Certified AI-Ready Environmental Professional (CAREP)
The Certified AI-Ready Environmental Professional (CAREP) program is a non-credit professional certificate offered through Utah State University’s Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air in partnership with The Shipley Group.
CAREP prepares environmental professionals to use artificial intelligence responsibly and effectively in NEPA, environmental review, permitting, compliance, and related environmental document workflows. The program is designed for working professionals who need practical methods for using AI while maintaining rigor, accountability, sound judgment, and trust in environmental decision-making. CAREP does not confer academic credit.
CAREP builds on Utah State University’s earlier partnership with The Shipley Group on the former NEPA certificate program. That program prepared participants to work effectively on NEPA documents and environmental analysis. CAREP carries forward that practical orientation while broadening the focus to include permitting, compliance, environmental planning, and the growing role of AI in document development, review, and response workflows.
About the Program
Environmental professionals are working in a field that is already complex, and in many cases becoming more so. Timelines are tight, documents are extensive, and review processes often involve large amounts of technical material and public input. At the same time, AI tools are beginning to affect how organizations review documents, analyze comments, improve writing, and manage workflows.
CAREP is designed to help environmental professionals use those tools thoughtfully and practically. The program focuses on responsible application in NEPA, environmental review, permitting, and related work, with attention to limitations, professional standards, and the ways AI can support judgment, consistency, and workflow efficiency.
The program takes a broad approach to environmental practice. It grows out of environmental review, while speaking to work across multiple statutes, document types, and workflows. CAREP is intended for professionals working in federal, state, tribal, local, consulting, and related environmental contexts who need practical ways to use AI while maintaining rigor, accountability, and trust.
Who Should Enroll
CAREP is designed for professionals involved in environmental documentation, review, analysis, and decision-making, including:
- NEPA practitioners
- Environmental planners
- Permitting specialists
- Compliance professionals
- Environmental consultants
- Project managers
- Technical writers and reviewers
- Attorneys and agency counsel
- Federal, state, tribal, and local agency staff
- University-affiliated environmental professionals and researchers
Certificate Requirements
To complete the CAREP certificate, participants complete the full sequence of required workshops in the certificate pathway. The program is structured as four intensive workshops offered in a short-course format. Participants may complete the full sequence over four consecutive months or spread the workshops out over the course of a year to fit professional schedules.
CAREP is a professional certificate rather than an academic program. Participants enroll in the certificate pathway as a professional training program rather than through a university academic admissions process.
Application and Enrollment
CAREP is open to working professionals and other participants seeking practical training in AI-enabled environmental review and permitting workflows. Enrollment opens through the CAREP program rather than through university academic admissions. The first cohort begins in Fall 2026.
Curriculum
The CAREP curriculum focuses on four main areas where AI is beginning to shape environmental work: environmental review preparation, document review and quality control, stakeholder comment-response, and environmental writing.
Deploying AI and Emerging Technology for More Efficient Environmental Reviews
This 3-day course takes a section-by-section approach to how AI and emerging technology can support the preparation of environmental review documents. Topics include purpose and need, alternatives, affected environment, environmental consequences, public involvement, prompt engineering, and risk and ethical considerations. The course also addresses permitting modernization and the use of digital tools in environmental review.
Modernizing Environmental Document Review with AI and Decision-Support Tools
This 2-day workshop focuses on using AI to review, evaluate, and quality-check environmental documents more efficiently and consistently. Participants learn how to identify missing information, inconsistencies, unsupported conclusions, and analytical weaknesses, and how to compare documents against regulatory requirements, guidance, and internal standards. The course applies across NEPA, permitting, compliance, and environmental planning contexts.
Managing Environmental Document Comment-Response Processes With AI
This 2-day workshop addresses one of the most time-intensive parts of environmental review: managing stakeholder input and developing responses. The course covers AI-assisted comment analysis, issue identification, response drafting, consistency across responses, and support for the administrative record. It applies to public comments, interagency coordination, internal review, and other forms of feedback on environmental documents.
Improving Environmental Document Production and Writing Using AI Tools
This 2-day workshop focuses on drafting, refining, and improving environmental documents using AI in responsible ways. Participants learn how to use AI to improve clarity, organization, readability, consistency, and analytical quality while retaining professional responsibility for content, conclusions, and compliance.
Course Schedule
CAREP is offered in a short-course format built around intensive 2- to 3-day workshops. The workshop sequence is designed to allow participants either to complete the certificate over four consecutive months or to spread participation across a year. The first cohort begins in the fall.
Cost
Certified AI-Ready Environmental Professional (CAREP)
$2,795 per participant
Includes the full CAREP certificate sequence:
- Deploying AI and Emerging Technology for More Efficient Environmental Reviews (3 days)
- Modernizing Environmental Document Review with AI and Decision-Support Tools (2 days)
- Managing Environmental Document Comment-Response Processes With AI (2 days)
- Improving Environmental Document Production and Writing Using AI Tools (2 days)
Total instructional time: 9 live virtual training days
Participants who enroll in the full certificate pathway receive a discounted rate compared to registering for each workshop separately.
Group discounts are available for agencies, universities, and teams enrolling multiple participants.
Private cohort delivery is also available for organizations seeking dedicated training for their staff.
Contact us for institutional pricing and private cohort options.
Scholarships
A limited number of scholarships may be available each year for Utah State University students and alumni.
For the 2026–27 academic year, the scholarship application portal will open May 1 and close May 31. Recipients will be announced on June 7.
The scholarship program is intended to expand access to professional training for USU students and alumni interested in environmental review, permitting, NEPA, and the responsible use of AI in environmental practice.
FAQs
Is CAREP an academic certificate?
No. CAREP is a non-credit professional certificate and does not confer academic credit.
Is CAREP only for NEPA practitioners?
No. CAREP is grounded in NEPA and environmental review practice, but its scope is broader. The program addresses permitting, compliance, environmental planning, and related environmental document workflows across multiple statutes and professional settings.
Who should attend?
CAREP is designed for NEPA practitioners, environmental planners, permitting specialists, compliance professionals, environmental consultants, project managers, technical writers, reviewers, attorneys, agency staff, and others involved in environmental documentation and decision-making.
What topics are covered?
The program covers AI applications in environmental review preparation, environmental document review, stakeholder comment-response, and environmental document writing and revision.
How is the program offered?
CAREP is offered as a sequence of intensive short-course workshops offered virtually that participants may complete over consecutive months or over a longer schedule.
Can organizations schedule a group of employees to complete this training?
Yes. This can be accomplished virtually or on-site. Please contact Jeff Stewart (jeff.stewart@shipleygroup.com) to arrange a group training at a discounted rate.
Who teaches CAREP courses?
CAREP courses are taught by experienced environmental professionals who are nationally recognized instructors with deep expertise in environmental review, permitting, compliance, environmental law, technical writing, and the practical application of AI in environmental workflows. These instructors include senior practitioners who have served as high-level advisors to federal agencies, led complex environmental reviews, developed policy and training programs, and have collectively taught thousands of environmental professionals across government and industry.
Contact Info
Anna McEntire
Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water, and Air
Utah State University
Phone: (435) 881-1323
Email: anna.mcentire@usu.edu
