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CIVIC HERALD
HR 161 · 119th Congress · HouseOther

New Source Review Permitting Improvement Act

In plain language: This bill narrows when industrial facilities like power plants and factories must obtain major Clean Air Act permits before modifying their operations. Facilities would not need new permits for upgrades intended to improve safety, reliability, or efficiency, as long as their maximum hourly emissions do not exceed levels reached in the prior 10 years. Additionally, companies could begin costly site preparation and construction work before receiving an air permit, provided they have not yet built the specific equipment that releases pollution.

Provisional: our plain-language summary, pending review.

Provisionalunreviewed: impact, issue tags, provisions, stakeholders, summary
People affected—The text directly regulates stationary industrial facilities and Clean Air Act permitting processes; it does not identify a specific population count.
Fiscal magnitude—no CBO estimate published
Reach62provisional · pending reviewrigor: heuristic llm
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Issues

What this bill touches.

Pollution & development−55Regulation (cross-sector)−50

The sign shows the bill's direction on each issue (+ toward, − away); the number is its magnitude. Color never encodes good or bad, and never party.

Who it affects

Who it helps · who it burdens.

Who it helps

  • Owners and operators of industrial stationary sources and major emitting facilitiesOwners and operators of major emitting facilities and stationary sources benefit from narrower definitions of regulated modifications under the Clean Air Act. They are exempted from preconstruction permit rules for efficiency, safety, and reliability projects (Sec. 2), and are allowed to conduct costly, permanent site preparation activities prior to receiving a construction permit (Sec. 3(a), Sec. 4(b)).provisional

Dollar-level funding (FEC sector totals) is coming in a later phase.

What it does

The provisions, in plain language.

  1. Defines an emissions increase under the Clean Air Act to occur only when a facility's maximum achievable hourly pollution rate after a change is higher than its peak achievable hourly rate during any hour in the preceding 10 years.

    Sec. 2(2)provisional

  2. Exempts facility changes from being classified as regulated modifications if they are designed to lower emissions per unit of production or to maintain, restore, or improve safety or operational reliability.

    Sec. 2(3)provisional

  3. Limits Clean Air Act preconstruction permit requirements in attainment areas strictly to the physical construction of actual emissions units, allowing facilities to begin other permanent, costly, or site-altering preparation work before obtaining a permit.

    Sec. 3(a)provisional

  4. Limits nonattainment area preconstruction permit requirements strictly to the physical construction of actual emissions units, allowing facilities to conduct other site-altering, permanent, or preparatory construction activities prior to permit approval.

    Sec. 4(b)provisional

How your members of Congress line up

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Timeline

How it moved.

  1. Apr 28, 2026Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 542.
  2. Apr 28, 2026Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 119-625.
  3. Apr 28, 2026Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 119-625.
  4. Jan 21, 2026Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 28 - 23.
  5. Jan 3, 2025Introduced in House
  6. Jan 3, 2025Introduced in House

The original text

Read it for yourself.

Read the original text →

Sources & provenance

Congress.govrefreshed 17 days ago

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