On June 5, 2025, the White House Council on Environmental Quality announced the launch of the Categorical Exclusion Explorer (CE Explorer)

A technological tool designed to streamline the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process. This tool provides a digitized public database that showcases existing categorical exclusions from various federal agencies, with the aim of increasing transparency and efficiency in environmental reviews. The CE Explorer is part of a broader initiative under the Permitting Innovation Center, which was established following a memorandum from President Trump to modernize permitting technology for the 21st century.

The CE Explorer allows users, including states, tribal officials, project sponsors, and stakeholders, to easily access and search for categorical exclusions across federal agencies. This feature is expected to improve interagency coordination, enabling agencies to quickly identify relevant exclusions established by other agencies, thus expediting the overall permitting process. Furthermore, the tool aligns with recent legislative amendments that encourage the adoption of categorical exclusions, facilitating faster environmental reviews.

By providing data in a machine-readable format, the CE Explorer permits interested parties to download information and utilize it to enhance their own NEPA or permitting review processes. This initiative reflects the administration’s commitment to modernizing permitting practices and improving the efficiency of environmental regulations. The launch of the CE Explorer marks a significant step toward a more transparent and streamlined approach to federal environmental reviews.

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