PermitSolutions BY HGA
Platform Architecture

How applications flow from applicant to decision — and everything in between.

PermitSolutions is a full-lifecycle permitting platform. From the moment an applicant submits a project, every step — screening, routing, review, document generation, and final determination — is tracked, auditable, and fast.

See the interactive demo → Contact HGA
Application lifecycle

From submission to determination — one continuous workflow.

Every project follows a structured path through the system. The platform handles routing, notifications, and audit capture at each stage — nothing falls through the cracks.

01

Applicant submits

Structured digital intake — project metadata, route geometry, and supporting documents. No paper, no PDFs, no re-keying.

Forms GeoJSON Docs
Applicant view demo
02

Automated screening

Project geometry is screened against 8+ environmental layers — wetlands, T&E, floodplains, §106, tribal lands — in seconds.

GIS NWI IPaC
Screening walkthrough
03

Review & coordination

Cases route to the right reviewers. Agency queues, milestone tracking, RFI loops, and joint lead-agency concurrence — all managed in one place.

Queues SLAs RFIs
Government review demo
04

Determination & record

Final decision issued. The complete administrative record — every screen, correspondence, and concurrence — is captured and audit-ready.

CatEx EA Record
Agency permit detail
Two sides, one system

Applicants and reviewers see exactly what they need.

The platform presents different interfaces to different users — applicants track their submissions; program managers see the full pipeline. Both operate on the same underlying data.

APPLICANT SIDE

Project submission & tracking

Applicants submit project details, upload route geometry and supporting documents, and track review status in real time. No phone calls, no email chains — a single source of truth for their submission.

Applicant project detail
MANAGEMENT SIDE

Review queues & program oversight

Program managers see every project in the pipeline. Reviewers get assigned cases with all screening data pre-attached. Agency coordinators track permits, milestones, and SLAs across the entire portfolio.

Government dashboard
APPLICANT SIDE

RFI response & document upload

When reviewers request additional information, applicants receive structured RFIs with clear requirements. Responses and documents flow back through the system — timestamped and linked to the record.

MANAGEMENT SIDE

Agency coordination & concurrence

Multi-agency coordination is built in. USFWS, USACE, SHPO, and other consulting agencies have their own queues and workflows. Joint lead-agency concurrence follows structured protocols.

Agency permit detail
Platform modules

Purpose-built modules for every phase of the lifecycle.

Each module handles a distinct part of the permitting workflow. Together, they form a continuous pipeline from intake to close-out.

Intake & Forms

Configurable, section-based intake forms with field-level validation, conditional logic, and file upload support. Typed records on submit.

Dynamic form builder Multi-section layouts File & geometry upload

GIS Screening

Project geometry screened against curated environmental layers. Configurable decision trees surface issues and route low-risk projects forward automatically.

8+ environmental layers ArcGIS & Esri integration Automated flagging

Case Management

Reviewer assignment, milestone tracking, SLA enforcement, and applicant feedback loops. Program managers see bottlenecks; reviewers see only what needs judgment.

Agency-specific queues Milestone & SLA tracking Role-based access

Document Management

Centralized document repository with version control, access logging, and structured folder organization per project. Every upload is linked to the administrative record.

Version-controlled storage Access audit trail S3-backed with encryption

Document Workbench

Structured authoring for BAs, EAs, and EIS documents. Pre-populated with screening data, section-by-section guidance, and integrated species records from USFWS IPaC.

Template-driven authoring IPaC species integration Section status tracking

Reporting & Analytics

Real-time dashboards, agency performance metrics, and CEQ-aligned reporting. Export structured data and audit packets on demand.

Portfolio dashboards Agency performance views CEQ data standard exports
AI-powered review

Automated analysis with human-in-the-loop safeguards.

AI accelerates the review cycle without removing expert judgment from the loop. Every AI-generated output is flagged for reviewer validation before it becomes part of the record.

When a project enters the system, AI models analyze submitted documents against regulatory requirements, flag potential compliance gaps, and pre-draft sections of environmental review documents. Reviewers see AI-generated findings alongside the raw evidence — screening results, species lists, regulatory thresholds — so they can validate, adjust, or override with full context.

The AI layer handles high-volume, pattern-matching work — consistency checks across document sections, cross-referencing species occurrence data with project footprints, and identifying missing required elements. This frees reviewers to focus on judgment calls: novel project types, contested determinations, and policy interpretation.

Every AI-assisted output carries a confidence indicator and a link to the underlying data. Nothing enters the administrative record without human sign-off.

CAPABILITY
Document pre-screening
CAPABILITY
Compliance gap detection
CAPABILITY
Section draft generation
CAPABILITY
Species cross-reference
SAFEGUARD
Human-in-the-loop validation
SAFEGUARD
Confidence scoring & audit link
Security & hosting

Built for federal context. Configured for compliance — not retrofitted.

PermitSolutions deploys into cloud environments aligned with federal security requirements. Data residency, access controls, and audit logging are configured into the platform from day one.

HOSTING

FedRAMP-aligned cloud posture

Deployable into FedRAMP Moderate / High environments on AWS GovCloud. Tenant isolation per agency; data residency configurable by program.

IDENTITY

Login.gov & PIV/CAC SSO

Standard federal identity providers. Role-based access for applicants, reviewers, program managers, and audit roles — including read-only OIG access.

ENCRYPTION

Data at rest & in transit

AES-256 encryption at rest, TLS 1.2+ in transit. S3 server-side encryption with KMS-managed keys. Database-level encryption for all PII and sensitive records.

AUDIT

Defensible administrative record

Every screen, decision, GIS query, and correspondence is captured immutably. Records are produced in audit-ready packets on request.

ACCESS

Role-based access control

Granular permissions by role: applicant, reviewer, agency coordinator, program manager, auditor. Row-level data isolation between organizations and programs.

COMPLIANCE

508 / VPAT / accessibility

Reviewer and applicant interfaces meet Section 508 standards. Plain-language guidance throughout; AT-tested screen flows.

DATA

NEPA & Permitting Data Standard

Records crosswalked to CEQ's common data concepts. Structured exports, APIs, and reusable schemas — no lock-in.

MONITORING

Logging & alerting

Centralized logging with CloudWatch and CloudTrail. Automated anomaly detection and real-time alerting for security-relevant events.

CONTINUITY

Open data, no platform lock-in

Project data exports to standards-compliant formats. Agencies retain full ownership and portability of the administrative record.

Integrations

Connects to the systems agencies already use.

PermitSolutions is designed to plug into existing infrastructure — not replace it. APIs, data feeds, and identity providers connect without rip-and-replace.

ArcGIS / Esri

Environmental layer hosting, spatial analysis, and map services for GIS-driven screening.

USFWS IPaC

Species lists, critical habitat data, and consistency letter generation for ESA §7 compliance.

Login.gov

Federal identity provider for applicant and public-facing authentication. PIV/CAC support for agency staff.

AWS GovCloud

FedRAMP-authorized hosting with S3, RDS, KMS, and CloudTrail for data storage, encryption, and audit logging.

CEQ Data Standard

Structured exports aligned to the NEPA & Permitting Data Standard for cross-agency reporting.

Document APIs

Programmatic document generation, PDF assembly, and correspondence templates for agency letters.

Email & notifications

SES-based transactional email for applicant updates, reviewer assignments, and SLA alerts.

REST API

Open API endpoints for programmatic access, bulk data export, and integration with agency systems of record.

Contact

Bring us your highest-friction permitting workflow.

HGA can demonstrate operational PermitSolutions deployments and scope a pilot configuration for your agency. Most pilots are in the field inside a month.

PILOT TIMELINE
≤ 30 days to field