Permit Feature Program Components (Feature Components)
Overview
Permit feature program components (also known as feature components) are used to store information about permit features. For example, a permit feature representing a storage tank might need to store information about the tank manufacturer, installation date, and capacity. Similarly, a wastewater outfall permit feature may need to track the volume and types of wastewater carried by the outfall. In either case, a feature component can be helpful.
A feature component is a program component form configured to include a repeating section for each permit feature. Unlike program component forms, feature components directly link component form sections to permit features. nVIRO automatically connects the information between the permit features on the permit and the repeating section in the program component to ensure information is updated and tracked consistently.
For information on configuring feature components, see the Configuring Feature Component Forms page.
Feature Component Data and Permit and Site Features
The diagram below shows the relationship between permit and site data (in blue) and data in a feature component (in orange).
The following example scenario is outlined by the diagram:
A site, Acme Petroleum, has two tanks. The tanks are added to the site plan, either directly or through a submission, such as an application for a new underground storage tank (UST) permit, that has been configured to create the features upon submission.
The agency creates a draft UST-123 permit. The permit references the two tanks as permit features.
The agency wishes to track details about each tank, such as the tanks’ installation dates and capacities. To track this information, a UST Tank Details feature component is added with a repeating section referencing each permit feature.
nVIRO can be configured to automatically create a feature component when a draft permit is created. For example, the component can directly inherit information from a UST application form. Once created, the feature component data can be used in document templates, for reporting, or serve as a data inheritance for future submissions, such as permit modification and renewal forms.
Permit Feature Links
When viewing the Features tab on a permit, if a feature is linked to a feature component form, a list of component sections where the feature is referenced is displayed beneath the feature.
In the example below, two permit features are shown: 001 and 002. The row beneath each storage tank lists the component form (UST Permit Information) and section (Tank Details) to which the permit feature is linked.
The following options are available from the … menu on the component link row:
Edit Component: Opens the program component in edit mode and navigates to the section representing the selected permit feature.
View Component: Opens the program component in read-only mode and navigates to the section representing the selected permit feature.
Delete Component: Removes the component form section that references the permit feature.
The image below shows an example of a repeating section in a feature component that is linked to the features shown in the previous image.
Additional Feature Component Considerations
There are some special behaviors that are useful to know about when working with feature components:
The linkage between a feature component section and a permit feature is based on the feature identifier (the unique ID assigned to each feature, such as TANK-1 or 001).
Data integrity for the linkage is not enforced—changing the feature identifier in a component form will break the relationship between the section and its related permit feature.
Similarly, if a new section is added to a feature component for a new feature, nVIRO does not enforce a valid linkage back to a permit feature. This can result in an “orphan” component section if the feature identifier does not exactly match an existing feature identifier on a permit feature.
If a feature identifier is updated in a site plan, nVIRO automatically updates the feature identifier on both the permit feature and the feature component.
If a permit feature is added to a permit, a feature component section is not automatically added to the permit feature. The component section must be added manually.