Key facts
- Chemical industry groups have backed laws in Louisiana, Kentucky, and Ohio that restrict the use of community-collected air pollution data for regulatory enforcement.
- These laws require air quality data to come from EPA-approved equipment, which typically costs tens of thousands of dollars.
- Similar legislation has been introduced in West Virginia, but industry groups opposed a compromise that would have allowed regulators to consider community data.
- In Ohio, a lawsuit was filed by residents, including Donna Ballinger, alleging that new rules make their monitor readings useless as evidence.
- Federal grants supporting the public air monitoring network have fallen more than 35% over two decades, and the number of government air monitors has decreased by nearly half.
- Nearly six in 10 US counties have no public air monitor, and remaining stations often use outdated equipment.
Chemical industry groups have successfully lobbied for laws in Louisiana, Kentucky, and Ohio that restrict the use of community-collected air pollution data for regulatory enforcement. These laws mandate that only data from expensive, EPA-approved equipment can be used, effectively rendering readings from more affordable, low-cost sensors invalid for official action. Similar legislation has been introduced in West Virginia, though a compromise bill that would have allowed regulators to consider community data was opposed by industry groups.
These legislative efforts come at a time when the public network for monitoring air pollution is deteriorating. Federal grants supporting this network have decreased by over 35% in real terms over the past two decades, and the number of government air monitors nationwide has fallen by nearly half. Consequently, nearly 60% of US counties lack any public air monitor, and existing stations often struggle with maintenance issues, with some resorting to purchasing discontinued parts online.
In Louisiana, a state with significant oil, gas, and petrochemical production, public monitors are often located far from industrial polluters and do not test for some of the most dangerous chemicals. The Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN) had its federal grant canceled by the Trump administration, hindering its efforts to deploy community monitors. The state's Chemistry Association helped draft the Community Air Monitoring Reliability Act, which requires data to meet EPA-approved standards for enforcement.
Kentucky's 2025 law, requiring 'scientifically defensible' methods, echoed language from an American Chemistry Council blog post. The ACC, along with the American Petroleum Institute and companies like Chemours and Dow Chemical, lobbied for this bill. Despite industry opposition to compromise, Kentucky regulators previously used community monitoring to document toxic air in Louisville, leading to regulations that reduced toxic air contaminants by nearly 80%.
In Ohio, the restriction was included in a budget bill, leading to a lawsuit from residents like Donna Ballinger, who uses a low-cost monitor near a steel plant and fears cancer. The Ohio Chamber of Commerce expressed concerns about misinformation from uncalibrated monitors, comparing it to using an uncalibrated speed gun. Chemours stated its objection to using unverified community monitoring results for enforcement.