Tips to avoid an Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) Request for Additional Information (RAI)

The St. Johns River Water Management District strives to issue permits in a timely manner, with the initial submittal of a complete application facilitating the review and issuance of a permit.

Early pre-application discussions with staff before application submittal is one helpful (see September 2014 tip below). Another strategy is the use of the e-Permitting website to electronically submit all application information. Avoiding an RAI also expedites permit issuance.

District staff have reviewed RAI questions from 500 ERPs issued since 2013 to identify the most frequently asked RAI questions. The top three commonly asked questions involved: discrepancies between the calculations and plans, no fee or incorrect fee, and incomplete legal documents for conservation easements (CE) and operation/maintenance (O&M) entities. To avoid these common application deficiencies, you are encouraged to:

1. Review the calculations and plans to reconcile discrepancies before application submittal.
2. Verify the application fee amount with staff before application submittal and submit the application fee via e-Permitting to avoid time delays. Note: Changes to the project area or wetland/surface water acreage can affect the fee amount.
3. Use the standard CE and O&M form language and discuss legal document issues with staff before application submittal.

The Permitting tab of the District website, at www.sjrwmd.com/permitting, is a source of information when preparing an application package. The e-Permitting website can be accessed at “Apply for a permit or submit compliance data” or by clicking the “Login/create an account” button. The current fee schedule and CE and O&M forms are available under “Handbooks, forms, fees, final orders.” A CE FAQ and the Pre-Application Information Exchange Tool are available under “Help and online resources.”