The proposed bill would amend current statutes by adding a requirement for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to submit an exceptional event demonstration to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) if a wildfire larger than 25,000 acres occurs on federally managed land and the resulting smoke or land damage affects Arizona. This new provision is intended to ensure that significant wildfires are properly accounted for in air quality assessments.

In addition to this new requirement, the bill maintains the existing language regarding the establishment of substantive policy statements for identifying air quality exceptional events, which must consider Arizona's unique geological, geographical, and climatological conditions. The current statute remains unchanged, except for the insertion of the new language that specifies the conditions under which ADEQ must act in response to large wildfires.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 49-424
House Engrossed Version: 49-424
Senate Engrossed Version: 49-424