USDA · USDA-175 · record R1473

AI for Environmental Permitting Review

Department of Agriculture · Office of the Chief Information Officer

Overview

Development stage: PilotSource: b) Pilot – The use case has been deployed in a limited test or pilot capacity.
High-impact designation: Presumed high-impact, determined notSource: b) Presumed high-impact, but determined not high impact
Impact justification: AI is not making any final decisions, only recommendations for authorized staff to review.
Start date: 2025-08-19 (day precision)Source: 8/19/2025
Withheld from public reporting: Not reported

Mission

Topic area: Energy and the Environment
Operational functions: No function tag matched Derived by keyword rules; see methodology

Problem the AI is intended to solve

The environmental review process is lengthy and burdensome. We are using AI at several steps in our proposed environmental review solution, including an AI evaluation stage and in comment processing.

Expected benefits

Faster time to environmental permit issuance, with fewer people and hours needed to get to a "break ground" phase.

System outputs

For the AI evaluation stage, the output is a prediction that a given application is either a simple "Categorical Exclusion," or requires more human intervention.

Technology

AI classification: Natural language processingSource: Natural Language Processing: AI that processes, interprets, and shares information in human language.
System name(s): Not reported
Custom-developed code: Yes
Public source code: Not reported

Sourcing

How it was built: Developed in-houseSource: b) Developed in-house
Vendor (as reported): Not reported
Vendors (standardized): None on the standard list

A vendor is the supplier named by the agency. It does not identify the underlying model or AI technology.

Data and privacy

Involves PII: No
Privacy Impact Assessment: Not reported
Authorization to Operate: No
Demographic features: k) None of the above
Training and evaluation data: For AI evaluation, we've fed it libraries of "Categorical Exclusion" rules and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. For comment processing, machine learning based on prior comments, as well as relevant environmental rules and regulations being fed in as context.
Federal Data Catalog: Not reported

Governance

0 of 8 minimum-practice questions answered. A blank answer means the agency reported nothing; it does not mean the practice is absent.

Pre-deployment testingNo answer reported

AI impact assessmentNo answer reported

Independent reviewNo answer reported

Ongoing monitoringNo answer reported

Operator trainingNo answer reported

Fail-safeNo answer reported

Appeal processNo answer reported

User and public consultationNo answer reported

Potential impacts and how they were identified

Not reported