News Release No. 277

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES HELPS BUSINESSES CUT DOWN ON DUPLICATE PAPERWORK
Electronic Forms Eliminate Need to Reinvent the Wheel

Volume 34-277

Contact: Connie Patterson

(For immediate release)

573-751-1010

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, JULY 12, 2006 – The Missouri Department of Natural Resources recently began making permit, license and certification forms available in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Works, Open Office and other word processing software. This change enables businesses to complete these forms electronically and save them so they can easily be updated for future submissions.

“This is another component in our department’s larger, ongoing effort to simplify the way we do business,” said Doyle Childers, director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. “Governor Blunt challenged us to make our process less cumbersome. By easing the paperwork process, we can help our permittees focus on running successful businesses in a way that’s sensitive to our state’s natural resources.”

The department’s Air Pollution Control Program and its Division of Geology and Land Survey are the first offices to make forms available in these formats. Forms are protected so their integrity isn’t compromised, while still allowing customers to type in the fields and save the file for finishing on a later date. When the customer is done filling out the form, he can print and mail the form to the Department of Natural Resources, or he can sign the form and e-mail it to the department.

David Fusselman, president of Fusselman Salvage Company in Moberly, regularly submits an emissions inventory questionnaire, or EIQ, and found the additional formats helpful.

“I've been filling out annual EIQ forms since 2002. This year, I found out the EIQ forms were available on the department’s Web site. They were very convenient and timesaving. You are able to fill in the forms on the computer, then print them out when finished,” Fusselman said. “It's a much better setup than having to print forms, then fill them out by hand. I highly recommend the department’s online forms and am grateful to have access to such a service.”

Customers can reuse these forms year after year. Check the department’s Web site regularly at www.dnr.mo.gov/forms/ to see if forms have been updated.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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