Industrial facilities would face fewer environmental reviews for certain upgrades.
This bill would change how certain upgrades at industrial facilities are defined under the Clean Air Act. It would make it less likely that projects designed to reduce pollution, improve safety, or boost efficiency would trigger lengthy environmental reviews. This means facilities could make these changes more easily, unless the Environmental Protection Agency finds a direct risk to health or the environment.
Today, many physical changes or operational updates at industrial facilities can trigger a full environmental review process under the Clean Air Act. This can happen even for projects aimed at improving efficiency or reducing pollution per product. After this bill, only changes that increase a facility's maximum hourly pollution rate would be considered a 'modification.' This increase would need to be beyond its highest rate in the last 10 years. Projects for pollution control, efficiency, safety, or reliability would generally be excluded from these reviews. However, the Environmental Protection Agency could still find a direct risk to human health or the environment. Major facilities would only trigger reviews for a significant increase in their total annual pollution.
HR 161 · 119th Congress · January 3, 2025 · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 8/10
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49 filings mentioned this bill
Amounts reflect total quarterly lobbying spend reported to the Senate, not bill-specific spending. Source: Senate LDA filings.