Hawaii Online Permitting Available for Septic & Cesspool Systems

The Hawai‘i State Department of Health (DOH) Wastewater Branch now allows the public to apply and pay online for Individual Wastewater System (IWS) approvals through a professional engineer (P.E.) registered in the State of Hawai‘i. IWS include septic & cesspool systems. The IWS website is the first electronic permitting system DOH has implemented in partnership with the Hawai‘i Information Consortium. This electronic system is part of the Lingle-Aiona Administration’s ongoing initiative to expand online permitting and other government services.

The DOH Wastewater Branch currently reviews and approves thousands of IWS plan applications annually. The Branch encourages engineers to file online for faster service. Filing online is environmentally friendly because all communication for processing permits is handled through e-mail versus paper. In addition, the engineer will be able to obtain electronic verification that the IWS was submitted once payment is completed.

“It’s a real win-win situation when people apply for IWS approval online,” said Wastewater Branch Chief Tomas See. “We save on the time and cost of manually processing paper applications and plans; electronic permitting users save on the time and cost and hassle of mailing or hand delivering applications to a DOH office and they generally get their plans reviewed faster.”

The system also allows DOH engineers in Honolulu to back up their colleagues on the neighbor islands to help speed the approval process everywhere in the state.

“I really like the prompt approvals and feedback from the Wastewater Branch. I am able to get quicker building permit approval turnaround for my clients. I also don’t have to worry about lost checks and plans,” said Steve Herbert, P.E. of Kona, Hawai‘i, one of the first users of the system.

Linda Taylor, P.E. of Linda Taylor Engineering, Inc. sent this e-mail to the Department of Health. “The online filing for individual wastewater permits is a progressive move to help reduce the amount of paper we normally use to print out our reports and plans. I am excited to have a process that saves paper, ink, energy, postage and fuel costs. It only takes about 10-15 minutes to fill out the online application, and it is user friendly and easy to follow. It is a step in the right direction to use the technology out there to reduce the impacts on our environment in any way and streamline a permitting process. Congratulations!”

Payments can be made using an e-check or credit card. There are no additional surcharges or fees for filing online for the public. To apply for an IWS approval go to: http://wastewater.ehawaii.gov.

This latest system is part of DOH’s work to improve public service with better information technology. The Wastewater Branch has set up e-communications with the building departments of the counties of Honolulu, Kaua‘i, and Maui. This allows DOH engineers to check the status of IWS projects with the counties quickly and avoid numerous phone calls. The Wastewater Branch has also consolidated most of its data systems for easier and quicker internal operations, which helps the branch serve the public faster.

Hawaii Island Building Resources:

Big Island Building Permit

Hawaii Owner-Builder Permit 

Big Island Building Code

Big Island of Hawaii County Zoning Code