The Environmental Protection Agency on Oct. 5 published its final FY 2027 Evidence Plan, outlining how the agency will leverage emerging technology to modernize its regulatory framework. Authorized by the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, the plan notably replaces the term “Artificial Intelligence” from its initial draft with “Super Intelligence” (SI), which is defined as machine-based systems that process vast data to make predictions, recommendations, or decisions.
In particular, the plan for the coming fiscal year will focus on three primary areas: getting better results from EPA’s grant programs, reforming and speeding up its permitting processes, and developing SI capabilities that make the agency run more efficiently.
As a pilot initiative, the EPA will conduct a 12-month study analyzing overlaps between the Electronic Permitting System (air pollution) and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (water pollution). The goal is to eliminate redundant paperwork, cut administrative overhead, and bridge the gap between separate regulatory tracts. To ensure accountability, the EPA will also maintain an “SI Use Case Inventory” to monitor data quality, manage privacy, and provide structured oversight.
To support these automated initiatives, the EPA is also tasked with maintaining a “SI Use Case Inventory,” which will monitor data quality, manage privacy, and provide structured oversight. Proponents of the plan believe that automated permit reviews will accelerate the process by directly targeting bureaucratic bottlenecks. In addition, by linking the air and water permitting databases, the EPA will eliminate redundant paperwork for businesses and ensure that federal standards are applied uniformly across all applications.
On the other hand, opponents of the plan argue that because environmental compliance requires nuanced, localized scientific evaluations, relying too heavily on automated, algorithmic systems risks glossing over unique ecological threats to local air and watersheds. Additionally, reliance on automated systems could make it more difficult for public interest groups to challenge flawed permitting decisions or to provide meaningful input on important decisions impacting their local environments.
Looking forward, the EPA’s plan marks a major shift toward automated federal environmental oversight. While it aims to dismantle long-standing bureaucratic bottlenecks, its ultimate success depends on balancing automated efficiency with rigorous safeguards. The coming years will determine whether this technological shift successfully modernizes environmental protection or merely automates its structural vulnerabilities.