Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and OpenAI partner to accelerate federal permitting

OpenAI and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have released DraftNEPABench, a benchmark designed to assess the effectiveness of AI coding agents in streamlining federal permitting processes. Initial results indicate that AI can reduce National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) drafting time by up to 15%, highlighting its potential to enhance infrastructure review efficiency. This development is significant for practitioners as it illustrates the practical application of AI in regulatory contexts, potentially leading to faster project approvals.