ERAS Reference Implementation
A working reference implementation of the Case SDK applied to USDA Rural Development environmental review case management. Built to demonstrate the SDK's workflow engine, criteria evaluation, evidence collection, and audit trail against a realistic federal program scenario.
NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. § 4321) requires federal agencies to evaluate the environmental effects of major actions before approving funding. For USDA Rural Development, that means every rural infrastructure grant or loan is routed through an appropriate review level -- Categorical Exclusion, Environmental Assessment, or Environmental Impact Statement -- before funds are released.
What This Demo Covers
USDA Rural Development requires an environmental review under NEPA before approving grant or loan funding for rural infrastructure projects. This system routes each project through the appropriate review level based on environmental sensitivity signals, CE list matching, agency-specific funding thresholds, and extraordinary circumstances. The Case SDK manages the workflow state machine, criterion evaluation, and evidence chain -- the reference app provides the USDA-specific configuration on top.
NEPA Review Paths
Project qualifies for categorical exclusion -- no significant environmental impact. Routing is based on CE list match, project funding below the agency threshold, and no extraordinary circumstances. Two sub-paths: Path A (direct approval) and Path B (FANEC worksheet required when extraordinary circumstances are present).
Minor environmental concerns identified, or funding exceeds the agency CE threshold. An EA is prepared, a public comment period opens, and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is issued -- or the case escalates to EIS.
Major environmental concerns require a full EIS. Scoping, draft publication, public comment, and a final EIS lead to a Record of Decision.
For program-level or policy-level decisions covering multiple projects or a geographic region -- such as a statewide conservation program or regional infrastructure initiative. Authorized under 7 CFR 1b.5(b)/(c). A PEA results in a program-wide FONSI; individual projects can then tier to the PEA without a full EA. Distinct from a project-level EA because the action and analysis operate at the program level, not the site level.
Demo Walkthroughs
Three cases are pre-configured with demo fill support -- one per review path. Each has a “Fill demo values” button that populates realistic field content so you can generate documents and walk the full workflow without typing.
Routes to CE Path B (extraordinary circumstances present, FANEC worksheet required). Use "Fill demo values" on the FSA-850 worksheet, submit for approval, then switch to Approver to approve or return to preparer.
Routes to EA. Use "Fill demo values" on the EA draft form, open the public comment period, then switch to Approver to issue FONSI -- or click "Escalate to EIS" to demonstrate the full EA-to-EIS escalation path.
Routes directly to EIS. Use "Fill demo values" on the EIS draft form, open the public comment period, issue the final EIS, then switch to Approver to generate and issue the Record of Decision.
Workflow Management
Three tools for reading and editing the workflow definition. All three share the same draft — changes made in one are immediately visible in the others.
Table and form interface for editing criteria and transitions directly. Stage changes as a versioned draft and publish when ready. Supports per-item attribution so every change is traceable.
Visual canvas with two views: Swimlane Editor (SE) organizes states by NEPA review path; Flowchart Editor (FE) shows the full directed graph. Drag nodes, reshape transition lines, and compare draft to live side-by-side.
BPMN 2.0 XML view of the workflow definition. Validate structure, import/export .bpmn files, and apply BPMN changes directly to the draft. Configurable syntax colors and dark mode.
The walkthrough below demonstrates adding a new NEPA review path live using the workflow tools. Uses the Programmatic EA path (7 CFR 1b.5(b)/(c)) as the example.
Go to Admin > Workflow Configuration. Click "Seed PEA Draft" in the top-right. This creates a draft and pre-populates the Programmatic EA criterion (program-scope-determination) and all six workflow transitions.
The History tab opens with the draft selected. Review the seeded criterion and transitions on the Criteria and Transitions tabs.
Click Publish. Confirm there are no compatibility warnings and publish. The version label is auto-generated. The live workflow now includes the Programmatic EA path.
New cases with a programmatic-scope signal and 3+ affected counties will route to pea-scoping instead of the standard intake path.
Demo Roles
The “Acting as” dropdown on the Cases page and each case detail sets the active role. Switching roles mid-session is intentional -- it lets a single person walk the full preparer-to-approver workflow.
Completes the EC checklist, fills in the FSA-850 worksheet, generates EA and EIS documents, and advances cases through each draft and comment stage.
Issues final decisions: approves CE cases, issues FONSI or escalates to EIS, and issues the Record of Decision. Can rescind CE approval after the fact.
Full access across all actions. Configures per-agency CE funding thresholds, manages departments, and can run the Simulator to seed or reset demo data.
Getting Started
Data is pre-seeded on startup. Open Cases and browse or filter by review type.
CE path: open Pine Creek culvert replacement. Use "Fill demo values" on the FSA-850 worksheet, submit, then switch to Approver to approve.
EA path: open Pemberton rural road reconstruction. Use "Fill demo values" on the EA draft, open comment period, then switch to Approver to issue FONSI or escalate to EIS.
EIS path: open Wetlands restoration corridor. Use "Fill demo values" on the EIS draft, open comment period, issue the final EIS, then switch to Approver to issue the Record of Decision.
Switch roles at any point using the "Acting as" dropdown -- Preparer does document prep, Approver makes final decisions.
Check the Activity tab on any case, or the Event Log in the nav, to see the full audit trail.