Smoke and Heat Ready Communities Act of 2025
Key claim: The Smoke and Heat Ready Communities Act of 2025 authorizes the EPA to award grants to air pollution control agencies, establish four university Centers of Excellence, and conduct research and competitive community-planning grants to help localities detect, prepare for, communicate about, and mitigate wildfire smoke and extreme heat.
Abstract
(S341 · 119th Congress) Smoke and Heat Ready Communities Act of 2025 This bill authorizes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make grants to air pollution control agencies to support the development and implementation of programs that support local communities in detecting, preparing for, communicating with the public about, or mitigating the environmental and public health aspects of wildfire smoke and extreme heat. The EPA must establish a formula to distribute the grants among air pollution control agencies. The bill requires the EPA to establish four Centers of Excellence for Wildfire Smoke and Extreme Heat at institutions of higher education to research (1) the effects of smoke emissions from wildland fires and extreme heat on public health, and (2) the means by which communities can better respond to impacts from such conditions. Additionally, the EPA must begin to carry out research to study the health effects of smoke emissions from wildland fires and extreme heat; develop and disseminate personal and community-based interventions to reduce exposure to, and health effects of, wildland fire smoke emissions and extreme heat; increase the quality of smoke and extreme heat monitoring and prediction tools and techniques; and develop implementation and communication strategies. The EPA must also establish a competitive grant program to assist certain entities (e.g., a state) in developing and implementing collaborative community plans for mitigating the impacts of smoke emissions from wildland fires and extreme heat. Latest action (2025-01-30): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Why this matters
Wildfire smoke and extreme heat are increasingly dominant drivers of poor air quality and heat-related morbidity, but existing EPA authorities focus on emissions sources rather than downstream community exposure. This bill would formalize a federal role in local detection, risk communication, and mitigation planning, and stand up university Centers of Excellence to build a research base — practical implications include new grant funding streams for air agencies and localities, and a broader interpretation of EPA’s public-health mission beyond stationary-source emissions.