Senate Engrossed

air quality; causation; state boundaries

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

First Regular Session

2025

SENATE BILL 1128

An Act

amending section 49-404, Arizona Revised Statutes; amending title 49, chapter 3, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 49-407.01; relating to air quality.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 49-404, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE49-404. State implementation plan

A. The director shall maintain a state implementation plan that provides for implementation, maintenance and enforcement of national ambient air quality standards and protection of visibility as required by the clean air act.

B. The director may adopt rules that describe procedures for adoption of revisions to the state implementation plan.

c. when considering any revisions to the state implementation plan or rules for the adoption of the state IMPLEMENTATION plan, the DIRECTor shall:

1. consider all of the following:

(a) the best interests of the taxpayer.

(b) all causal factors that affect air QUALITY, including both of the following:

(i) The transport of emissions that ORIGINATE from another domestic state.

(ii) the effects of solar radiation and any ASSOCIATED heat increases.

2. not consider any emissions that EMANATE from OUTSIDE the borders of the united states.

C. d. The state implementation plan and all revisions adopted before September 30, 1992 remain in effect according to their terms, except to the extent otherwise provided by the clean air act, inconsistent with any provision of the clean air act, or revised by the administrator. No control requirement in effect, or required to be adopted by an order, settlement agreement or plan in effect, before the enactment of the clean air act in any area which that is a nonattainment or maintenance area for any air pollutant may be modified after enactment in any manner unless the modification insures ensures equivalent or greater emission reductions of the air pollutant. The director shall evaluate and adopt revisions to the plan in conformity with federal regulations and guidelines promulgated by the administrator for those purposes until the rules required by subsection B of this section are effective. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Title 49, chapter 3, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 49-407.01, to read:

START_STATUTE49-407.01. Attorney general; suits on behalf of this state

The attorney general may file suit on behalf of this state against the United States ENVIRONMENTAL protection agency if the AGENCY does not approve a demonstration THAT ESTABLISHES that any area of this state would achieve and maintain the applicable national ambient air quality STANDARD but for emissions emanatING outside of the United States.END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Legislative findings

The legislature finds that:

1. More than eighty percent of the zone in the Maricopa nonattainment area comes from emissions emanating outside of the United States that are outside of the control of this state.

2. This state and other intermountain states in the region have continued to reduce precursor emissions but ozone levels remain stagnant or in some cases have increased.

3. This state would attain the 2015 national ambient air quality standard for ozone but for emissions emanating from outside of the United States.

4. This state is further impacted not only from wildfires originating in this state, but also fires from outside of this state, specifically in California, where years of neglect and improper forest management has led to large fires whose smoke impacts our region.

5. The United States environmental protection agency is required to approve a state implementation plan that establishes that the state would attain and maintain the relevant air quality standard but for emissions emanating from outside this state pursuant to 42 United States Code section 7509a.

6. The United States environmental protection agency has adopted an interpretation of 42 United States Code section 7509a that is contrary to the plain text of the statute.

7. If 42 United States Code section 7509a were applied as written, the Maricopa nonattainment area would attain and maintain the 2015 national ambient air quality standard for ozone.