A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to clarify standards for emissions emanating from outside of the United States, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Cynthia M. Lummis (Republican-WY)February 11, 2026

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Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

States could avoid air quality penalties for pollution coming from outside the U.S.

States could avoid air quality penalties for pollution from outside the U.S., natural events, or uncontrollable vehicles. The bill would also clarify that all foreign emissions, natural or human-caused, count when assessing air quality.

What Would Change

Today, states can be penalized or have areas designated as having unhealthy air even if pollution largely comes from outside the U.S., and it's unclear if natural foreign emissions count. After this bill, states could avoid these designations and penalties if they prove the pollution is from outside the U.S. (including natural sources), exceptional events, or uncontrollable vehicle emissions.

Key Provisions

Lets states avoid fines and penalties for failing to meet air quality standards if pollution comes from outside the U.S., exceptional events, or uncontrollable vehicles.
Blocks areas from being labeled as having unhealthy air if foreign pollution is the only reason they don't meet standards.
Clarifies that foreign pollution includes both natural and human-caused emissions when checking air quality.
Requires states to renew their request for these exemptions from penalties every 5 years.
Clarifies that avoiding penalties does not change a state's duty to try and improve air quality.

View on Congress.gov

S 3836 · 119th Congress · February 11, 2026 · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 10/10

A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to clarify standards for emissions emanating from outside of the United States, and for other purposes.

What Would Change

Key Provisions

Lobbying Activity