Bill > HR6387

This bill, known as the Fire Improvement and Reforming Exceptional Events (FIRE) Act, amends the Clean Air Act to modify how air quality monitoring data influenced by exceptional events or wildfire risk mitigation actions are reviewed and handled. The bill expands the definition of "exceptional events" to include natural events, human-caused activities that mimic natural events, or rare human activities, while explicitly excluding routine air stagnation, meteorological inversions, and air pollution from source noncompliance. It introduces a new term "action to mitigate wildfire risk," which refers to prescribed fires or similar measures approved by states to reduce wildfire severity. The bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise regulations within 18 months, establish a public website tracking petitions related to exceptional events, and develop new criteria for states to petition the EPA to exclude air quality monitoring data affected by these events. The legislation aims to provide more flexibility in assessing air quality by recognizing the complex impact of wildfires and exceptional events on air quality measurements, and creating a more transparent process for states to challenge air quality designations that may be skewed by such events.

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Business and Industry

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6387/all-info