No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act, including (1) Administrator, meaning the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; (2) covered childcare facility, meaning a facility used by an early childhood education program (as defined in section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965); (3) indoor, meaning enclosed portions of buildings such as nonindustrial workplaces, public buildings, Federal buildings, schools, childcare facilities, commercial buildings, and residences; (4) indoor air contaminant, meaning any solid, liquid, semisolid, dissolved solid, biogenic agent, aerosol, or gaseous material (including mixtures) in indoor air reasonably anticipated to adversely affect human health; (5) indoor contaminant of concern, meaning a commonly occurring indoor air contaminant posing a health risk or a less common one posing a significant health risk; (6) local educational agency, meaning a local educational agency (as defined in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) or a Tribal education agency (as defined in the National Environmental Education Act); and (7) State, meaning any State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
This section establishes an indoor air quality program to be carried out by the EPA Administrator to support the assessment, reduction, and avoidance of exposure to indoor air contaminants to reduce human health risks. In implementing the program, the Administrator must conduct research (including under the Radon Gas and Indoor Air Quality Research Act of 1986), list and issue guidelines for indoor contaminants of concern, provide training and technical assistance on contaminant identification and mitigation (including mold and humidity), promote voluntary building certifications, coordinate with specified federal agencies, assist state and local entities and schools, offer public guidance, develop standardized measurement methods and control technologies, assess effectiveness of mitigation strategies, support model building code provisions, address climate resilience, and prioritize disadvantaged communities.
This section requires the EPA Administrator to establish and maintain a list of indoor contaminants of concern—not later than 5 years after enactment for the initial list, which at a minimum includes particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, formaldehyde, and radon—and to publish science-based voluntary guidelines for each contaminant on the list. The guidelines must include recommendations for building operation, maintenance, design, construction, and renovation to reduce exposure; be technologically achievable, cost-effective, and based on available research; and, where sufficient evidence exists, incorporate health-based concentration limits derived from the best available science (potentially with ranges for healthy adults and susceptible subpopulations such as infants, children, pregnant women, workers, and the elderly). If evidence is insufficient for concentration limits, the Administrator must publish a report within 1 year identifying needed studies and resources, along with interim best-practice guidelines to reduce exposure. The Administrator must review and revise the list and guidelines at least every 5 years; consult representatives from relevant organizations and experts in fields including indoor air quality, public health, and toxicology; and ensure consistency with Department of Labor workplace regulations (after consultation with the Secretary of Labor) and Department of Energy conservation standards (after consultation with the Secretary of Energy), while allowing recommendations for additional voluntary actions to protect non-workers.
This section directs the EPA Administrator to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences, not later than one year after enactment, for a study assessing the feasibility of developing a science-based indoor air quality index to inform public health protection actions. Not later than two years after the agreement, the Academy must submit a report to Congress and the Administrator that (1) recommends index development parameters, including clear public communication of air quality levels and concerns, consideration of sensitive populations, feasibility of low-cost real-time sensors, and provisions for scientific updates and harmonization with guidelines under section 4; (2) proposes methodologies, inputs, measurements, techniques, and equations for calculating the index; and (3) identifies limitations and challenges. This section authorizes $1 million, to remain available until expended, to carry out these requirements.
This section authorizes the Administrator to provide technical assistance and financial assistance, including grants, to state, local, and Tribal governments, local educational agencies, housing authorities, nonprofit organizations, labor organizations, and other persons to develop and implement programs to assess and improve indoor air quality. Financial assistance must support (1) educational, training, technical assistance, assessment, monitoring, benchmarking, response, and related programs to reduce exposure to indoor air contaminants; (2) mitigation of health risks from indoor air contaminants due to extreme weather events and climate change consequences; or (3) adoption or adaptation of indoor air quality guidelines published under section 4, or development of standards based on such guidelines, including related assessment and compliance programs. The federal share of activity costs may not exceed 75 percent.
This section establishes a voluntary certification program administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for buildings built, operated, and maintained to prevent or minimize health risks from indoor air contaminants. To qualify, building owners or operators must adhere to EPA guidelines issued under section 4 of the bill and develop and maintain an indoor air quality management plan using EPA-approved best practices. The program may recognize indoor air quality improvements in existing buildings (e.g., via source control, air filtration, and ventilation) and may be carried out directly by EPA or through recognized third-party processes.
This section directs the Administrator of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to recommend, not later than one year after enactment, one or more model provisions for building design, operation, and maintenance to address indoor air quality—including ventilation, filtration, air cleaning, and control of infectious aerosols and indoor contaminants—for adoption by states and local jurisdictions in their building codes. The recommendations must consider voluntary consensus standards; be developed in consultation with relevant expert organizations and the Secretary of Energy (to avoid conflicts with, though allowing additive or more stringent requirements than, approved model energy codes); and be reviewed and revised as necessary at least every three years. Not less than 12 months after issuing recommendations, the Administrator must determine incremental costs and 30-year health benefits of compliance for new single-family homes, multifamily dwelling units, and representative commercial building prototypes.
This section directs the EPA Administrator to conduct a national assessment of indoor air quality in buildings used by local educational agencies (i.e., public K-12 schools) and covered childcare facilities, including an initial assessment not later than three years after enactment and updates every five years thereafter. The assessment must incorporate data and metrics to track progress and challenges; evaluate compliance with minimum ventilation rates and standards such as ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1–2022; use methods including surveys or representative sampling; be informed by an advisory group of stakeholders and experts; and culminate in congressional reports with recommendations to reduce indoor air contaminants. This section further requires the Administrator to develop tailored guidance, best practices, technical assistance, training, and outreach for students, parents, educators, childcare providers, staff, Indian Tribes, and low-income communities; ensure at least one certification under section 7 applies to such buildings; and coordinate with the Departments of Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Labor, and other agencies to align federal assistance for school and childcare building improvements with EPA guidance.
This section (1) prohibits construing this Act to preempt, displace, or supplant any other State or Federal law, whether statutory or common, or any local ordinance; and (2) specifies that, for purposes of sec. 4(b)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 653(b)(1)), the Administrator exercising authority under this Act is not considered to be exercising statutory authority to prescribe or enforce standards or regulations affecting occupational safety or health. (OSHA sec. 4(b)(1) exempts from OSHA coverage working conditions over which other federal agencies exercise such authority. Thus, this provision ensures OSHA standards continue to apply to workplaces and activities under this Act.)