It also seems like the EPA has the power to accept or deny requests: > In total, local regulators made note of almost 700 exceptional events. The EPA agreed to

It also seems like the EPA has the power to accept or deny requests: > In total, local regulators made note of almost 700 exceptional events. The EPA agreed to adjust the data on 139 of them. So the EPA is only making adjustments for 20% of the events, and it seems like the EPA has the ultimate authority here. Doesn’t seem like there’s an issue. I think I’d take issue with the article calling this a loophole when it’s exactly how the law was designed to operate. If I had to take the opposite stance I would say that our lungs and bodies can’t tell the difference where the pollution comes from. Perhaps a state with more frequent wildfires does need to have more stringent human-made emissions standards than states that have few wildfires to keep the overall air quality at an acceptable level. As an analogy, a state with more snowfall might need to spend more money on snow removal and road resurfacing. We don’t just throw up our arms and say “sorry we aren’t doing anything about it because it isn’t the state’s fault.”