St. Paul, MN - Governor Mark Dayton today signed Executive Order 11-04, reforming the way two state agencies do business. Today's Executive Order instructs the Commissioners of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Pollution Control Agency (PCA) to "move at the speed of commerce" by accelerating and simplifying their environmental review and permitting processes.

Governor Dayton said, "I am pleased that Legislative Leaders and I agree on the need to streamline permitting processes and shorten review timelines in order to support businesses expanding and creating new jobs. MPCA Commissioner Aasen and DNR Commissioner Landwehr deserve great credit for swiftly mobilizing their agencies to respond more quickly to business needs, while at the same time protecting our citizens and our environment.

"This Executive Order will begin those improvements immediately, while we continue to work with the Legislature to identify further improvements. It shows that we mean it when we say Minnesota will be an even better place for business success."

Noting that Minnesota's regulatory environment must ensure environmental protection and support economic development within the State, the Order takes several substantial steps to streamline and speed the permitting process. It calls for several concrete goals, including: decisions on permitting within 150 days of the application's completion; decisions on permitting within 30 days of the completion of an environmental impact study (EIS); and allowing for electronic filing of both environmental review and permit applications.

"It is clear that making State Government more efficient and responsive is an area of broad agreement, across partisan lines," said DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr.

"Improving how we as a government do business doesn't require legislation; it requires the management decision to make it a priority," said PCA Commissioner Paul Aasen. "Today, we made it a priority to not only be more responsive to our customers - the people and businesses of Minnesota - but to be efficient and effective stewards of the public trust."

A full copy of the /governor/assets/Executive_Order-EO_11-04.pdf_tcm1055-91765.pdfExecutive Order is attached. (PDF file)