2010 Permit Applicant Survey

Summary of Results - December 2010

Introduction

The Department of Ecology (Ecology) has been working to transform and focus the agency’s permitting processes and interactions around the following vision:

The citizens of Washington trust that our employees will support and assist them in promoting the sustainable environmental and economic well-being of the state.

Our goal is to:

Improve the timeliness and predictability of our permitting and regulatory processes.
Cultivate and maintain a supportive and problem-solving culture built on helpful, responsive and knowledgeable services without lowering environmental standards.

Survey Scope

Ecology is Washington State’s primary environmental protection agency. A survey has been conducted every two years since 2002 of individuals and businesses who applied for permits to:

Control pollution and discharges into the air and water.
Ensure safe management of toxic and solid wastes.
Protect natural resources and habitat.

Survey Method

Ecology contracted with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to conduct an independent, neutral administration of a customer satisfaction survey; and collection, validation and compilation of the results.

The 2002 survey was a mail survey with a phone call follow-up to non-responders. The response rate dramatically increased in 2002 when the phone follow-up was conducted. The subsequent surveys were conducted by phone only. The sample groups included persons or businesses who had applied for a permit from Ecology since the previous survey had been conducted.

Response Rates

2002: 2,320 permit applicants surveyed - 52% response rate.
2004: 1,835 permit applicants surveyed - 78% response rate.
2006: 1,858 permit applicants surveyed - 84% response rate.
2008: 1,849 permit applicants surveyed - 75% response rate.
2010: 1,601 permit applicants surveyed - 78% response rate.

Results and Action Steps

Ecology has received consistently high marks for responsiveness to its permit customers. Over the next few months, the agency will be analyzing the survey data to identify specific areas for improving its permit processes. The full report will be available January 31, 2011.

	Percent Agreed or Strongly Agreed
Ecology Staff:	2002	2004	2006	2008	2010
Were helpful	86	94	92	92	91
Were friendly	93	95	95	95	95
Listened	89	93	94	92	93
Used professional judgment	80	91	90	91	90
Communicated clearly	83	91	91	90	90
Viewed applicant as partner	71	88	83	83	86
Worked to build a cooperative relationship	74	89	88	88	88
Worked with applicant on innovative solutions	64	84	78	77	78
Told applicant what was needed to submit a complete application	87	91	92	93	93
Answered applicants questions about the process	87	93	95	96	95
Told applicant how long the decision would take	67	80	75	79	76

The Permit:	2002	2004	2006	2008	2010
Forms were easy to use	67	85	82	78	80
Application instructions were clear	68	87	87	84	86
Environmental standards were clear	65	84	84	81	83
Decision was timely	63	84	81	81	83
Decision was clear	79	89	93	91	93
Time to issue the permit was reasonable	Not Asked	83	80	80	82
Permit conditions are reasonable	Not Asked	81	81	80	81
Reporting requirements are reasonable	Not Asked	80	84	81	81
Monitoring requirements are reasonable	Not Asked	79	81	78	81

Satisfaction with Response Time to:	2002	2004	2006	2008	2010
Phone calls	82	95	94	92	90
Emails	83	95	96	93	91
Letters	70	93	90	88	88

Website Use		2004	2006	2008	2010
Was the Ecology website used to find permit information	Yes	32	45	42	53
Was it easy to find the information on the Ecology website	Yes	83	83	84	80
Was the permit information helpful	Yes	98	92	92	89