Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act of 2025

## Summary The Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act of 2025 aims to update the Clean Air Act to better account for air quality impacts from prescribed fires—controlled burns intentionally set to reduce wildfire risks or manage ecosystems. Currently, the Clean Air Act allows states to exclude air quality data influenced by “exceptional events” (like wildfires or volcanic eruptions) from regulatory compliance calculations. This bill expands that framework to explicitly include prescribed fires, ensuring states can demonstrate compliance with air quality standards without being penalized for emissions from planned burns conducted under federal or state guidelines. The bill also streamlines processes for reviewing these events, promotes collaboration across jurisdictions, and clarifies that emissions from industrial sources (e.g., factories) previously classified as non-exceptional remain subject to standard regulations. ## Key Points - Defines “prescribed fire” as a planned ignition following laws and regulations to meet specific management goals (e.g., reducing wildfire fuel). - Revises criteria for exceptional events to include prescribed fires, allowing states to exclude their emissions from air quality compliance calculations if they meet federal standards. - Requires EPA to update regulations within 270 days to outline how states can petition the EPA to review air quality data affected by prescribed fires or exceptional events. - Shortens EPA’s timeline to finalize revisions to 180 days (from 1 year) and mandates collaboration with federal land managers, state agencies, and tribes. - Enables regional coordination for multi-state or international exceptional events, such as smoke from wildfires or prescribed burns affecting multiple jurisdictions. ## Impact Areas - Primary group/area affected: States, federal land managers, and agencies conducting prescribed fires to reduce wildfire risks or manage ecosystems. - Secondary group/area affected: Environmental regulators and the EPA, tasked with revising rules and evaluating state petitions. - Additional impacts: Improved air quality compliance flexibility for regions using prescribed fires, potential temporary air pollution increases during burns, and clarification that industrial emissions cannot retroactively be classified as exceptional events. *Technical terms explained*: - Prescribed fire: A controlled burn planned and executed under strict guidelines to achieve ecological or fire-prevention goals. - Exceptional event: A rare, unpredictable occurrence (e.g., wildfires, dust storms) that affects air quality but is not linked to human-caused pollution. - Stationary source: Fixed facilities like factories or power plants, as opposed to mobile sources like vehicles.