Storm Water Management Solution for Environmental Protection and Conservation
Storm Water Management Solution for Environmental Protection and Conservation
A department of environmental protection engaged Spruce to deliver a permitting, licensing, and enforcement framework for the federally mandated Municipal Separate Storm Sewer (MS4) program. MS4 is a program created under the Clean Water Act to control the discharge of stormwater and pollutants into other bodies of water.
With Spruce’s MS4 solution, this department gained efficiency processing license and permit applications while offering enhanced customer service through a new public-facing portal. Compliance with the department’s mandate can be simplified through automated workflows, scheduled inspections, and reporting capabilities.
Challenge
In response to the federally mandated Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) requirements, an environmental protection and conservation agency needed a technical solution that addressed issues such as limitations on accepting digital plans and applications for licencses and permits. Reviews were manual and time-consuming, ongoing compliance was difficult to monitor, and there was no systemic way to manage ongoing compliance and inspections.
Solution
Spruce used its proven permitting, licensing, and enforcement framework to develop and implement an application that provides a public-facing portal for applicants to submit the proper information and associated attachments to support a request for a permit. The permit evaluation and approval process is automated, driving inspection and enforcement activities. We were also able to streamline operations by enabling electronic payments through standard gateway integrations and producing compliance reports.