department  ».