Legislation would update and expand online tools, integrate technologies across scales, and inventory national infrastructure to improve air quality management

Washington (January 14, 2022)—Today, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, introduced the Technology Assessment for Air Quality Management Act, legislation to authorize $55 million over five years for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to annually update and expand its online air quality toolbox with best-available monitoring technologies and associated uses of data, connect the toolbox with environmental justice mapping and screening tools, and create full-time equivalent positions to support the work. The legislation would also establish a working group consisting of representatives from EPA regional offices, air agencies, environmental justice networks, data science, and public health science to develop templates for integrated monitoring systems. In addition, it would direct the EPA and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an inventory of the locations and operation statuses of air monitors, existing data infrastructure, high-priority areas for monitoring deployment in environmental justice communities, and workforce needs to improve air quality management across scales.

“Now, more than ever, we need to address the deep-rooted injustices of air pollution and its disparate effects on our communities’ public health,” said Senator Markey. “As air quality technologies continue to improve, we must use those improvements to institute better, bolder, more adaptive, and more equitable assessments and management of air quality nationwide.”

A copy of the bill text can be found HERE.

The legislation is co-sponsored in the Senate by Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Cory A. Booker (D-N.J.).

The legislation is endorsed by Environmental Defense Fund, American Lung Association, Clean Air Task Force, American Thoracic Society, and Dr. Sacoby Wilson (Director of the Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health).

“Hyperlocal air quality monitoring technologies are critically important for understanding the local health impacts of air pollution,” said Sarah Vogel, Senior Vice President for Health at the Environmental Defense Fund. “We need better data on local sources of air pollution, information on health outcomes, and the ability to integrate this data into decision-making. We thank Senator Markey for introducing the Technology Assessment for Air Quality Management Act, which would provide needed tools to better understand air pollution and protect health.”

“Thank you to Senator Markey for introducing the Technology Assessment for Air Quality Management Act and for his continued leadership on addressing air pollution,” said Harold Wimmer, President & CEO of the American Lung Association. “Accurately monitoring air quality is a key component in protecting public health, and it is especially important to prioritize monitoring in the communities that have been left behind in the pursuit for healthy air. Exploring ways to expand air quality monitoring and ensuring that data is efficiently shared with local communities is necessary to ensure clean air for all.”

“Innovative technologies play a critical role to improve our understanding of the air pollution burden in our nation, especially in environmental justice communities,” said Dr. John Graham, Senior Scientist of the Clean Air Task Force. “This Act will provide a fundamental database of air pollution monitoring techniques and their uses and will help optimize resource deployment to improve the safety of communities.”