California Democrats call on EPA to ensure air pollution rule does not prevent controlled burns

California’s two senators and several members of its House delegation on Tuesday called for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement tighter rules on air pollution without constraining the use of controlled burns to limit wildfires.

In the letter, Sens. Alex Padilla (D) and Dianne Feinstein (D) joined Reps. Scott Peters (D) and Jared Huffman (D) in expressing support for the EPA’s proposed ambient air quality standard, which would lower the allowable fine particulate pollution.  

The members wrote that despite their support for the tighter regulation, “We are concerned that the proposed rule could inadvertently hinder the ability of land managers to deploy prescribed fires that help California avoid the larger catastrophic wildfires that more significantly pollute the air and threaten public safety.”

Controlled burns are deliberately caused, tightly regulated fires with goals such as reducing potential fuel for uncontrolled fires, promoting growth and reducing invasive species. In 2021, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill into law allowing for expanded use of the practice.

Smoke from wildfires in the Golden State has wound back much of the state’s progress on clean air, according to the letter, making it particularly vital to maintain prescribed burns as an option.

Restricting the use of controlled burns “would only exacerbate the risk of catastrophic wildfires that decimate communities and fundamentally undermine the air quality gains we are all working together to achieve,” they wrote.

The letter comes days after much of the East Coast of the U.S. was blanketed in a haze from wildfires in eastern Canada, causing a particular hazard to those with existing respiratory issues and at points posing a threat to everyone in the area.

The letter was co-signed by Democratic California Reps. Pete Aguilar, Salud Carbajal, Lou Correa, Jim Costa, Mark DeSaulnier, John Garamendi, Josh Harder, Sara Jacobs, Mike Levin, Ted Lieu, Zoe Lofgren, Doris Matsui, Kevin Mullin, Grace Napolitano, Jimmy Panetta, Katie Porter, Adam Schiff, Mike Thompson, Juan Vargas, Eric Swalwell and Brad Sherman.