That article is frustrating. It seems to completely ignore the drought conditions in the western states as a big reason why they can't burn as often in the yea

That article is frustrating. It seems to completely ignore the drought conditions in the western states as a big reason why they can't burn as often in the year as FL can... More, none of this actually shows that it is "air quality regulators" that is specifically preventing prescribed burns. That actually reads more as a dog whistle to get people riled up over the idea. And indeed, the linked article presents a better explanation. Liability concerns on decontainment and other impacts goes a long way to stopping people from doing anything. Straight forwardly, if they do a controlled burn and it impacts others, they are liable to make the others whole. If a wildfire happens, they are both victims. That is, this article is a direct downstream event from the "prescribed burn associates" effort of the NPR story. If you have a certified associate, you can get insurance to limit your liability. And this is largely because the certified associate will be following necessary rules and regulations to limit the impact. Any reason to think the associates will not be looking to pollution and safety concerns.