Bill Excluding Foreign Emissions in Air Evaluations Passes House

The House on Thursday passed a bill in a 220-208 vote that would prevent foreign pollution from affecting the Environmental Protection Agency’s evaluation of a state’s compliance with federal air quality standards.

Known as the Foreign Emissions and Nonattainment Clarification for Economic Stability Act, H.R. 6409 amends the Clean Air Act and is one of a slate of House proposals to revise federal environmental permitting laws. Permitting reform generally has bipartisan support, and the Senate is expected to release a broad package on the issue in the next few months.

Under the bill, foreign emissions from Mexico and Canada would ...