What They Are Saying... Rep Evans' FIRE Act

Key stakeholder support is flooding in for Congressman Gabe Evans' Fire Improvement and Reforming Exceptional Events (FIRE) Act. The FIRE Actensures that states are not punished for smoke and emissions they cannot control, while still maintaining strong environmental protections.

This bill works to provide clarity and predictability for air quality planning, reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens on manufacturers and communities, and reward proactive wildfire mitigation that protects public health and improves air quality for future generations.

Read the full bill text here.

The FIRE Act has received widespread support from stakeholder organizations;

➡️ Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association: "We appreciate the efforts and leadership of Congressman Evans to propose this legislation. We all support clean air, but we need to modernize air quality regulations that do nothing more than to add burden to businesses, add cost and do not result in environmental improvements. Thank you, Congressman Gabe Evans!!"

➡️ Colorado Association of Home Builders: "Excluding emissions from prescribed burns from contributing to air quality standards can help provide additional flexibility for Colorado manufacturers seeking Clean Air Act permits and encourage prescribed burns, which is helpful for forest health and, by extension, logging operations - both of which help with construction material costs and supply chains for homebuilders, helping reduce Colorado's housing affordability challenges." - Ted Leighty, CEO

➡️ Colorado Petroleum Association: "Colorado has long failed to meet the federal air quality standards, with an approach that is costly to consumers, over-regulates businesses of all sizes, and fails to target a primary source of the problem: emissions from wildfires and out-of-state emissions transport. Due to costly and burdensome state air quality regulations, Colorado businesses face significantly higher operating costs than out-of-state competitors, increasing costs for everyone. The FIRE Act is a reasonable approach that will lower costs for Coloradans by clarifying how emissions from wildfires, prescribed burns, and other exceptional events are considered in federal air quality standards. We need more tools to manage air quality, not bureaucratic obstacles."

➡️ Colorado Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association: "Colorado fuel marketers and station owners as well as our customers hope that Colorado pays attention to this much needed and important effort to reduce costs on the Colorado economy and working families. For too long Colorado families have taken more out of limited family budgets, to throw money endlessly to solve an ozone problem the majority of which is out of our control and a lot of which is simply naturally occurring and would be here even if no people lived in Colorado.. Expensive and unnecessary mandates like Reformulated Gasoline, which even our Governor tried his best to oppose, are the result of inaction for years by people and groups who use this archaic law as a way to justify and enhance the economic pain families are feeling. Congressman Evans just provided hope with this legislation, and it can and should avoid further cost increases, in this policy area, on Colorado families. We hope this takes away the need for costly mandates like the proposed indirect source rule proposal which will increase the cost of groceries. Colorado businesses are facing 10's of millions of dollars right now in increases all of which get passed down like an avalanche bury Colorado families. Air quality will continue to improve without further cost burdens. This is simply transformative."

➡️ Colorado Advanced Manufacturing Association: "Manufacturers support Clean Air Act reforms as part of critically needed comprehensive permitting reform. CAMA appreciates your actions to address the mounting permitting challenges facing Colorado manufacturers under increasingly stringent air quality standards. Unless addressed, these challenges will essentially block permitting approvals for projects critical to economic growth, manufacturing infrastructure, and jobs. Your efforts will foster our industry's ongoing efforts to improve air quality while preventing unnecessary burdens that reduce economic growth and tax revenues vital to local communities."

➡️ Club 20: "Club 20 supports the FIRE Act as a practical solution that protects rural communities from being unfairly penalized for wildfire smoke, while encouraging proactive forest management. This bill helps safeguard Western Colorado's economy, regulatory certainty, and commonsense wildfire mitigation efforts."

➡️ Western Governors Association: "Western Governors thank Representatives Evans and Gray for their bipartisan legislation that removes regulatory barriers to wildfire risk reduction. In recent years, Western Governors have developed and advocated for a range of policy recommendations to increase the pace and scale of forest restoration via broader deployment of prescribed fire. The Fire Improvement and Reforming Exceptional Events (FIRE) Act streamlines the exceptional events process, minimizing its regulatory burden and promoting the safe use of prescribed fire. Western Governors are eager to continue to work with the Energy and Commerce Committee to support important forest management reforms such as the FIRE Act."- Jack Waldorf, Executive Director

➡️ Competitive Enterprise Institute: "Congress needs to take action to ensure that, codified within the CAA, states are not unfairly penalized for prescribed burns. Disincentivizing their use can undermine forest management. And ironically, penalizing the use of prescribed burns can hurt air quality, which undermines the purpose of the CAA."- Daren Bakst, Director of the Center for Energy and Environment

➡️ The American Cement Association: "The below legislation, introduced in this Congress … will balance the need to continue improving air quality while fostering economic growth and innovation."

➡️ Colorado Ready Mix Concrete Association: "The Colorado Ready Mixed Concrete Association wants to thank Representative Gabe Evans for his efforts and fully supports the Fire Improvement and Reforming Exceptional Events (FIRE) Act. This bill will help modernize the Clean Air Act and is a step in the right direction for Colorado."

➡️ The Colorado Oil and Gas Association: "The Colorado Oil & Gas Association strongly endorses Congressman Evans' Fire Improvement and Reforming Exceptional Events (FIRE) Act. This Act will make key updates to Section 319(b) of the Clean Air Act to ensure that states are not penalized in ozone attainment determinations for clearly defined exceptional events like wildfires and prescribed burns. By clarifying how these events and state-approved wildfire mitigation activities are treated in federal air quality reviews, the FIRE Act will provide much-needed clarity to EPA in assessing these events, and in turn, greater regulatory certainty for industries affected by Colorado's ozone non-attainment status in the Front Range. The Colorado Regional Air Quality Council's (RAQC) most recent modeling shows the Front Range's ozone challenge is significantly driven by exceptional events as well as natural sources and international transport of ozone rather than by Colorado businesses. COGA appreciates Congressman Evans' leadership on this issue and looks forward to working with him as this important legislation advances." - Lynn Granger, President, CEO

➡️ U.S. Chamber of Commerce: "Across the country, overreaching regulations have slowed projects that could deliver significant benefits to our economy and environment. By modernizing permitting and clarifying regulatory requirements, Congress can unlock private investment, accelerate job creation, and enhance national security. Importantly, these reforms will allow us to build the modern infrastructure needed to compete in the global race for innovation - supporting advancements in artificial intelligence, strengthening transportation networks, expanding affordable and reliable energy, and ensuring America remains a leader in technology and economic growth."

➡️ Colorado Motor Carriers Association: "Colorado fuel marketers and station owners as well as our customers hope that Colorado pays attention to this much needed and important effort to reduce costs on the Colorado economy and working families. For too long Colorado families have taken more out of limited family budgets, to throw money endlessly to solve an ozone problem the majority of which is out of our control and a lot of which is simply naturally occurring and would be here even if no people lived in Colorado.. Expensive and unnecessary mandates like Reformulated Gasoline, which even our Governor tried his best to oppose, are the result of inaction for years by people and groups who use this archaic law as a way to justify and enhance the economic pain families are feeling.

Congressman Evans just provided hope with this legislation and it can and should avoid further cost increases, in this policy area, on Colorado families. We hope this takes away the need for costly mandates like the proposed indirect source rule proposal which will increase the cost of groceries. Colorado businesses are facing 10's of millions of dollars right now in increases all of which get passed down like an avalanche bury Colorado families. Air quality will continue to improve without further cost burdens. This is simply transformative."

➡️ American Petroleum Institute:"The FIRE Act is a much-needed measure that gives states and businesses the certainty they need to manage exceptional events - like prescribed burns that prevent catastrophic wildfires - while meeting air quality standards and continuing to reduce emissions. We applaud Rep. Gabe Evans for his leadership in advancing practical reforms that protect the environment and strengthen America's energy advantage."

➡️ Tri-State Generation: "The FIRE Act offers an important step toward balancing clean air protections with proactive wildfire mitigation while also promoting coordination between public and private land managers. By recognizing prescribed burns and other risk-reduction measures as essential tools, this legislation ensures states can protect communities from catastrophic wildfires without being penalized for temporary air quality impacts. In turn, this bill will help Tri-State maintain grid reliability and has the potential to lower costs associated with wildfire damage by reducing wildland fuels in landscapes across our service territory." - Duane Highley, CEO

➡️ National Association of Manufacturers: "On behalf of the National Association of Manufacturers, the largest manufacturing trade association in the United States, representing manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states, we write in strong support of…H.R. 6387, the Fire Improvement and Reforming Exceptional Events Act, introduced by Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO), would amend the Clean Air Act to require revisions to regulations governing the review and handling of air quality monitoring data influenced by exceptional events or actions to mitigate wildfire risk."

➡️ American Forest and Paper Association:"Accordingly, we support the Committee's attention to these critical Clean Air Act implementation and permitting issues. These efforts will foster ongoing air quality improvements while preventing unnecessary burdens that reduce economic growth and tax revenues vital to local communities. Specifically, we support the Committee's continued efforts on the following implementation and permitting legislation: H.R.6387: To amend the Clean Air Act to require revisions to regulations governing the review and handling of air quality monitoring data influenced by exceptional events or actions to mitigate wildfire risk."

➡️ National Mining Association: "The National Mining Association (NMA) commends the House Committee on Energy and Commerce for scheduling a markup to move legislation to address permitting obstacles to retaining and expanding U.S. energy infrastructure, including reliable and affordable coal-fired electric generation. Specifically, the NMA urges prompt committee passage of: Congressman Gabe Evans' (R-Colo.) H.R. 6387, the Fire Improvement and Reforming Exceptional Events (FIRE) Act."

➡️ AC-REP: "Businesses in Adams County and across Colorado's Front Range are routinely impacted by wildfire smoke events that are beyond local or even state control. H.R. 6387 provides needed regulatory relief, so employers aren't penalized for air-quality exceedances driven by regional wildfire smoke, while still protecting public health and supporting responsible wildfire mitigation." - Lisa D. Hough, President/CEO