The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has shared its updated recommendations for modernizing the process of environmental reviews using new digital technologies. The 78-page report issued last week includes recommended steps and other guidances to complement projects pursued through the $1 billion Inflation Reduction Act and a slate of comprehensive federal permitting reforms that have occurred under the Biden Administration.

Recommended steps include:

1. Creating a data standard and taxonomy for NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act];
2. Developing a common architecture for interoperable agency systems;
3. Supporting agency adoption of shared NEPA tools through iterative development of new and existing software applications; and
4. Automating the exchange of data among agency systems to provide a unified experience.

Brenda Mallory, Chair of the CEQ, commented: "This report outlines how agencies can create better, more efficient digital tools so we can better allocate federal resources to the important work of engaging communities, analyzing environmental effects, and delivering smarter decisions to accelerate permitting for critical infrastructure."

The findings affect architects and other stakeholders working on federal projects and coincide with the release of $160 million to support the clean manufacturing of domestically produced construction material last week from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.