CEQ Demos Tech to Speed Up Federal Environmental Reviews – CE Works

White House CEQ "Permitting Innovation Center" Launches "CE Works" Pilot Program

Today, the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) Permitting Innovation Center announced the launch of a pilot program for CE Works, a technology platform that digitizes the environmental review process to assist federal agencies with completing categorical exclusion (CE) determinations pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Federal agencies make thousands of CE determinations per year, and making determinations with this new technology will cut through red tape and result in expedited timelines for important energy and infrastructure projects.

CE Works provides agencies with a digital pathway to apply categorical exclusions under NEPA. Agency staff can use the platform to select an appropriate CE, collaborate among resource experts within the agency, route the determination for approval, and generate a record for publication.

CE Works was developed in response to President Donald J. Trump's memorandum Updating Permitting Technology for the 21st Century. Specifically, it calls on CEQ to design and test prototype tools for use under the Permitting Technology Action Plan for modernizing the technology used for Federal permitting and environmental review processes for infrastructure projects.

CEQ developed the CE Works tool in collaboration with the General Services Administration's (GSA) Technology Transformation Services. GSA is supporting the accelerated work of the Permitting Innovation Center to advance critical Administration initiatives by providing top tech talent focused on delivering high-quality software development, infrastructure efficiencies and an effective user experience.

For the launch of the CE Works pilot program, CEQ is partnering with the Bureau of Land Management's Moab Field Office with additional agency partnerships expected in coming months. By leading agency field tests, CEQ is leveraging on the ground experience to advise agencies and promote the widespread adoption of digital solutions to bring speed and efficiency to the environmental review process.

"President Trump has given clear direction to leverage modern technology to expedite and simplify the permitting process," said Council on Environmental Quality Chairman Katherine Scarlett. "The digital solutions coming out of the Permitting Innovation Center are going to move projects forward with greater speed and efficiency than ever before, and the direct result will be America's golden age."