California Legislators Call on the EPA to Tighten Pollution Regulations Without Interfering With Controlled Wildfire Burns

Traffic is diverted off of the 71 freeway during the Blue Ridge Fire in Chino Hills, Calif., on Oct. 27, 2020. (David McNew/Getty Images)

California legislators on Tuesday called for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement tighter regulations on air pollution without interfering with controlled wildfire burns, in a letter to EPA (pdf).

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was joined by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) to support the EPA’s proposed ambient air quality standard, which would lower the allowable fine particulate pollution.

Extremely thick smoke from recent Canadian wildfires blanketed the Eastern Seaboard, prompting officials to issue air quality alerts. It refocused wide attention on the issue of fire pollution.

“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,” the legislators wrote in response to their support for tighter regulations.

U.S. Senator Alex Padilla from California speaks in Los Angeles, Calif., on Nov. 10, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Controlled burns are deliberately caused, tightly regulated fires with goals such as reducing potential fuel for uncontrolled fires, promoting growth, and reducing invasive species.

“A lot of our colleagues from other parts of the country [are] finally getting an appreciation for a very real challenge that we’ve had in California for many years,” Padilla said in an interview with KQED.

In 2022, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed pollution and climate change measures into law as part of the state’s California Climate Commitment (pdf).

“This month has been a wake-up call for all of us that later is too late to act on climate change. California isn’t waiting anymore,” Newsom said in a statement at the time. “Together with the Legislature, California is taking the most aggressive action on climate our nation has ever seen. We’re cleaning the air we breathe, holding the big polluters accountable, and ushering in a new era for clean energy. That’s climate action done the California Way—and we’re not only doubling down, but we’re also just getting started.”

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

“The problem is, if you don’t do these controlled burns, you will have more catastrophic fires that blast way past anyone’s air quality standards. And that has become a chronic problem in Northern California year after year,” said Huffman.

Controlled burns produce smoke but are more manageable and less toxic than wildfire smoke.

“If regulators are not allowing us to use the most powerful tool we have to prevent those kinds of massive air quality violations, then we need to urge them to do better. That’s what this letter is all about,” Huffman said.

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,” the letter stated.

California has experienced some of the largest fires in state history and the negative health impacts of lingering wildfire smoke. These devastating fires have burned over 2.5 million acres of land, damaged 30,000 structures, and have been responsible for the destruction of entire communities.

Padilla grew up in a heavily polluted neighborhood of Los Angeles and dedicates his work to ensuring that every family in California and across the country can access clean air.

Padilla has also pushed for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate the impacted Southeast Los Angeles neighborhoods affected by the Exide Pollution as a Superfund site, which will help provide critical resources and expertise for a proper clean-up.

“For decades, Exide dumped lead and hazardous contaminants into these communities without consequence, and it’s clear to me that this community of neighbors, friends, and families has been neglected by just about everyone involved,” Padilla said in a statement. “There’s been misstep after misstep, and it’s time to end that and provide justice finally. I’m calling on the EPA to formally designate these impacted neighborhoods as a federal Superfund site to provide critical federal resources and expertise to ensure Southeast Los Angeles can count on a thorough cleanup that prioritizes the health and safety of everyone living here.”