Why It Matters
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has scheduled a business meeting for Wednesday, September 16 to consider S. 5045, the Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act of 2026, which would amend the Clean Air Act to modify the handling of air-quality monitoring with respect to prescribed fires.
Under the EPA Exceptional Events Rule, states are allowed to exempt daily pollution monitor readings impacted by wildfire smoke from determinations of compliance with Clean Air Act air quality standards.
The meeting will also review S. 3135, the Cold Weather Diesel Reliability Act of 2025, and S. 5249, the MORE American Fuel Act of 2026.
Context
A similar measure, the Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act of 2025, was introduced in the prior Congress and also proposed amendments to the Clean Air Act regarding air-quality monitoring related to prescribed fires. That earlier bill included additional purposes beyond the air-quality-monitoring changes.
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