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‘Greater visibility’: Virginia Permit Transparency website will increase transparency of state process

Rebecca Barnabi
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Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced today the release of the Virginia Permit Transparency (VPT) website to bring increased transparency and efficiency to the Commonwealth’s permitting processes.

VPT provides the public a centralized platform to track the daily status and timeline of critical steps for Commonwealth of Virginia’s permits. Users can search permit applications or filter results by fields such as agency, application number or locality. VPT can be accessed at Permits.Virginia.Gov.

“Our administration is committed to increasing transparency in the permitting process. The Virginia Permit Transparency website allows Virginia to continue to lead the country by bringing greater visibility to the regulatory and permitting processes,” Youngkin said. “Virginia is demonstrating how a transparent permitting process can continue to attract top-quality business and job opportunities.”

The permits of three agencies are available on the website: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Virginia Energy (ENERGY) and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC). Additional agencies will be added in the coming months. The program was first launched as a pilot program last year at DEQ and has won several awards including the “2023 State Program Innovation Award” from the Environmental Council of the States.

“The Commonwealth of Virginia continues to drive innovation in transparency and accountability for government. VPT is another example of Virginia setting the standard for the rest of the country,” Director of the Office of Regulatory Management Andrew Wheeler, whose office is leading the VPT development and expansion, said.

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca Barnabi

Rebecca J. Barnabi is the national editor of Augusta Free Press. A graduate of the University of Mary Washington, she began her journalism career at The Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star. In 2013, she was awarded first place for feature writing in the Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia Awards Program, and was honored by the Virginia School Boards Association’s 2019 Media Honor Roll Program for her coverage of Waynesboro Schools. Her background in newspapers includes writing about features, local government, education and the arts.