Chemical accident rules: the 2019 rescission, the 2024 rule, the 2026 rollback proposal and the push to close the Chemical Safety Board

Case

EPA's Risk Management Program requires facilities that use extremely hazardous substances to plan for accidents. By EPA's own account, a 2017 rule was largely paused, a 2019 rule modified or rescinded some of it, and a 2024 rule restored many of the requirements. EPA announced it was reconsidering the 2024 rule on March 12, 2025 and proposed a rollback on Feb. 24, 2026; no final rule was found. Separately, the administration has repeatedly proposed closing the Chemical Safety Board, a roughly $14 million independent investigator of chemical disasters, and Congress funded it for fiscal 2026.

The rule history: paused, modified, restored, targeted again
Clean Air Act section 112(r)(7) created EPA's Risk Management Program, which requires facilities that use extremely hazardous substances to develop risk management plans identifying hazards.
By EPA's account, the 2017 RMP Amendments rule added new accident-prevention, response and public-disclosure requirements, but key provisions were paused and most never went into effect.
EPA says the 2019 reconsideration rule rescinded or modified some of the 2017 measures. Industry trade groups describe it as rescinding nearly all of the Obama-era changes, which is a stronger characterization than EPA's.
On March 11, 2024 EPA published the Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention rule, which restored many of the 2017 requirements. That was about five years after the 2019 rule.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond led 13 states and the Arizona Legislature in a May 9, 2024 suit in the D.C. Circuit asking the court to vacate the 2024 rule as exceeding EPA's authority.

Second term: reconsideration and the 2026 proposal
Industry trade associations wrote to Administrator Lee Zeldin, congratulating him on his recent confirmation, and asked EPA to rewrite the 2024 rule and to shut down and remove the public Risk Management data tool. The letter's date is not shown in the copy read.
On March 12, 2025, about seven weeks after Trump took office, EPA announced it was reconsidering the 2024 rule, saying it raised national-security concerns and that its prescriptive requirements were of doubtful value and made refineries and chemical facilities less safe and less competitive.
EPA announced on Feb. 13, 2026 and published on Feb. 24, 2026 its "Common Sense Approach to Chemical Accident Prevention" proposal, which it says would reduce regulatory burden. The Union of Concerned Scientists says it would eliminate or weaken much of the 2024 rule.
EPA held a virtual public hearing on March 10, 2026. EPA's page says it accepted comments through May 11, 2026, while the Union of Concerned Scientists' earlier account gave April 10, so the deadline appears to have been extended.
The Union of Concerned Scientists says EPA also eliminated the public data tool quickly and without notice. This is an advocacy group's account.
Thirty-eight members of Congress from both chambers wrote to Zeldin opposing the proposal, saying it would undo core preventive measures and endanger workers, emergency responders and fenceline communities.
C&EN reported in July 2026 that the comment period had ended in May and that EPA said a final regulation is likely to take effect in 2027, if not before. No final rule appeared in the sources found for this entry.

The Chemical Safety Board: closure proposals and Congress's response
The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board is an independent agency that investigates major chemical accidents and recommends safety improvements. It has an annual budget of about $14.4 million and fewer than 50 employees.
The fiscal 2026 budget request sought to eliminate its funding, saying the board duplicates substantial capabilities in EPA and OSHA, and OMB documents said funding should be permanently canceled not later than Sept. 30, 2026.
Congress did not go along. The fiscal 2026 spending package included $14 million for the board; the House passed it 397-28 and the Senate 82-15 on Jan. 15, 2026, and Trump signed it on Jan. 23.
As of January 2026 the board had only two members, Steve Owens and Sylvia Johnson, which left it without a quorum, and both terms expire in February 2027.
The fiscal 2027 request, released in April 2026, again sought to close the board. Safety+Health counts it as the sixth such attempt since 2017. A House subcommittee bill would have funded the board at about $8.2 million, a cut of more than 41%.
On June 3, 2026 the House Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment by Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez restoring the board's funding to $14 million, according to her office; the bill then headed to the House floor.
A chemical tank at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging mill in Longview, Washington failed on May 26, 2026, killing 11 people; the Chemical Safety Board is leading the investigation.
AP reported in June 2026 that the administration still wanted to close the board, and that the board has publicly criticized the administration's rollbacks of the chemical-accident rules.

Perspectives

Official position — EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin / EPA
EPA says the 2024 rule ignored recommendations from national-security experts and made oil and gas refineries and chemical facilities less safe and less competitive, that accident prevention remains a priority, and that its 2019 rules promoted coordination with emergency responders while cutting red tape.

Defender — Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond
Drummond calls the 2024 rule an egregious overreach that is bad for business, harmful to consumers and hostile to the oil and gas industry, and says rolling it back is in the best interest of businesses and consumers.

Defender — American Chemistry Council spokesperson
On the proposal to close the Chemical Safety Board, an ACC spokesperson said the president's proposal is one step in the budget process and that the council appreciates his efforts to ensure taxpayer dollars are used wisely.

Critic — 38 members of Congress (led by Rep. Nanette Barragán and others) and the Union of Concerned Scientists
The lawmakers say the proposal would undo core preventive measures and unnecessarily threaten workers, emergency responders and fenceline communities, including children who attend school near chemical hazards. The Union of Concerned Scientists urged EPA to abandon the rollback and implement the 2024 rule as finalized, saying repeated reversals of the program put communities at risk.

Editorial read — The Author (site author), thesis
The Author's reading: this rule shows how slowly protections are rebuilt and how quickly they can be targeted again. By the sources here it took about five years for a replacement to follow the 2019 rescission, and within roughly a year of the 2025 change in administration EPA had announced reconsideration and then proposed to roll most of it back, after industry asked for that. This is interpretation. The entry does not show that industry's request caused the decision, and the rollback has not been confirmed as final.

Research notes
Open leads: (1) The 2026 rollback was a proposal in every source found; confirm in the Federal Register whether it has been finalized. C&EN reported EPA expects a final rule in 2027, if not before. (2) Fiscal 2027 began Oct. 1, 2026; I found no record of final fiscal 2027 funding for the Chemical Safety Board, only the June 3 House committee vote and a July letter urging the Senate to match it. Confirm what the Senate bill and any continuing resolution provide. (3) Date of the industry letter to Zeldin. (4) UCS says the public data tool was removed; confirm with EPA. (5) The 2019 rule's scope: EPA says it rescinded or modified some of the 2017 measures; industry says nearly all. Check the 2019 Federal Register notice. (6) Related disasters to consider as separate entries: the Longview, Wash. tank failure (May 26, 2026, 11 deaths) and the Garden Grove chemical disaster; the C&EN piece reports an unprecedented number of chemical-plant fatalities over the past year. (7) Method note: "reversed" is used only for steps documented as taken; reconsideration and proposal are not a final reversal.

Note
EPA says the 2024 rule raised national-security concerns and imposed prescriptive requirements that make facilities less competitive; industry's description of the 2019 rule as rescinding nearly all the 2017 changes is stronger than EPA's own wording; the rollback is proposed, not final; fiscal 2027 funding for the Chemical Safety Board was not resolved in the sources found.

Sources
[1] Industry trade groups' letter to Administrator Zeldin (hosted by Earthjustice) (https://earthjustice.org/document/industry-letter-to-zeldin-re-sccap-rollback)
[2] EPA — announces reconsideration of the Risk Management Plan rule (https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USEPAAO/bulletins/3d69c78) · 2025
[3] Union of Concerned Scientists — testimony at EPA's RMP rollback hearing (https://blog.ucs.org/dminovi/epa-common-sense-is-protecting-communities-and-workers-from-chemical-disasters/) · 2026-03-12
[4] Oklahoma Attorney General — praises proposed EPA rollback (https://oklahoma.gov/oag/news/newsroom/2026/february/drummond-praises-proposed-epa-rule-to-rollback-misguided-risk-management-program.html) · 2026-02-20
[5] Rep. Barragán — 38 lawmakers oppose EPA's RMP rule (https://barragan.house.gov/?p=11449)
[6] AIHA — budget proposal would eliminate the Chemical Safety Board (https://www.aiha.org/news/250710-budget-proposal-would-eliminate-csb-begin-closure-this-fiscal-year) · 2025-07-10
[7] AP via WTOP — administration wants to close the chemical-disaster watchdog (https://wtop.com/news/2026/06/trump-administration-wants-to-close-the-watchdog-investigating-west-virginias-chemical-disasters/) · 2026-06
[8] IBJ (ProPublica syndication) — White House proposes shutting down chemical safety agency (https://www.ibj.com/articles/white-house-proposes-shutting-down-chemical-safety-agency) · 2025-05
[9] Bloomberg Government — Trump plan for chemical safety cuts (American Chemistry Council statement) (https://news.bgov.com/labor-relations/trump-threatens-key-osha-ally-with-plan-for-chemical-safety-cuts)
[10] EPA — Common Sense Approach to Chemical Accident Prevention proposed rule (rule history page) (https://www.epa.gov/rmp/common-sense-approach-chemical-accident-prevention-proposed-rule) · 2026-02-24
[11] C&EN — US sees unprecedented number of chemical plant fatalities in past year (https://cen.acs.org/safety/csb-rmp-chemical-facility-accident-deaths/104/web/2026/07) · 2026-07
[12] Chemistry World — Congress rescues Chemical Safety Board earmarked for closure (https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/congress-rescues-industry-watchdog-earmarked-for-closure-by-trump-administration/4022869.article) · 2026-01
[13] Safety+Health — Congress approves bill that includes Chemical Safety Board funding (https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/27793-congress-approves-bill-that-includes-chemical-safety-board-funding/) · 2026-01-20
[14] Safety+Health — House bill would cut Chemical Safety Board's funding by more than 40% (https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/?p=53464) · 2026-05
[15] Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez — House Appropriations adopts amendment to fully fund the Chemical Safety Board (https://gluesenkampperez.house.gov/posts/gluesenkamp-perez-secures-full-funding-for-federal-agency-investigating-mill-incident-in-longview) · 2026-06-03
[16] OPB — Trump budget would eliminate agency investigating Longview chemical disaster (https://www.opb.org/article/2026/05/31/longview-chemical-disaster-trump-budget-would-eliminate-agency-investigating/) · 2026-05-31

Connections

Related — Chemical-industry alumni running EPA's chemical office: Nancy Beck, Lynn Dekleva and others (2017-2026)
Both involve chemical-safety rules the chemical industry asked the Trump EPA to weaken, though they sit in different EPA offices.

Related — East Palestine derailment: the human cost, and the accountability that came 15 months later (2023-2024)
East Palestine shows the stakes of chemical-disaster rules, though the derailment itself was a rail accident rather than a chemical-facility failure.

Same context — Environmental deregulation under EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin
The chemical-accident rollback is one of the rules EPA moved to reverse under Administrator Zeldin.

Related — Synthesis: profit over public protection, from East Palestine to the EPA (2017-2026)
The clearest documented rescinded, replaced and re-targeted rule.