Technology Assessment for Air Quality Management Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2045 To improve air quality management and the safety of communities using the best available monitoring technology and data. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 20, 2023 Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. SMITH, Mr. VAN HOL- LEN, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To improve air quality management and the safety of com- munities using the best available monitoring technology and data. 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 ‘‘Technology Assess- 4 ment for Air Quality Management Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2045.IS S2045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 2045 IS (1) the Environmental Protection Agency can 1 further strengthen air quality planning and manage- 2 ment by consistently gathering information on local 3 air quality monitoring systems across the United 4 States; 5 (2) newer air sensor technologies create the 6 possibility for enhanced, community-scale air pollu- 7 tion data; 8 (3) despite national progress in reducing air 9 pollution, more than 40 percent of people in the 10 United States live in places with unhealthy levels of 11 ozone or particle pollution; 12 (4) people of color, Indigenous people, and low- 13 income communities bear disproportionately higher 14 exposures and health burdens due to air pollution; 15 (5) air quality can vary up to 800 percent from 16 block to block within a single neighborhood; and 17 (6) existing methods that are prescribed for 18 basin-wide air quality monitoring are cost-prohibitive 19 for monitoring community-scale air quality. 20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 21 In this Act: 22 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 23 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 24 mental Protection Agency. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2045.IS S2045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 2045 IS (2) AIR POLLUTANT.—The term ‘‘air pollutant’’ 1 has the meaning given such term in section 302(g) 2 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7602(g)). 3 (3) AREA SOURCE.—The term ‘‘area source’’ 4 has the meaning given the term in section 112(a) of 5 the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7412(a)). 6 (4) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘en- 7 vironmental justice’’ means the fair treatment and 8 meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of 9 race, color, culture, national origin, or income, in the 10 development, implementation, and enforcement of 11 environmental laws (including regulations) and poli- 12 cies to ensure that each person enjoys— 13 (A) the same degree of protection from en- 14 vironmental and health hazards; and 15 (B) equal access to any Federal agency ac- 16 tion relating to the development, implementa- 17 tion, and enforcement of environmental laws 18 (including regulations) and policies for the pur- 19 pose of having a healthy environment in which 20 to live, learn, work, and recreate. 21 (5) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 22 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ means 23 a community with significant representation of com- 24 munities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2045.IS S2045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 2045 IS and Indigenous communities, that experiences, or is 1 at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse 2 human health or environmental effects, as compared 3 to other communities. 4 (6) HYBRID METHOD.—The term ‘‘hybrid 5 method’’ means a method for monitoring air pollut- 6 ants that combines information from multiple 7 sources, including monitors at ground level, mod- 8 eling, and satellites. 9 (7) HYPERLOCAL AIR QUALITY MONITORING 10 SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘hyperlocal air quality moni- 11 toring system’’ means a system of monitoring air 12 pollutants that— 13 (A) yields frequently repeated, ongoing 14 measurements of air pollutants at a geographic 15 scale that is— 16 (i) as small as practicable to identify 17 communities; and 18 (ii) not larger than that of a census 19 tract; and 20 (B) identifies hotspots of persistent ele- 21 vated levels of air pollutants localized to, and 22 caused by the characteristics of, a specific geo- 23 graphic location. 24 (8) HYPERLOCAL DATA.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2045.IS S2045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 2045 IS (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘hyperlocal 1 data’’ means the data returned by a hyperlocal 2 air quality monitoring system. 3 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘hyperlocal 4 data’’ may include data on— 5 (i) the health impacts of air pollution; 6 and 7 (ii) sources of air pollutants. 8 (9) INDIRECT SOURCE.—The term ‘‘indirect 9 source’’ has the meaning given the term in section 10 110(a)(5)(C) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 11 7410(a)(5)(C)). 12 (10) MAJOR SOURCE.—The term ‘‘major 13 source’’ has the meaning given the term in section 14 501 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7661). 15 (11) REFERENCE METHOD.—The term ‘‘ref- 16 erence method’’ has the meaning given such term in 17 section 50.1 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula- 18 tions, as in effect on the date of enactment of this 19 Act. 20 (12) RELEVANT COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 21 The term ‘‘relevant committees of Congress’’ 22 means— 23 (A) the Committee on Environment and 24 Public Works of the Senate; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2045.IS S2045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 2045 IS (B) the Committee on Energy and Com- 1 merce of the House of Representatives. 2 SEC. 4. COMPENDIUM OF AIR QUALITY MONITORING TECH- 3 NOLOGIES AND USES OF AIR QUALITY IN- 4 SIGHTS. 5 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 6 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Administrator 7 shall update the Air Sensor Toolbox of the Environmental 8 Protection Agency or an equivalent online, publicly avail- 9 able compendium— 10 (1) to describe all types of common air quality 11 monitor technologies, which may include— 12 (A) Federal Reference Method or Federal 13 Equivalent Method monitors; 14 (B) mobile monitoring platforms; 15 (C) low-cost stationary monitors; 16 (D) satellite sensors and surface monitors; 17 (E) fenceline monitoring instruments; 18 (F) high-resolution cameras; and 19 (G) other technologies, as determined to be 20 appropriate by the Administrator; 21 (2) to describe the uses of the data associated 22 with the types of common air quality monitor tech- 23 nologies described under paragraph (1); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2045.IS S2045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 2045 IS (3) to update and describe the advantages of 1 monitoring technologies with respect to different air 2 quality management applications, which may in- 3 clude— 4 (A) the costs and ease of purchase, instal- 5 lation, operation, and maintenance of monitors; 6 (B) air pollutant or air pollutants mon- 7 itored; 8 (C) spatial resolution; 9 (D) temporal resolution; 10 (E) frequency of data collection by mon- 11 itors; 12 (F) data quality and data processing 13 needs; and 14 (G) compatibility, accessibility, and ease of 15 use of a type of monitor with online databases; 16 (4) to describe— 17 (A) potential incongruities between air 18 quality monitor measurements from reference 19 methods and hybrid methods; and 20 (B) relevant insights from data returned 21 from hybrid methods, despite the potential in- 22 congruities described in subparagraph (A); 23 (5) to describe the availability of, and how to 24 access, data on— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2045.IS S2045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 2045 IS (A) the location and nature of likely 1 sources of air pollution, including major 2 sources, area sources, and indirect sources; and 3 (B) potential health impacts that may re- 4 sult from air pollution exposure; 5 (6) to connect and integrate the Air Sensor 6 Toolbox or equivalent compendium with the 7 EJSCREEN mapping tool of the Environmental 8 Protection Agency, the Environmental Information 9 Exchange Network, and other relevant Federal, 10 State, and local environmental justice mapping and 11 screening tools— 12 (A) to inform communities and local air 13 agencies of local air pollution concerns; and 14 (B) to help communities understand and 15 describe— 16 (i) the multiple and cumulative expo- 17 sures identified in environmental human 18 health analyses under section 3–301(b) of 19 Executive Order 12898 (42 U.S.C. 4321 20 note; relating to Federal actions to address 21 environmental justice in minority popu- 22 lations and low-income populations); and 23 (ii) any exclusion from participation 24 in, denial of and the benefits of, or dis- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2045.IS S2045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 2045 IS crimination under programs and activities 1 receiving Federal financial assistance on 2 the ground of race, color, or national ori- 3 gin, as prohibited under section 601 of the 4 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 5 2000d); and 6 (7) to describe how to integrate air quality 7 monitoring technologies and data across spatial and 8 temporal scales to improve quantitative use of low- 9 cost sensors, satellite sensors, and other tech- 10 nologies. 11 SEC. 5. AIR QUALITY TECHNOLOGY WORKING GROUP. 12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 14 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis- 15 trator shall establish an Air Quality Technology 16 Working Group (referred to in this section as the 17 ‘‘Working Group’’). 18 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Working Group shall 19 consist of 30 members, including— 20 (A) 1 representative from each Regional 21 Office of the Environmental Protection Agency; 22 (B) not less than 1 representative with a 23 demonstrated record of experience with device 24 installation, operation, maintenance, and cali- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2045.IS S2045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 2045 IS bration of different air quality monitoring ap- 1 proaches; 2 (C) not less than 3 representatives with 3 demonstrated records of experience in data 4 science as it pertains to using measurements 5 from monitoring technologies to develop air 6 quality insights for environmental justice and 7 associated air quality monitoring applications; 8 (D) not less than 3 representatives of envi- 9 ronmental justice community-based organiza- 10 tions, coalitions, networks, or alliances with ex- 11 perience in using new technologies to assess and 12 address air pollution in the communities of 13 those environmental justice community-based 14 organizations, coalitions, networks, or alliances; 15 (E) not less than 1 representative with a 16 demonstrated record of experience in outreach 17 and engagement with environmental justice 18 communities; 19 (F) not less than 1 representative from the 20 national headquarters of the Environmental 21 Protection Agency; 22 (G) not less than 1 representative from a 23 State air agency; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2045.IS S2045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 2045 IS (H) not less than 1 representative from a 1 local air agency; 2 (I) not less than 1 representative from a 3 Tribal air agency; 4 (J) not less than 2 representatives who— 5 (i) are— 6 (I) from public health depart- 7 ments; or 8 (II) public health scientists; and 9 (ii) have a demonstrated record of ex- 10 perience with translating information col- 11 lected from monitoring technologies into 12 health insights for environmental justice 13 applications and air quality management; 14 and 15 (K) not less than 1 representative from the 16 air quality technology industry. 17 (b) MONITORING SYSTEM TEMPLATE.—Not later 18 than 1 year after the date on which the Working Group 19 is established under subsection (a)(1), the Working Group 20 shall develop and submit to the relevant committees of 21 Congress a report that includes— 22 (1) templates for integrated air quality moni- 23 toring systems ranging in cost estimates, population 24 sizes of communities served, atmospheric dispersion 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2045.IS S2045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 2045 IS dynamics of air pollutants, and other relevant pa- 1 rameters, as determined to be appropriate by the 2 Working Group, that provide a holistic under- 3 standing of local air pollutant measurements across 4 time, which may incorporate— 5 (A) 1 or more in-situ monitors; 6 (B) 1 or more satellite sensors; 7 (C) computer modeling; 8 (D) multipollutant monitoring options; 9 (E) single pollutant monitoring options; 10 and 11 (F) data collection, interpretation, and re- 12 porting to relevant Federal, State, local, and 13 Tribal air agencies; 14 (2) a description of the costs and capacity 15 needs associated with the integrated air quality mon- 16 itoring systems described under paragraph (1), in- 17 cluding— 18 (A) costs of purchase, operation, mainte- 19 nance, and calibration of monitor technologies; 20 (B) workforce needs; 21 (C) data infrastructure needs; and 22 (D) any other needs, as determined to be 23 appropriate by the Administrator; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jul 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2045.IS S2045 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •S 2045 IS (3) technology modernization targets for up- 1 grades to integrated air quality monitoring stations. 2 (c) HYPERLOCAL MONITORING SUPPORT.—Not later 3 than 360 days after the date on which the Working Group 4 is established under subsection (a)(1), the Working Group 5 shall develop and submit to Congress a report that in- 6 cludes— 7 (1) recommendations for how the Administrator 8 can consider data returned from hybrid methods to 9 improve air quality in communities; and 10 (2) recommendations for dedicated staffing at 11 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]