# 2026-16331: NH so clean, EPA lets it skip extra pollution policing

2026-16331, Response to Clean Air Act Section 176A Petition From New Hampshire, is a Federal Register proposed rule from Environmental Protection Agency published 2026-08-11, effective Comments must be received on or before September 25, 2026.; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16331
- As of: 2026-08-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-16331
- Title: Response to Clean Air Act Section 176A Petition From New Hampshire
- Type: Proposed Rule
- Agencies: Environmental Protection Agency
- Citation: 91 FR 51644
- Published: 2026-08-11
- Effective: Comments must be received on or before September 25, 2026.
- Comments close: 2026-09-25
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-08-18

## In one line

NH so clean, EPA lets it skip extra pollution policing

## Summary

The EPA is planning to say yes to New Hampshire’s request to leave the Ozone Transport Region because the state is doing a great job keeping its air clean. This change means New Hampshire won’t have to follow some extra pollution rules that don’t really help nearby areas. People can share their thoughts by September 25, 2026, and there’s a virtual hearing on August 26, 2026.

## Abstract

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to grant a Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) petition submitted by the state of New Hampshire on December 24, 2025. The petition requests that the EPA remove the State of New Hampshire from the Ozone Transport Region (OTR) based on New Hampshire's continued attainment of the ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and technical analyses demonstrating that the additional control of emissions from the state will not significantly contribute to ozone attainment in any area in the OTR. The OTR was established by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and included the States of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, the District of Columbia, and portions of northern Virginia.

## Effects PRIA read

- OTR Rules Would No Longer Apply to New Hampshire: benefit, medium. The EPA is proposing to remove New Hampshire from the Ozone Transport Region (OTR). If removed, New Hampshire would no longer be subject to the OTR controls required by Clean Air Act section 184(b), including statewide enhanced vehicle inspection-and-maintenance (I/M) requirements, statewide RACT a…
- New Hampshire Seeks to Drop Vehicle I/M Program: benefit, low. New Hampshire has committed to keep existing OTR control measures in its State Implementation Plan (SIP) except it requests to remove the State's vehicle inspection-and-maintenance (I/M) program from the SIP. The I/M SIP revision is being considered separately by the EPA (see docket EPA-R01-OAR-202…

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## Sources
- [2026-16331 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/11/2026-16331/response-to-clean-air-act-section-176a-petition-from-new-hampshire)
- [2026-16331 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-08-11/pdf/2026-16331.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2026-16330, Air Plan Approval; New Hampshire; Repeal of Motor Vehicle Inspection and Mainte…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16330)
- [Next: 2026-16333, Amendment of Class D Airspace and Class E Airspace Over Tri-Cities, TN](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16333)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16331 (as of 2026-08-18).