U.S. Congressman August Pfluger (R) is advancing new permitting reform legislation aimed at preventing states and industries from being penalized for pollution they did not create.
His bill, the Foreign Emissions and Nonattainment Clarification for Economic Stability (FENCES) Act, would revise federal air quality rules to ensure that foreign emissions, such as wildfire smoke drifting across borders or dust storms from abroad, do not cause American communities to fall into nonattainment status under the Clean Air Act.
Pfluger argues that the current Environmental Protection Agency guidance, issued under the Biden Administration, makes it harder for states to remain in compliance even when pollution originates outside of their control.
"American companies are being unfairly penalized for pollution originating outside the United States," said Pfluger. "We've seen how even the mention of a nonattainment designation, like when the Biden EPA threatened to redesignate the Permian Basin, can create significant uncertainty for businesses and communities."
Under existing law, states can account for foreign emissions when developing air quality plans, but the EPA has limited that flexibility to only human-caused emissions. The FENCES Act would correct that by clarifying that all foreign emissions, whether natural or man-made, must be excluded when determining a state's air quality status or when reviewing new facility permits.
"These designations delay permits and hurt economic growth while failing to address the very problem they are trying to solve," said Pfluger. "My bill restores commonsense by preventing the EPA from punishing states for pollution they didn't cause- including foreign emissions, cross-state transport, wildfire smoke, and mobile source emissions outside their control."
Pfluger has called for comprehensive permitting reform on multiple occasions, warning that current Clean Air Act rules can delay energy and manufacturing projects for years and impose severe compliance burdens on producers.
