The Wildfire Emissions Prevention Act of 2026 modifies how the federal government handles air quality data affected by prescribed fires and wildfire smoke. The bill expands the Clean Air Act's definition of "exceptional events" to explicitly include prescribed fires, which are deliberately controlled burns used to reduce wildfire risk and achieve forest management goals, and clarifies that cultural burning activities by Indian tribes qualify as prescribed fires. The Environmental Protection Agency must revise its regulations within 270 days to make it easier for states to demonstrate exceptional events and establish procedures for states to petition for approval, with a one-year deadline for the EPA to approve or deny these petitions; if the EPA doesn't respond within a year, the petition is automatically approved. The bill also establishes a "Smoke Ready Communities" grant program that provides federal funding to states, Indian tribes, and other entities to help protect community buildings like schools from wildfire smoke, with grants covering up to 90 percent of costs though this requirement can be waived in economically distressed areas. No more than 25 percent of annual grant funding may go to any single state.
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