H.R. 6387

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6387 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6387

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

April 27, 2026

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and 
Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

AN ACT

To amend the Clean Air Act to require revisions to regulations 
governing the review and handling of air quality monitoring data 
influenced by exceptional events or actions to mitigate wildfire risk.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Fire Improvement and Reforming 
Exceptional Events Act'' or the ``FIRE Act''.

SEC. 2. AIR QUALITY MONITORING DATA INFLUENCED BY EXCEPTIONAL EVENTS OR 
ACTIONS TO MITIGATE WILDFIRE RISK.

Section 319(b) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7619(b)) is 
amended--
(1) in the subsection heading, by inserting ``Or Actions To 
Mitigate Wildfire Risk'' after ``Events'';
(2) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 
``Definition of exceptional event'' and inserting 
``Definitions'';
(B) in subparagraph (A), by redesignating clauses 
(i) through (iv), as subclauses (I) through (IV), 
respectively;
(C) by striking ``(A)'' and all that follows 
through ``an event that--'' and inserting the 
following:
``(A) Exceptional event.--
``(i) In general.--The term `exceptional 
event' means an event that--'';
(D) by amending subclause (III) of subparagraph 
(A)(i), as redesignated, to read as follows:
``(III) is an event that is--
``(aa) a natural event;
``(bb) caused by a human 
activity that is intended to 
mirror the occurrence or 
reoccurrence of a natural 
event; or
``(cc) caused by a human 
activity that is unlikely to 
recur; and'';
(E) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the 
following:
``(ii) Exclusions.--In this subsection, the 
term `exceptional event' does not include--
``(I) ordinarily occurring 
stagnation of air masses;
``(II) meteorological inversions; 
or
``(III) air pollution relating to 
source noncompliance.''; and
(F) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Action to mitigate wildfire risk.--The term 
`action to mitigate wildfire risk' means a prescribed 
fire or similar measure, undertaken in accordance with 
State approved practices, to reduce the risk and 
severity of wildfires.'';
(3) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by striking ``March 1, 2006'' and 
inserting ``18 months after the date of 
enactment of the FIRE Act'';
(ii) by inserting ``revisions to'' before 
``regulations''; and
(iii) by adding ``or actions to mitigate 
wildfire risk'' before the period at the end;
(B) in subparagraph (B)--
(i) by inserting ``including proposed 
revisions to regulations,'' after 
``subparagraph (A),'';
(ii) by inserting ``or action to mitigate 
wildfire risk'' after ``an exceptional event''; 
and
(iii) by striking ``paragraph (3)'' and 
inserting ``this section''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) Regional analysis.--When more than one State 
notifies the Administrator of its intent to submit a 
petition pursuant to this section for an exceptional 
event or an action to mitigate wildfire risk for the 
same air quality event, or, if the Administrator 
determines such a multistate air quality event has 
occurred, the Administrator shall conduct regional 
modeling and analysis sufficient to satisfy the 
demonstration required for an exceptional event or an 
action to mitigate wildfire risk petition for such air 
quality event.
``(D) Transparency.--Not later than 12 months after 
the date of enactment of the FIRE Act, the 
Administrator shall establish, and thereafter update 
monthly, a public website describing the status of all 
petitions submitted pursuant to this section for 
exceptional events and actions to mitigate wildfire 
risk.'';
(4) in paragraph (3)(A)--
(A) by redesignating clauses (ii) through (v) as 
clauses (iii) through (vi), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after clause (i) the following:
``(ii) the principle that actions to 
mitigate wildfire risk can play an important 
role in reducing the magnitude and frequency of 
wildfires;'';
(5) in paragraph (3)(B)--
(A) in clause (i), by inserting ``or action to 
mitigate wildfire risk'' before ``must be'';
(B) by amending clause (ii) to read as follows:
``(ii) a clear causal relationship must 
exist, or be reasonably expected to exist, 
between the measured exceedances of a national 
ambient air quality standard and the 
exceptional event or action to mitigate 
wildfire risk to demonstrate that the 
exceptional event or action to mitigate 
wildfire risk caused a specific air pollution 
concentration at a particular air quality 
monitoring location;''; and
(C) by amending clause (iv) to read as follows:
``(iv) there are criteria and procedures 
for the Governor of a State to petition the 
Administrator to exclude air quality monitoring 
data that is directly due to exceptional events 
or actions to mitigate wildfire risk from use 
in determinations by the Administrator with 
respect to--
``(I) area or source exceedances or 
violations of the national ambient air 
quality standards;
``(II) the designation, 
redesignation, classification, or 
reclassification of an area;
``(III) the demonstration by a 
State of attainment of a national 
ambient air quality standard;
``(IV) attainment determinations;
``(V) attainment date extensions;
``(VI) finding a State 
implementation plan to be inadequate; 
or
``(VII) preconstruction 
demonstrations under section 
165(a)(3).''; and
(6) by striking paragraph (4).

Passed the House of Representatives April 22, 2026.

Attest:

KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

Clerk.