Performance Details
Department of Natural Resources - Office of Project Management & Permitting
Mission
The Office of Project Management and Permitting coordinates state multi-agency regulatory reviews and authorizations, while collaboratively engaging federal agencies on land use planning and policy initiatives to maintain and enhance the state's economy, quality of life, and maximize the value of Alaska's vast natural resources.
Core Services
- Coordinate the review and authorization of large and complex natural resource development projects.
- Coordinate multi-agency review of proposed federal actions; facilitate engagements between state and federal regulatory agencies; and prepare consolidated state comments.
- Engage in outreach and educational opportunities to inform the public, industries, legislature, and federal agencies of state interests and positions on large projects, federal actions, and grants.
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Performance Detail
A: Result -Advance permitting efficiencies. |
A1: Core Service - Coordinate the review and authorization of large and complex natural resource development projects. |
Target #2: Collect receipts (i.e. revenue) for reimbursable services, per signed agreements with project proponents, resulting from the statewide coordinated review of projects during pre-planning, permitting, and project compliance..
NULL ERRORAnalysis of results and challenges: OPMP functions as a revenue-generating source to the state by providing operating funds to state regulatory agencies that would otherwise not be available through general fund appropriations. OPMP benefits the state in the following tangible ways: (1) supplementing agency budgets for adjudicating state authorizations, (2) managing timely permit review schedules, (3) eliminating redundant agency efforts, (4) facilitating collaboration between agencies, and (5) contributing to efficient, transparent lines of communication between the state, federal agencies, citizens and project proponents. Measuring the total amount of revenue (i.e. receipts) collected by OPMP through its project funding agreements provides a broad indicator of the fiscal resources generated by OPMP"s large project coordination program. Revenue reported under this metric is affected by the number of projects coordinated by OPMP, staffing levels in OPMP, and participating state regulatory agencies associated coordinated project workloads which result in reimbursable service-related agency expenditures that are collected from the project proponent. OPMP anticipates upward revenue trends in the near-term based on successful project coordinator recruitments and a modest increases in the number of coordinated projects. Target Last Modified: 11/08/2023 |
Target #3: Establish and maintain Reimbursable Service Agreements (RSAs) with state agencies to ensure they have the necessary fiscal resources to participate effectively in the coordinated review of projects..
OPMP tracks RSA totals at the department-level as a measure of available funding for state agencies that participate in OPMP"s large project coordination program. This metric also indicates the networked characteristic of the program. However, cost recovery is limited to actual eligible expenditures for reimbursable services, which OPMP reports under Target #2 as revenue. OPMP"s principal challenge related to RSAs is maintaining continuity during program implementation despite staff turn-over within participating agencies. New staff may be unaware of available funding through OPMP"s project related RSAs, or they may not understand the networked characteristic of the coordinated permitting program administered by OPMP. OPMP addresses this challenge through internal and external training and outreach efforts and by working with participating state agencies to ensure their cost estimates, which provide the basis for the issued RSAs, are reasonable and responsive to the project-specific scopes of work. OPMP has provided relatively consistent RSA funding totals to participating state agencies over the preceding five years, and this trend is expected to continue, with some variations based on annual project workloads. Target Last Modified: 11/08/2023 |
B: Result -Protect the State"s economic and social interests. |
B1: Core Service - Coordinate multi-agency review of proposed federal actions; facilitate engagements between state and federal regulatory agencies; and prepare consolidated state comments. |
Target #1: Coordinate multi-agency reviews of proposed federal actions and compile consolidated state comments..
The number of federal actions where OPMP has coordinated or facilited the State in preparing for a multi-agency state response or has otherwise facilitated consultation between state and federal agencies provides a measure of potential impacts on state interests from national and regional federal land management actions or federal policy decisions. Trends in this metric are driven by the number of policies, management plans and actions proposed by federal agencies. Large, complex management plans, which can have significant economic impact on the state, are more time intensive and involve multiple planning phases, spanning several years. The number of federal actions affecting Alaska has been on an upward trend following changes in federal administrations in FY2021. To provide better resolution in this metric, starting in FY2021, OPMP differentiated the data by the number of federal actions coordinated by OPMP, and the number of formal consolidated comment letters submitted by OPMP in response to the federal actions. This data was combined in previous reporting years. OPMP"s principal challenge is maintaining sufficient organizational capacity (i.e. staffing, training, expertise, budget resources, etc.) to adjust to fluctuations in the number of policies, management plans and actions proposed by federal agencies that may affect Alaska. Starting in FY2021, OPMP has dedicated additional Unrestricted General Funds (UGF) to meet the increased workloads associated with coordinated state review of federal actions and to increase capacity to more proactively engage in and prepare for federal actions affecting Alaska. Target Last Modified: 11/08/2023 |
C: Result -Public involvement, community outreach, and policy development. |
C1: Core Service - Engage in outreach and educational opportunities to inform the public, industries, legislature, and federal agencies of state interests and positions on large projects, federal actions, and grants. |
Target #1: Present and provide subject matter expertise at trainings, workshops, conferences, legislative hearings and local public meetings that address or affect specific state and federal actions or proposed development projects..
NULL ERRORAnalysis of results and challenges: OPMP staff engages in public outreach as a means of communicating state interests on a variety of natural resource issues with a diverse group of stakeholders. Examples of outreach activities include: - Participation in public meetings, hearings, open houses, or other similar activities during project reviews. - Responses to inquiries (e.g. citizens, media, etc.) related to coordinated natural resource development projects and federal actions. - Presentations to organizations such as the National Petroleum Council, Alaska Miners Association, Resource Development Council, and other organizations representing Alaska industries. - Presentations at various workshops providing an overview of the state"s interest and participation in the implementation of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). - Presentations and participation at legislative hearings, energy conferences, and resource management conferences. OPMP observed a significant decrease in the number of outreach activities in 2020 due to travel and gathering restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. OPMP anticipates the upward trend in its outreach efforts observed in FY2021 abd FY2022 to continue and level off as COVID-19 response measures ease and the use of virtual outreach tools increases. Target Last Modified: 03/29/2023 |
Last refreshed: 04/18/2024 05:00 pm