Wildfire Air Quality Sensor Expansion Act of 2026

Key Points

• The bill lets local and state air pollution agencies use their existing federal Clean Air Act grants to buy and run portable air sensors, which are cheaper and easier to deploy than traditional air quality monitors.
• It creates a new competitive grant program worth $10 million a year for six years specifically to help rural, remote, and wildfire-affected communities that currently lack air monitoring.
• Congress notes that wildfire smoke worsens heart, lung, and other chronic conditions, and that rural areas often lack both monitoring equipment and reliable internet or media to warn residents.
• The EPA must expand its existing sensor loan programs, including one focused on wildfire smoke response, into states and tribal lands that are not yet participating.
• The EPA is also required to provide technical assistance, such as help with sensor placement, maintenance, and data management, and to publish standardized quality assurance templates within 180 days of enactment.