“Updating Permitting Technology for the 21st Century,” issued on April 15, 2025, directs all agencies to make maximum use of technology in environmental review and permitting processes for infrastructure projects of all kinds (e.g., roads, bridges, mines, factories, power plants, etc.) to eliminate paper-based processes, accelerate processing times for projects, reduce the length and increase the accessibility of permit application documents, reduce duplicative data submissions, increase interagency use of existing analyses, promote interagency coordination, improve transparency and predictability of project permitting schedules, ensure legal departments have sufficient resources to defend environmental documents and permit decisions, streamline environmental review and permitting and maintain readily availability information that may be relevant to judicial review. 

Specifically, the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is directed to issue a Permitting Technology Action Plan to modernize the technology used in Federal permitting and environmental reviews for infrastructure projects. The plan must include: 

• An initial data and technology standard for permit applications and review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other permits and authorizations; 
• Minimum functional requirements for agency NEPA and permitting software systems; 
• A roadmap for creating an interagency permitting and environmental review data system; 
• An interagency governance structure for implementation of the Permitting Technology Action Plan; and 
• A timeline for agencies to accomplish the objectives of the Plan. 

Additionally, the CEQ Chairman must coordinate with the Chief Environment Review and Permitting Officers and Chief Information Officers of the relevant agencies in implementing data and tech standards. No later than August 28, 2025, Agency heads must adopt and begin implementing CEQ data and tech standards.  

The CEQ Chairman is also directed to establish and lead an interagency Permitting Innovation Center to design and test prototype tools that could be implemented under the Plan for NEPA and other reviews. 

Update: As of April 30, 2025, the Permitting Innovation Center was established within CEQ per a memorandum to federal agency heads.