Consolidating 10 environmental review systems into one shared platform

Challenge: Federal law requires the government to evaluate the impact of major infrastructure and other projects before they can move forward, most notably under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Until 2026, USDA’s agencies followed seven different rulebooks to comply with that law. USDA retired all seven this year and replaced them with one shared rulebook, the biggest change to NEPA implementation in more than 50 years. However, the technology powering USDA reviews is distributed across 10 different systems. Some of those systems lack basic tracking, so staff rely on spreadsheets and email to manage the 277,000 reviews USDA completes each year.

Approach: With TMF funding, USDA will build the Environmental Review & Analysis System (ERAS) to:

• Consolidate 10 systems into one platform, improving USDA-wide consistency and efficiency in NEPA reviews
• Use AI to identify applications eligible for the fastest review path and move them toward closure in near real time
• Build the first centralized reporting and oversight capability USDA has had across its environmental review portfolio

This investment will:

• Save an estimated 1.8 million labor hours a year
• Process roughly 78 percent of fast-track applications in near real time, down from the weeks or months these reviews used to take, so communities see the jobs and economic benefits of these projects sooner
• Align with the Administration’s April 2025 permitting technology priorities