Sponsors (2)
The bill trades clearer, lower‑cost, and more predictable permitting for industry and reduced operational disruption against a meaningful risk of higher local and cumulative emissions, weakened enforcement, and greater environmental justice and health harms for nearby communities.
Owners/operators of industrial and major-emitting facilities (utilities, energy companies, large industrial operators, some small businesses) get clearer, more predictable rules about when on-site changes trigger costly 'modification', PSD, or nonattainment permitting, reducing compliance uncertainty and the risk of unexpected permit triggers.
Operators can perform routine repairs, reliability and safety upgrades, or efficiency improvements with less risk of triggering modification review—reducing downtime, operational disruption, and transactional permitting delays.
Permitting authorities (EPA and delegated state agencies) and regulated entities get clearer statutory guidance about when construction or physical changes require preconstruction review, likely reducing litigation and improving consistency in permit decisions.
People living near industrial sources—often urban, low-income, or minority communities—face increased local air pollution and higher health risks because some on-site changes that raise cumulative or annual emissions can avoid NSPS/PSD/nonattainment review.
Communities adjacent to polluting facilities may see fewer required emissions controls, offsets, or best‑available technologies, worsening environmental justice concerns and localized pollution burdens.
State and federal enforcement and permitting ability could be weakened because narrowing the definition of 'modification' makes it harder to address increases in annual or cumulative emissions, complicating enforcement and public-health protections.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Narrows what counts as a Clean Air Act "modification" and limits PSD/nonattainment permitting to physical construction of discrete emissions units that cause significant annual emissions increases.
Official title: Amend sections 111, 169, and 171 of the Clean Air Act to clarify when a physical change in, or change in the method of operation of, a stationary source constitutes a modification or construction, and for other purposes.
Introduced August 7, 2026 by Jon Husted · Last progress August 7, 2026
Narrows when new or changed industrial equipment triggers Clean Air Act permitting by changing how "modification" and "construction" are defined for Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and nonattainment permits. It excludes specified pollution‑control, efficiency, reliability, and safety projects from being treated as a "modification," and says PSD/nonattainment preconstruction permits apply only when physical construction of the discrete emissions unit will occur and the change causes a significant increase in annual emissions. The bill also preserves prior case law and agency interpretation by saying nothing in the Act should be read to classify a change as a modification if it would not have been considered a modification the day before enactment. Overall, it narrows federal permitting triggers for many on‑site activities and equipment projects that do not raise significant annual emissions.