To amend the Clean Air Act to clarify standards for emissions emanating from outside of the United States, and for other purposes.
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Pfluger introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The FENCES Act amends the Clean Air Act to give states a way to avoid being designated as "nonattainment areas" (places that fail to meet federal air quality standards) if they can show that the pollution is coming from outside their borders. It also prevents the EPA from imposing sanctions or fees on states whose air quality violations are caused by foreign emissions, natural events like wildfires, or vehicle pollution that the state cannot control.
Who Benefits and How
States with severe air pollution near international borders (like California, Texas, and Arizona) benefit by avoiding costly nonattainment sanctions and escaping requirements to impose stricter pollution controls. Industrial facilities such as oil refineries, power plants, and manufacturing plants in these areas benefit from reduced regulatory pressure - they face fewer mandatory emission cuts when the state can blame foreign sources. The oil and gas industry, chemical manufacturers, and heavy industry would see compliance burdens decrease significantly.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Residents living in areas with poor air quality may see slower improvements in air quality, as states have less incentive to reduce local pollution sources when they can attribute problems to foreign emissions. The EPA faces additional administrative burden evaluating state demonstrations and loses enforcement tools. Environmental and public health advocates lose leverage to push for stricter local emission controls. Taxpayers indirectly bear costs if air quality fails to improve despite continued health impacts.
Key Provisions
- Clarifies that both natural and human-caused emissions from outside the US count when evaluating nonattainment status
- Allows states to avoid nonattainment designation entirely if they can prove foreign emissions are the cause
- Creates a new Section 179C that shields states from Clean Air Act sanctions and fees in severe ozone or particulate matter areas
- Permits states to cite emissions from outside their area, exceptional events (like wildfires), or uncontrollable vehicle emissions as defenses
- Requires states to renew their demonstrations every 5 years to maintain protection from sanctions
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Amends the Clean Air Act to allow states to avoid nonattainment designations and associated penalties if emissions causing air quality violations originate from outside the United States or beyond state control.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Provides regulatory relief to states and industries in areas with air quality violations by allowing them to attribute pollution to foreign or uncontrollable sources"
Likely Beneficiaries
- States with air quality nonattainment areas near international borders (e.g., California, Texas, Arizona)
- Industrial facilities in nonattainment areas that would otherwise face stricter emission controls
- Petroleum refineries, power plants, and manufacturing facilities in affected regions
- State environmental agencies (reduced regulatory burden)
Likely Burden Bearers
- EPA (must evaluate state demonstrations)
- Residents of nonattainment areas (potentially reduced air quality improvement efforts)
- Environmental advocacy groups (weakened enforcement mechanisms)
- Public health (potential for continued exposure to poor air quality)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_administrator"
- → EPA Administrator
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Emissions from sources located outside US borders, regardless of whether such emissions result from human activity
As defined in section 319(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act - typically natural disasters, wildfires, or other extraordinary events beyond normal control
An area classified under section 181 as Severe Area or Extreme Area for ozone, or under section 188 as Serious Area for particulate matter
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology