Congress blocks EPA air-quality enforcement, lets Colorado weaken haze standards
S.J.Res. 139 — A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Air Plan Disapproval; Colorado; Regional Haze Plan for the Second Implementation Period". · Filed by Michael Bennet (D-CO) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 19, 2026 · Reported out
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This is a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that blocks an EPA rule disapproving Colorado's regional haze air-quality plan. The EPA had rejected Colorado's plan as inadequate; this resolution voids that EPA disapproval, allowing Colorado's plan to stand. The net effect is that Colorado's weaker air-quality protections remain in place instead of being replaced by EPA-mandated stricter standards.
Why we flagged it
This is a procedural deregulation tool—a CRA disapproval that nullifies an EPA enforcement action, allowing a state air-quality plan the EPA deemed insufficient to remain in effect. It uses the Congressional Review Act mechanism to override executive environmental protection.
What the text implies
- Voiding EPA disapproval of Colorado's plan sets a precedent for using CRA to block EPA enforcement of Clean Air Act regional haze standards, potentially emboldening similar challenges to other state air plans EPA has rejected.
- Colorado's plan remains in effect, but EPA retains authority to disapprove it again if the plan continues to fail regional haze standards—this resolution does not permanently shield the state plan from future EPA action.
- Downwind states (Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico) that depend on Colorado's compliance with regional haze standards to meet their own visibility targets may face increased difficulty achieving federal air-quality goals.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens in Colorado and downwind states lose stronger federal air-quality protections. The EPA's disapproval was based on finding Colorado's plan inadequate to meet Clean Air Act regional haze standards; blocking that disapproval means weaker state standards persist, increasing exposure to visibility-degrading and health-harming particulate pollution.
Who stands to gain
- coal-fired power plants and industrial facilities in Colorado subject to regional haze controls
- energy producers avoiding stricter emission limits
Named in the bill
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), State of Colorado, Clean Air Act, Regional Haze Rule, 91 Fed. Reg. 3048
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Democrats.
- Mar 19, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Mar 19, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works”
- Mar 19, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works discharged, by petition, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 802(c)”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,494 characters) on Jul 9, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress blocks EPA air-quality enforcement, lets Colorado weaken haze standards” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/sjres139 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.