evidoria

← Back to browse

Good practice Imported

Virginia DEQ's AI Checklist Assistant for Environmental Permit Reviews

United States of America · Richmond · See the United States of America profile · See the Richmond profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 83% 40/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Virginia's DEQ built an AI tool that checks permit filings against checklists and cites the code section for gaps. Director Rolband reports processing time fell 339 to ~115 days overall, though the AI itself is still a proof-of-concept awaiting production rollout.

339 to ~115 days
Average permit processing time (2022–2026)
Virginia DEQ's AI Checklist Assistant for Environmental Permit Reviews

Details

Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
Period
2022-2026 (PEEP dashboard from 2022; AI checklist tool in proof-of-concept as of 2026)
Keywords
environmental permitting, document review, public sector productivity

Context

Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) oversees 124 major permit types across 12 permitting programmes. After launching a real-time status dashboard (PEEP) in December 2022, DEQ built an AI tool that compares uploaded permit packages against standardised completeness checklists, flags missing information, cites the specific regulatory code section to address, and returns colour-coded results to reviewers and applicants. As of the most recent public reporting the AI tool has completed a proof-of-concept phase and is preparing to move into production pending final technology approvals.

Results

DEQ Director Michael Rolband has reported that average permit processing time fell from 339 days to roughly 115 days, and described early testing of the AI checklist tool as having 'gone phenomenally.' However, this improvement reflects DEQ's broader multi-year digitisation effort (including the 2022 PEEP dashboard and other process reforms) rather than an isolated, independently measured result for the AI tool itself, which was still in proof-of-concept when the figure was reported.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
DEQ permit reviewers, Agency IT / digital-modernisation staff, Agency director sponsorship (Michael Rolband)

Conditions for success

  • Standardised completeness checklists per permit type
  • Prior investment in a real-time tracking dashboard (PEEP) to integrate with
  • Final technology approvals before production rollout

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

Do you run this practice? Claim it — verified implementers get a public contact pathway and can propose corrections.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

Similar practices you may find useful