Brent Efron 10/9/25 Brent Efron 10/9/25

4 Pillars for Permitting Innovation

The permitting reform space is growing fast, and there are clearly different philosophies for why this work is important, what values should guide us in identifying solutions, whether reform is even needed, and how we build a large enough coalition to make meaningful changes at all levels of government.

Becca Madsen 10/1/25 Becca Madsen 10/1/25

Thoughts on the ESA Amendments Act of 2025

Becca Madsen 10/1/25 Becca Madsen 10/1/25

Predicting DOGE AI Deregulatory Tool Recommendations

Boon Sheridan 9/22/25 Boon Sheridan 9/22/25

Updates to our Permitting Tools Inventory

Environmental Policy Innovation Center 7/18/25 Environmental Policy Innovation Center 7/18/25

Comment Letter: Nationwide Permit Reissuance

Comments on “Proposal To Reissue and Modify Nationwide Permits” (COE-2025-0002)

Danielle Bissett 7/11/25 Danielle Bissett 7/11/25

How effective governance can streamline restoration efforts—Louisiana CPRA Case Study

Becca Madsen 7/1/25 Becca Madsen 7/1/25

RIBITS User Survey Reveals Desire for Data Reliability and Modernization

Tim Male 7/1/25 Tim Male 7/1/25

NEPA, CEQA and the winds of change

Boon Sheridan 6/26/25 Boon Sheridan 6/26/25

A Look At CEQ’s New CE Explorer

On June 5th, the CEQ’s Permitting Innovation Center released their first prototype experiment, the Categorical Exclusion Explorer. The Explorer is the first time a collection of cross-agency Categorical Exclusions (CEs) has been transformed into data for experimentation. This is still in the experimental stage, and we applaud the Permitting Innovation Center for releasing early-stage products and experiments. Early and iterative releases are ideal for gathering feedback and improving future releases.

We’ve discussed using existing environmental review data management and sharing as an area ripe for experimentation and innovation.

Becca Madsen 6/24/25 Becca Madsen 6/24/25

New Interactive Tools and Data to Explore Mitigation Bank Timelines

Becca Madsen 6/6/25 Becca Madsen 6/6/25

California’s restoration bottleneck deepens biodiversity debt

Jessie Mahr 6/5/25 Jessie Mahr 6/5/25

NextGov: Trump administration debuts permitting modernization plan, even as staff cuts could jeopardize it

Boon Sheridan 6/4/25 Boon Sheridan 6/4/25

First Look at CEQ’s Permitting Technology Action Plan

This blog is a first look at the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) Permitting Technology Action Plan, which aims to modernize federal permitting processes. The plan includes data standards for interoperability between agencies, service delivery standards for workflow automation and digital documents, and a maturity model for agencies to gauge their progress. Key highlights include implementing data standards, improving document management, and using GitHub for open collaboration. We note the potential for multi-agency procurement and prize competitions and outline potential impacts for agencies, applicants, and vendors. We express cautious optimism due to the plan's technical depth, interoperability focus, and use of existing work but also note concerns about talent gaps and the aggressive initial 90-day implementation timeline.

Tim Male 5/30/25 Tim Male 5/30/25

We need to simplify environmental permits to boost their impact

Becca Madsen 4/17/25 Becca Madsen 4/17/25

Trump’s Permit Tech Memo: Promising Ideas, Implementation TBD

Environmental Policy Innovation Center 3/27/25 Environmental Policy Innovation Center 3/27/25

Comments Regarding the Council on Environmental Quality’s Removal of National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations

EPIC submitted public comments opposing the wholesale removal of NEPA regulations by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), arguing it would create confusion and increase litigation risk. Instead, we proposed modernizing the NEPA process through our Smart Permitting Agenda, which includes implementing clear timelines, developing programmatic reviews, creating user-friendly e-permitting systems, and establishing expedited pathways for ecological restoration. We believe an updated regulatory framework can maintain NEPA's original intent while delivering faster results and ensuring meaningful community input.