Technology Assessment for Air Quality Management Act of 2022
Bill: H.R.8551 | Sponsor: Rep. McEachin, A. Donald (D-VA)
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Technology Assessment for Air Quality Management Act of 2022
This bill addresses air quality monitoring technology, including by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to update its Air Sensor Toolbox with specified information and establish an Air Quality Technology Working Group to report on air quality monitoring systems.
The Government Accountability Office must inventory national air quality monitoring infrastructure by documenting specified elements, such as locations and populations near such monitors.

To improve air quality management and the safety of communities using 
           the best available monitoring technology and data.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Technology Assessment for Air 
Quality Management Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Environmental Protection Agency can further 
        strengthen air quality planning and management by consistently 
        gathering information on local air quality monitoring systems 
        across the United States;
            (2) newer air sensor technologies create the possibility 
        for enhanced, community-scale air pollution data;
            (3) despite national progress in reducing air pollution, 
        more than 40 percent of people in the United States live in 
        places with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution;
            (4) people of color, Indigenous people, and low-income 
        communities bear disproportionately higher exposures and health 
        burdens due to air pollution;
            (5) air quality can vary up to 800 percent from block to 
        block within a single neighborhood; and
            (6) existing methods that are prescribed for basin-wide air 
        quality monitoring are cost-prohibitive for monitoring 
        community-scale air quality.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) Air pollutant.--The term ``air pollutant'' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 302(g) of the Clean Air Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 7602(g)).
            (3) Area source.--The term ``area source'' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 112(a) of the Clean Air Act (42 
        U.S.C. 7412(a)).
            (4) Environmental justice.--The term ``environmental 
        justice'' means the fair treatment and meaningful involvement 
        of all people, regardless of race, color, culture, national 
        origin, or income, in the development, implementation, and 
        enforcement of environmental laws (including regulations) and 
        policies to ensure that each person enjoys--
                    (A) the same degree of protection from 
                environmental and health hazards; and
                    (B) equal access to any Federal agency action 
                relating to the development, implementation, and 
                enforcement of environmental laws (including 
                regulations) and policies for the purpose of having a 
                healthy environment in which to live, learn, work, and 
                recreate.
            (5) Environmental justice community.--The term 
        ``environmental justice community'' means a community with 
        significant representation of communities of color, low-income 
        communities, or Tribal and Indigenous communities, that 
        experiences, or is at risk of experiencing, higher or more 
        adverse human health or environmental effects, as compared to 
        other communities.
            (6) Hybrid method.--The term ``hybrid method'' means a 
        method for monitoring air pollutants that combines information 
        from multiple sources, including monitors at ground level, 
        modeling, and satellites, to aid in calculating the expected 
        number of exceedances per year and the design values for air 
        pollutants for purposes of determining compliance or non-
        compliance with the national ambient air quality standards for 
        those pollutants.
            (7) Hyperlocal air quality monitoring system.--The term 
        ``hyperlocal air quality monitoring system'' means a system of 
        monitoring air pollutants that--
                    (A) yields frequently repeated, ongoing 
                measurements of air pollutants at a geographic scale 
                that is--
                            (i) as small as practicable to identify 
                        communities; and
                            (ii) not larger than that of a census 
                        tract; and
                    (B) identifies hotspots of persistent elevated 
                levels of air pollutants localized to, and caused by 
                the characteristics of, a specific geographic location.
            (8) Hyperlocal data.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``hyperlocal data'' means 
                the data returned by a hyperlocal air quality 
                monitoring system.
                    (B) Inclusions.--The term ``hyperlocal data'' may 
                include data on--
                            (i) the health impacts of air pollution; 
                        and
                            (ii) sources of air pollutants.
            (9) Indirect source.--The term ``indirect source'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 110(a)(5)(C) of the Clean Air 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(5)(C)).
            (10) Major source.--The term ``major source'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 501 of the Clean Air Act (42 
        U.S.C. 7661).
            (11) Reference method.--The term ``reference method'' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 50.1 of title 40, Code 
        of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment 
        of this Act.
            (12) Relevant committees of congress.--The term ``relevant 
        committees of Congress'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Environment and Public Works 
                of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
                House of Representatives.

SEC. 4. COMPENDIUM OF AIR QUALITY MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES AND USES OF 
              AIR QUALITY INSIGHTS.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
annually thereafter, the Administrator shall update the Air Sensor 
Toolbox of the Environmental Protection Agency or an equivalent online, 
publicly available compendium--
            (1) to describe all types of common air quality monitor 
        technologies, which may include--
                    (A) Federal Reference Method or Federal Equivalent 
                Method monitors;
                    (B) mobile monitoring platforms;
                    (C) low-cost stationary monitors;
                    (D) satellite sensors and surface monitors;
                    (E) fenceline monitoring instruments;
                    (F) high-resolution cameras; and
                    (G) other technologies, as determined to be 
                appropriate by the Administrator;
            (2) to describe the uses of the data associated with the 
        types of common air quality monitor technologies described 
        under paragraph (1);
            (3) to update and describe the advantages of monitoring 
        technologies with respect to different air quality management 
        applications, which may include--
                    (A) the costs and ease of purchase, installation, 
                operation, and maintenance of monitors;
                    (B) air pollutant or air pollutants monitored;
                    (C) spatial resolution;
                    (D) temporal resolution;
                    (E) frequency of data collection by monitors;
                    (F) data quality and data processing needs; and
                    (G) compatibility, accessibility, and ease of use 
                of a type of monitor with online databases;
            (4) to describe--
                    (A) potential incongruities between air quality 
                monitor measurements from reference methods and hybrid 
                methods; and
                    (B) relevant insights from data returned from 
                hybrid methods, despite the potential incongruities 
                described in subparagraph (A);
            (5) to describe the availability of, and how to access, 
        data on--
                    (A) the location and nature of likely sources of 
                air pollution, including major sources, area sources, 
                and indirect sources; and
                    (B) potential health impacts that may result from 
                air pollution exposure;
            (6) to connect and integrate the Air Sensor Toolbox or 
        equivalent compendium with the EJSCREEN mapping tool of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency, the Environmental Information 
        Exchange Network, and other relevant Federal, State, and local 
        environmental justice mapping and screening tools--
                    (A) to inform communities and local air agencies of 
                local air pollution concerns; and
                    (B) to help communities understand and describe--
                            (i) the multiple and cumulative exposures 
                        identified in environmental human health 
                        analyses under section 3-301(b) of Executive 
                        Order 12898 (42 U.S.C. 4321 note; relating to 
                        Federal actions to address environmental 
                        justice in minority populations and low-income 
                        populations); and
                            (ii) any exclusion from participation in, 
                        denial of and the benefits of, or 
                        discrimination under programs and activities 
                        receiving Federal financial assistance on the 
                        ground of race, color, or national origin, as 
                        prohibited under section 601 of the Civil 
                        Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d); and
            (7) to describe how to integrate air quality monitoring 
        technologies and data across spatial and temporal scales to 
        improve quantitative use of low-cost sensors, satellite 
        sensors, and other technologies.

SEC. 5. AIR QUALITY TECHNOLOGY WORKING GROUP.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish an Air 
        Quality Technology Working Group (referred to in this section 
        as the ``Working Group'').
            (2) Membership.--The Working Group shall consist of 30 
        members, including--
                    (A) 1 representative from each Regional Office of 
                the Environmental Protection Agency;
                    (B) not less than 1 representative with a 
                demonstrated record of experience with device 
                installation, operation, maintenance, and calibration 
                of different air quality monitoring approaches;
                    (C) not less than 3 representatives with 
                demonstrated records of experience in data science as 
                it pertains to using measurements from monitoring 
                technologies to develop air quality insights for 
                environmental justice and associated air quality 
                monitoring applications;
                    (D) not less than 3 representatives of 
                environmental justice community-based organizations, 
                coalitions, networks, or alliances with experience in 
                using new technologies to assess and address air 
                pollution in the communities of those environmental 
                justice community-based organizations, coalitions, 
                networks, or alliances;
                    (E) not less than 1 representative with a 
                demonstrated record of experience in outreach and 
                engagement with environmental justice communities;
                    (F) not less than 1 representative from the 
                national headquarters of the Environmental Protection 
                Agency;
                    (G) not less than 1 representative from a State air 
                agency;
                    (H) not less than 1 representative from a local air 
                agency;
                    (I) not less than 1 representative from a Tribal 
                air agency;
                    (J) not less than 2 representatives who--
                            (i) are--
                                    (I) from public health departments; 
                                or
                                    (II) public health scientists; and
                            (ii) have a demonstrated record of 
                        experience with translating information 
                        collected from monitoring technologies into 
                        health insights for environmental justice 
                        applications and air quality management; and
                    (K) not less than 1 representative from the air 
                quality technology industry.
    (b) Monitoring System Template.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date on which the Working Group is established under subsection (a)(1), 
the Working Group shall develop and submit to the relevant committees 
of Congress a report that includes--
            (1) templates for integrated air quality monitoring systems 
        ranging in cost estimates, population sizes of communities 
        served, atmospheric dispersion dynamics of air pollutants, and 
        other relevant parameters, as determined to be appropriate by 
        the Working Group, that provide a holistic understanding of 
        local air pollutant measurements across time, which may 
        incorporate--
                    (A) 1 or more in-situ monitors;
                    (B) 1 or more satellite sensors;
                    (C) computer modeling;
                    (D) multipollutant monitoring options;
                    (E) single pollutant monitoring options; and
                    (F) data collection, interpretation, and reporting 
                to relevant Federal, State, local, and Tribal air 
                agencies;
            (2) a description of the costs and capacity needs 
        associated with the integrated air quality monitoring systems 
        described under paragraph (1), including--
                    (A) costs of purchase, operation, maintenance, and 
                calibration of monitor technologies;
                    (B) workforce needs;
                    (C) data infrastructure needs; and
                    (D) any other needs, as determined to be 
                appropriate by the Administrator; and
            (3) technology modernization targets for upgrades to 
        integrated air quality monitoring stations.
    (c) Hyperlocal Monitoring Support.--Not later than 360 days after 
the date on which the Working Group is established under subsection 
(a)(1), the Working Group shall develop and submit to Congress a report 
that includes--
            (1) recommendations for how the Administrator can consider 
        data returned from hybrid methods in designations pursuant to 
        section 107 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7407); and
            (2) recommendations for dedicated staffing at the 
        Environmental Protection Agency to robustly support communities 
        interested in hyperlocal data, for example, assistance with 
        grant applications, co-location of low-cost monitors with 
        Federal reference monitors, and data analysis.

SEC. 6. NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE INVENTORY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States, in 
coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency, shall carry out 
a study to inventory national air quality monitoring infrastructure by 
documenting--
            (1) locations, operation statuses, frequencies of data 
        return, and dates of installation of Federal air quality 
        monitors;
            (2) the number of people living within \1/2\ mile of 
        Federal air quality monitors that continuously return data;
            (3) in coordination with Regional Offices of the 
        Environmental Protection Agency, and State, local, and Tribal 
        air agencies, the locations, operation statuses, and dates of 
        installation of additional air quality monitors that are 
        managed by State, local, and Tribal air agencies;
            (4) data infrastructure and online platforms that are 
        associated with datasets collected by Federal, State, local, 
        and Tribal air quality monitors that are documented under 
        paragraphs (1) and (3); and
            (5) existing workforce capacity and needs for air quality 
        monitoring, analysis and State and local engagement across 
        Federal, State, local, and Tribal levels.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the relevant committees of 
Congress a report that includes--
            (1) a description of the study carried out under subsection 
        (a);
            (2) a description of the results of that study;
            (3) a map of high-priority areas for air quality monitor 
        deployment, based on factors such as proximity to or effects on 
        environmental justice communities, discrepancies between 
        monitor readings and satellite or low-cost sensor readings, 
        proliferation of air pollution sources, and the lack of 
        existing Federal Reference Method or Federal Equivalent Method 
        monitors; and
            (4) recommendations for legislative and regulatory action 
        that would facilitate more effective and targeted air quality 
        management across scales, which may include--
                    (A) monitor placement;
                    (B) monitor accuracy;
                    (C) integration of monitor, modeling, and satellite 
                technologies;
                    (D) Federal Equivalent Methods for hyperlocal 
                monitoring;
                    (E) information gathering and sharing; and
                    (F) maintenance and regular upgrades to monitors 
                and data infrastructure.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator 
$11,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 for the purposes 
of--
            (1) carrying out this Act; and
            (2) funding 8 new full-time equivalent positions to assist 
        the Administrator in carrying out this Act.

SEC. 8. SAVINGS CLAUSE.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed as altering, limiting, 
revising, or weakening existing Federal law to protect public health or 
welfare from air pollution.
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