A categorical exclusion (CE) is a class of federal actions that an agency has determined normally do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment under NEPA. Agencies use CEs for routine, low‑impact actions so that an Environmental Assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not normally required, provided no extraordinary circumstances apply.
CE Works is designed to shorten CE determination timelines by digitizing and standardizing the workflow (selecting CEs, routing approvals, expert collaboration), generating publication‑ready decision records, and enabling case‑management and automation that reduce manual steps and timeline uncertainty. The White House announcement frames faster reviews as the goal, but the pilot announcement does not give quantified time‑savings.
The White House article does not state that CE Works uses AI. The Permitting Technology Action Plan allows agencies to consider AI but directs them to follow OMB guidance (M‑25‑21) and to rely primarily on defined business rules/decision logic, governance, and transparency for automation. Any use of AI would be governed by OMB’s AI memorandum and agency AI governance plans.
CE Works will require agency staff to document CE selection, collaborate with resource experts, route determinations for approval, and produce a publication‑ready record—features meant to ensure impacts are considered and an administrative record exists. The Permitting Technology Action Plan further requires digital‑first, structured data packages, checklists, and case‑management workflows; agencies still must apply NEPA standards and prepare an EA/EIS if extraordinary circumstances exist.
The initial pilot user is the Bureau of Land Management’s Moab Field Office. CEQ’s Permitting Innovation Center (supported by GSA TTS) will run field tests and coordinate with other agencies; broader adoption will come through additional agency partnerships, CEQ guidance, and agency implementation decisions under the Permitting Technology Action Plan.
GSA’s Technology Transformation Services partnered with CEQ to develop CE Works by supplying software development and infrastructure support, accelerated technical staff ("top tech talent"), and user‑experience and deployment assistance to build and host the platform.
The Permitting Technology Action Plan (from CEQ’s Permitting Innovation Center) is a government roadmap to digitize and standardize NEPA/permitting technology—setting minimum functional requirements, data standards, case‑management, workflow automation, digital‑first documents, and governance to reduce delays. CE Works is an example prototype/tool developed under that Action Plan to apply those standards to categorical‑exclusion reviews.
The Moab Field Office pilot will be a field test of CE Works led by CEQ and BLM to apply the platform to real CE determinations on BLM lands; the White House release says additional agency partnerships are expected but does not specify pilot length. No duration for the Moab pilot was provided in the announcement.