HONOLULU – The Hawai'i state Department of Health 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.

The IWS Web site is the first electronic permitting system DOH has implemented in partnership with the Hawai'i Information Consortium.

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, according to a Health news release. 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," Wastewater Branch Chief Tomas See said in the news release. "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, according to the news release.

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 <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.

For more information about the DOH Wastewater Branch go to:

http://hawaii.gov/health/environmental/water/wastewater/index.html