The Trump administration has moved to rewrite rules designed to prevent disasters at thousands of chemical facilities around the country.
The Environmental Protection Agency filed a motion in federal court on Thursday to regain the safety regulations introduced under former President Joe Biden last year. The regulations that came into effect in May require sites that handle dangerous chemicals to adopt new safeguards, including explicit measures to prepare for storms, floods and other climate-related risks.
They also need facilities to scrutinise the use of particularly dangerous chemicals, switch to safer alternatives, and share more information with neighbors and emergency responders. Additionally, facilities that have suffered prior accidents must also undergo an independent audit.
President Trump's EPA intends to rewrite these rules, the agency said in a filing before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. It essentially makes legal challenges a legal challenge, similar to the legal challenge launched last year by a Republican lawyer group and the chemical industry.
The American Chemistry Council, a leading industry group and a participant in the legal challenge, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
EarthJustice, the nonprofit law group that has sued the Trump organization more than 200 times in favor of environmental rules, has denounced the move. “A chemical explosion will evacuate the entire neighborhood. Adam Cron, an advocacy lawyer, said: “Workers have been burning, lung damage and, worse, companies have cut corners to save money.”
The move comes as the Trump administration embarked on a broad dismantling of climate and environmental policies across the federal government. The EPA has not provided details by submitting details of the planned rewrite, and agency spokeswoman Molly Vaseliou said the agency has no comment beyond the filing. The rules came into effect last May, but some requirements were to be phased out for more than a few years, so some of the necessary practices may not be in place yet.
In a letter sent to agency manager Lee Zeldin in January, industry groups, including the American Chemistry Council, called for a reexamination of key components of many regulations. “The facilities affected by this program are a key component of the US economy, supporting millions of jobs, promoting innovation and maintaining a global competitiveness,” the group said. “It is essential that the EPA takes immediate action to revise key areas of this regulation.”
They also asked the agency to immediately close a public data tool that allowed them to look into the details of local sites that store harmful chemicals, including information about past accidents.
The planned rewrite is the latest in a long-term policy dispute about strengthening what is called a risk management program. First introduced in 1996, RMP regulates approximately 12,000 facilities that deal with hazardous chemicals, including factories, wholesalers, oil refineries, natural gas plants, wastewater treatment plants and fertilizer distributors.
While many of these facilities are important infrastructure, they are also a risk to nearby communities, and store large quantities of highly dangerous substances such as chlorine, anhydrous ammonia and polyvinyl chloride.
The EPA has over 130 million people living within three miles of a site that handles harmful chemicals covered by Biden-era regulations. The 2020 Congressional Research Services Report stated that “worst-case scenario” accidents with any of the most dangerous 2,000 people could put more than 100,000 people at risk.
Former President Barack Obama attempted to tighten the rules after killing 15 people and injuring more than 160 people in a fatal explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant. President Biden then reintroduced strict rules in 2021 and finalized them last year.
