Deploying AI and Emerging Technology for More Efficient Environmental Reviews

Description

This course offers a practical, section-by-section exploration of how artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies can enhance the preparation of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents. Aligned with the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) Permitting Technology Action Plan, the training supports modernization of the federal permitting process through automation, standardized data, and adoption of digital tools, including the NEPA Permitting Data and Technology Standard.

Participants will learn how technology, including AI, can improve each major section of a NEPA document: Purpose and Need, Affected Environment, Alternatives, and Environmental Consequences. The course will also address the integration of public involvement tools and prompt engineering practices for improving AI-generated outputs. A strong emphasis is placed on using these tools ethically and responsibly, with an understanding of limitations such as model bias, hallucinations, and legal sufficiency risks.

Objectives

Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to do the following:

  • Understand the goals of CEQ’s Permitting Technology Action Plan and how emerging tools (e.g., the Permitting Innovation Center and Categorical Exclusion Tool) support compliance.

  • Apply AI and emerging technology to improve each major NEPA document section.

  • Design and refine prompts that improve clarity, relevance, and legal defensibility of AI-generated outputs.

  • Evaluate risks related to AI hallucinations, misinformation, and ethical concerns in environmental documentation.

  • Create implementation strategies for responsible, human-centered AI integration into agency workflows.

Content

1. Purpose and Need

  • Requirements for this section under NEPA.

  • Synthesizing justifications and policy drivers using AI.

  • Prompt strategies for generating concise, defensible statements.

2. Alternatives

  • New statutory requirements for “reasonable” alternatives.

  • Using AI to develop and vet alternatives against constraints, feasibility, and stakeholder priorities.

  • Improving the range and justification of alternatives.

3. Affected Environment & Environmental Consequences

  • Overview of new data-sharing models and platforms (e.g., Permitting Innovation Center).

  • Using AI to summarize baseline conditions and predict foreseeable impacts.

  • Tools and techniques for avoiding hallucinations and ensuring technical adequacy.

4. Public Involvement

  • CEQ guidance for public engagement across document types.

  • AI tools for analyzing public comments and summarizing input.

  • Workshop: Create a public involvement strategy using AI platforms and narrative tools.

5. Prompt Engineering for NEPA

  • Principles of prompt clarity, context, and constraints.

  • Real-time exercise: Refining prompts for impact assessment language.

  • Compare outputs: Low-quality vs high-quality prompts.

6. Risk and Ethical Considerations

  • Legal, ethical, and technical risks of AI in NEPA.

  • Accountability frameworks for AI-assisted decision-making.

  • Maintaining human oversight and professional judgment.

Audience

Participants for this training generally include the following:

  • Environmental and NEPA practitioners

  • Federal and state permitting agency staff

  • Environmental consultants and project managers

  • Scientists and technical writers working on environmental reviews

  • Legal and compliance professionals focused on environmental law

Process

Deploying AI and Emerging Technology for More Efficient Environmental Reviews is a highly interactive workshop.

This 3-day workshop consists of a carefully designed combination of the following:

  • 50% Lecture

  • 30% Discussion

  • 20% Exercises

Materials

Participants receive the following:

  • Comprehensive workshop manual

  • Workshop Resources workbook