A Look At CEQ’s New CE Explorer
technology, blogs Boon Sheridan technology, blogs Boon Sheridan

A Look At CEQ’s New CE Explorer

On June 5th, the CEQ’s Permitting Innovation Center released their first prototype experiment, the Categorical Exclusion Explorer. The Explorer is the first time a collection of cross-agency Categorical Exclusions (CEs) has been transformed into data for experimentation. This is still in the experimental stage, and we applaud the Permitting Innovation Center for releasing early-stage products and experiments. Early and iterative releases are ideal for gathering feedback and improving future releases.

We’ve discussed using existing environmental review data management and sharing as an area ripe for experimentation and innovation.

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First Look at CEQ’s Permitting Technology Action Plan
blogs, restoration, technology Boon Sheridan blogs, restoration, technology Boon Sheridan

First Look at CEQ’s Permitting Technology Action Plan

This blog is a first look at the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) Permitting Technology Action Plan, which aims to modernize federal permitting processes. The plan includes data standards for interoperability between agencies, service delivery standards for workflow automation and digital documents, and a maturity model for agencies to gauge their progress. Key highlights include implementing data standards, improving document management, and using GitHub for open collaboration. We note the potential for multi-agency procurement and prize competitions and outline potential impacts for agencies, applicants, and vendors. We express cautious optimism due to the plan's technical depth, interoperability focus, and use of existing work but also note concerns about talent gaps and the aggressive initial 90-day implementation timeline.

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New Project: National Drinking Water Explorer Tool
technology, water, blogs Kameron Kerger technology, water, blogs Kameron Kerger

New Project: National Drinking Water Explorer Tool

All Americans deserve safe, reliable, and affordable drinking water. But making sure that everyone has access remains a challenge that requires untangling a complex web of interdependent factors. EPIC is planning to scale our Texas-based tool nation-wide in order to support communities, map the utility landscape across the U.S., and help states to prioritize investments and technical assistance to improve drinking water infrastructure.

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CBC: Canadian residents are racing to save the data in Trump's crosshairs
news, technology Jessie Mahr news, technology Jessie Mahr

CBC: Canadian residents are racing to save the data in Trump's crosshairs

Jessie Mahr, Director of Technology, was featured in a CBC article about Canadians that are supporting data and tool preservation efforts through the Public Environmental Data Partners. She notes that "without those tools you're not able to have an informed understanding of who is suffering and then where to provide them with funding or programs that would improve their lives."

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Inside Climate News: ‘Canary in a Coal Mine’: Data Scientists Restore a Climate Justice Tool Taken Down by Trump
news, technology Jessie Mahr news, technology Jessie Mahr

Inside Climate News: ‘Canary in a Coal Mine’: Data Scientists Restore a Climate Justice Tool Taken Down by Trump

Jessie Mahr, Director of Technology, was featured in Inside Climate News, about importance of federal environmental tools to say, ‘Do we have an understanding of the challenges that Americans face?’ And to then effectively prioritize interventions and effectively use the hundreds of government programs and funding sources that are available to address those concerns.

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