Public Health Air Quality Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7822 To protect clean air and public health by expanding fenceline and ambient air monitoring and access to air quality information for communities affected by air pollution; to require immediate toxic air monitoring at the fenceline of facilities with pollution linked to local health threats; to ensure the Environmental Protection Agency promulgates rules that require fenceline air monitoring in communities with air polluting indus- trial source categories; to expand and strengthen the national ambient air quality monitoring network; to deploy air sensors in communities affected by air pollution, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 29, 2020 Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER (for herself, Mr. MCEACHIN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. BARRAGA´N, and Mr. RUSH) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To protect clean air and public health by expanding fenceline and ambient air monitoring and access to air quality information for communities affected by air pollution; to require immediate toxic air monitoring at the fenceline of facilities with pollution linked to local health threats; to ensure the Environmental Protection Agency promul- gates rules that require fenceline air monitoring in com- munities with air polluting industrial source categories; to expand and strengthen the national ambient air qual- ity monitoring network; to deploy air sensors in commu- nities affected by air pollution, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H7822.IH H7822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7822 IH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Health Air 4 Quality Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. HEALTH EMERGENCY AIR TOXICS MONITORING. 6 (a) MONITORING.—Not later than 120 days after the 7 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 8 carry out a program to administer or conduct, pursuant 9 to authority provided under the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 10 7401 et seq.), including section 114 of such Act (42 11 U.S.C. 7414), the best available form of fenceline moni- 12 toring of stationary sources of hazardous air pollutants 13 that are on the list developed under subsection (c). 14 (b) PUBLICATION OF RESULTS.—The Administrator 15 shall publish and maintain the results of all fenceline mon- 16 itoring conducted under the program under subsection (a) 17 on the website of the Environmental Protection Agency 18 for a period of at least 5 years. 19 (c) LIST OF SOURCES.— 20 (1) DEVELOPMENT.—The Administrator shall 21 develop a list of stationary sources of hazardous air 22 pollutants that includes— 23 (A) the 25 high-priority facilities listed in 24 Appendix A of the Environmental Protection 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7822.IH H7822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7822 IH Agency’s Office of Inspector General Report 1 #20–N–0128 (March 31, 2020); and 2 (B) at least another 25 major sources or 3 synthetic area sources. 4 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator may 5 include a stationary source on the list developed 6 under paragraph (1) only if the source— 7 (A) emits at least one of the pollutants de- 8 scribed in paragraph (3); 9 (B) is— 10 (i) located in, or within 3 miles of, a 11 census tract with— 12 (I) a cancer risk of at least 100- 13 in-1 million; or 14 (II) a chronic non-cancer hazard 15 index that is above 1 based on the 16 most recent National Air Toxics As- 17 sessment; or 18 (ii) in a source category with— 19 (I) a cancer risk that is at least 20 50-in-1 million; 21 (II) a total organ-specific hazard 22 index for chronic non-cancer risk that 23 is greater than 1; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7822.IH H7822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7822 IH (III) an acute risk hazard 1 quotient that is greater than 1; and 2 (C) is— 3 (i) classified in one or more of North 4 American Industry Classification System 5 codes 322, 324, 325; or 6 (ii) required to prepare and implement 7 a risk management plan pursuant to sec- 8 tion 112(r) of the Clean Air Act (42 9 U.S.C. 7412(r)) and had an accidental re- 10 lease required to be reported during the 11 previous 3 years pursuant to section 68.42 12 or 68.195 of title 40 Code of Federal Reg- 13 ulations (as in effect on the date of enact- 14 ment of this Act). 15 (3) POLLUTANTS.—The pollutants described in 16 this paragraph are ethylene oxide, chloroprene, ben- 17 zene, 1,3-butadiene, and formaldehyde. 18 (d) METHODS AND TECHNOLOGIES.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 20 graph (2), in carrying out the program under sub- 21 section (a), the Administrator shall— 22 (A) for each stationary source on the list 23 developed under subsection (c)(1), employ, as 24 necessary to monitor the pollutants described in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7822.IH H7822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7822 IH subsection (c)(3) emitted by such stationary 1 source, at least— 2 (i) Method 325A and Method 325B; 3 and 4 (ii) Method TO–15; and 5 (B) for each of the 10 stationary sources 6 on such list that either emit the greatest volume 7 of pollutants described in subsection (c)(3), or 8 cause the greatest health risk as determined by 9 the Administrator based on a residual risk as- 10 sessment performed pursuant to section 11 112(f)(2) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 12 7412(f)(2)) or based on the most recent Na- 13 tional Air Toxics Assessment due to such emis- 14 sions individually, as a group, or cumulatively 15 with all hazardous air pollutants emitted by 16 such sources, and for any other stationary 17 source on such list for which application of the 18 methods described in subparagraph (A) alone 19 will not be sufficient to monitor and report any 20 such pollutants that are emitted by such sta- 21 tionary source, employ— 22 (i) optical remote sensing technology 23 to provide real-time measurements of air 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7822.IH H7822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7822 IH pollutant concentrations along an open- 1 path; or 2 (ii) other monitoring technology with 3 the ability to provide real-time spatial and 4 temporal data to understand the type and 5 amount of emissions. 6 (2) UPDATES.— 7 (A) METHOD 325A AND METHOD 325B.—If 8 the Administrator determines it necessary to 9 update Method 325A and Method 325B to im- 10 plement this section, the Administrator shall 11 update such Method 325A and Method 325B 12 not later than 90 days after the date of enact- 13 ment of this Act. 14 (B) NEW TEST METHOD.—If the Adminis- 15 trator determines it necessary to approve a new 16 test method to implement this section, the Ad- 17 ministrator shall finalize such a method not 18 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 19 this Act. 20 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 21 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall re- 22 port on the results of the program carried out under sub- 23 section (a), including— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7822.IH H7822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7822 IH (1) the results of fenceline monitoring imple- 1 mented under the program under subsection (a); 2 (2) any enforcement, regulatory, or permitting 3 actions taken based on such fenceline monitoring; 4 and 5 (3) whether the Administrator proposes to con- 6 tinue fenceline monitoring at any or all of the sta- 7 tionary sources on the list developed under sub- 8 section (c)(1), or to implement fenceline monitoring 9 of any additional stationary sources as determined 10 under subsection (f). 11 (f) DETERMINATION REGARDING ADDITIONAL 12 SOURCES.—Not later than 3 months before the program 13 under subsection (a) terminates, the Administrator shall 14 make a determination, and publish such determination in 15 the Federal Register, on whether to add fenceline moni- 16 toring for any stationary sources to— 17 (1) ensure compliance of such stationary 18 sources with existing emission standards under sec- 19 tion 112 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7412); 20 (2) prevent accidental releases; or 21 (3) protect the health of the communities most 22 exposed to the emissions of hazardous air pollutants 23 from such stationary sources to the greatest extent 24 possible. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7822.IH H7822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7822 IH (g) DETERMINATION REGARDING EMISSION FAC- 1 TORS.—Not later than 3 months before the program 2 under subsection (a) terminates, the Administrator shall 3 complete an evaluation and promulgate a determination 4 whether any existing emission factors must be updated to 5 better reflect or account for the results of fenceline moni- 6 toring data collected pursuant to Method 325A or 325B 7 or the program under subsection (a). 8 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 9 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 10 $73,000,000 for fiscal year 2021. 11 SEC. 3. COMMUNITY AIR TOXICS MONITORING. 12 (a) REGULATIONS.—Not later than one year after the 13 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall pro- 14 mulgate regulations pursuant to section 112(d) of the 15 Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7412(d)) for each source cat- 16 egory described in subsection (b), that— 17 (1) require all sources in such source category 18 to implement the best available form of continuous 19 emissions monitoring and fenceline monitoring to as- 20 sure compliance with the emission standards for haz- 21 ardous air pollutants; 22 (2) for facilities in such source category that 23 are required to submit risk management plans under 24 section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act, to prevent acci- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7822.IH H7822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7822 IH dental releases and provide for effective emergency 1 response; 2 (3) establish a corrective action level at the 3 fenceline for at least the top 3 hazardous air pollut- 4 ants that drive the cancer, chronic non-cancer, or 5 acute risk for the source category; and 6 (4) require a root cause analysis and con- 7 sequences if such corrective action level is exceeded. 8 (b) SOURCE CATEGORIES.—The source categories de- 9 scribed in this subsection shall include each category or 10 subcategory of major sources or area sources containing— 11 (1) at least one of the stationary sources of 12 hazardous air pollutants that are on the list devel- 13 oped under section 2(c); 14 (2) major sources or area sources identified in 15 the most recent National Emissions Inventory of the 16 Environmental Protection Agency as emitting ethyl- 17 ene oxide, chloroprene, 1–3 butadiene, benzene, or 18 formaldehyde; 19 (3) chemical, petrochemical, or plastics manu- 20 facturing sources or marine vessel loading oper- 21 ations; and 22 (4) any other major sources of fugitive haz- 23 ardous air pollutant emissions for which the Envi- 24 ronmental Protection Agency is subject to a court- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7822.IH H7822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7822 IH ordered or statutory deadline, engaged in a reconsid- 1 eration proceeding, or subject to a court remand to, 2 not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 3 of this Act, review and determine whether to revise 4 the emissions standards that apply to such sources. 5 (c) DETERMINATION OF BEST AVAILABLE FORM OF 6 MONITORING.—The Administrator, in consultation with 7 the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, the Of- 8 fice of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, and the 9 Office of Environmental Justice, shall, for purposes of the 10 regulations promulgated pursuant to subsection (a), deter- 11 mine the best available form of continuous emissions mon- 12 itoring and fenceline monitoring and shall ensure the 13 methods required are at least as stringent as Method 14 325A and Method 325B. 15 (d) METHODS AND TECHNOLOGIES.—For all sta- 16 tionary sources in the source categories under subsection 17 (b), the Administrator shall, in the regulations promul- 18 gated pursuant to subsection (a)— 19 (1) require application, implementation, or em- 20 ployment of— 21 (A) Method TO–15 or optical remote sens- 22 ing technology to provide real-time measure- 23 ments of air pollutant concentrations along an 24 open-path; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7822.IH H7822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7822 IH (B) other monitoring technology with the 1 ability to provide real-time spatial and temporal 2 data to understand the type and amount of 3 emissions; or 4 (2) provide an explanation of why application of 5 Method TO–15 or the technologies described in 6 paragraph (1) is not necessary— 7 (A) to assure compliance with the emission 8 standards established under the regulations 9 promulgated pursuant to subsections (d) and 10 (f) of section 112 of the Clean Air Act (42 11 U.S.C. 7412), as applicable; or 12 (B) to protect the public health. 13 (e) PRECAUTIONARY APPROACH.—In promulgating 14 the corrective action level for each of the hazardous air 15 pollutants described in subsection (a)(3), the Adminis- 16 trator shall take a precautionary approach to ensure that, 17 if the monitored concentration at the fenceline hits a level 18 that has potential to cause any person to experience im- 19 paired quality of life, become ill, or die from cancer or 20 any other chronic or acute health impairment related to 21 short- or long-term air pollution exposure (including any 22 fetal exposure that begins in utero), that the facility must 23 reduce its emissions to prevent such harm. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7822.IH H7822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7822 IH (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 1 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 2 $17,500,000 for fiscal year 2021. 3 SEC. 4. CRITERIA POLLUTANT/NAAQS MONITORING NET- 4 WORK. 5 (a) DEPLOYMENT OF NCORE MULTIPOLLUTANT 6 MONITORIN [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]