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February 19, 2026Trump’s EPA proposes gutting chemical disaster protections, threatening community health and safety
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed weaker regulations for the nation’s most hazardous chemical facilities, drawing opposition from community, environmental justice, labor and environmental health groups.
“This rollback will cost lives,” said Michele Roberts, National Coordinator of the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform. “EJHA affiliates refuse to continue to sacrifice their families’ health and safety for the profits of corporate polluters.”
EPA’s proposal would weaken or eliminate key requirements for facilities regulated by the EPA’s Risk Management Program (RMP), that use or store mass quantities of flammable and/or toxic chemicals. Among the rollbacks, the proposal would:
- Let existing RMP facilities off the hook for considering and/or implementing safer chemicals and processes;
- Eliminate explicit requirements for RMP facilities to assess and plan for natural hazards and power loss in their Risk Management Plans;
- Require fewer RMP facilities to conduct independent safety audits, including facilities that have reported a previous chemical disasters;
- Rescind stop work authority for employees at RMP facilities, as well as other vital employee participation measures that intended to help protect workers and prevent future disasters.
The Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention Rule, finalized in 2024, was celebrated as a major step forward for chemical facility safety. It newly required RMP facilities to account for climate change risks, involve workers in disaster prevention and preparedness, and in some cases, implement safer technology and chemical alternatives. These requirements have yet to be implemented; and this Administration is once again proposing to roll back these protections, before communities and workers had a chance to benefit from them.
Chemical incidents continue to occur every other day on average in the United States. At least 215 dangerous chemical incidents, including fires, explosions, and toxic releases occurred in 2025, as documented by the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters; at least 66 incidents occurred last year at facilities regulated by the Risk Management Program.
“This proposed rule is a direct assault on safety and a political gift to polluters,” said Ana Parras, Executive Director of Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (T.e.j.a.s) “For fenceline communities and facility workers, this rollback is a declaration that our lives are deemed acceptable sacrifices. By ripping away the requirement for safer technologies, the administration is actively increasing the threat of explosions and toxic releases - preventable disasters that will deepen environmental injustice for generations."
“There have been over 1300 chemical incidents, dozens of lives lost, and hundreds of communities evacuated since 2020. During that time, our communities have participated in lengthy regulatory processes, going through the right channels, to win stronger regulations for the country’s most hazardous facilities,” said Beto Lugo-Martinez, executive director of RiSE4EJ, citing the Chemical Incident Tracker. “This administration’s rushed deregulation will only invite more chemical disasters.”
“This administration wants to play ping pong with the already commonsense protections that were finalized in 2024 after decades of input from communities, workers, and industry alike,” said Maya Nye, Federal Policy Director for Coming Clean. “Millions of Americans in harm’s way of chemical disasters are waiting for protections while industry lobbyists once again rewrite the rules. Enough is enough. Communities around these facilities and workers are hurt the most by rollbacks. Playing policy ping-pong is a waste of limited EPA staff time and shrinking taxpayer resources.”
“EPA has the authority and moral obligation to do more, not less, to reduce risk and eliminate the harm from chemical disasters that endanger workers and poison neighboring residents. Instead of going back again and rewriting basic protections for workers and communities, EPA must implement the 2024 provisions and move on to strengthen other overdue or outdated rules required to protect human health and the environment, as is their mission,”said Michele Roberts, National Coordinator of the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform.
Available for Comment
Deidre Nelms; Communications Director; Coming Clean; (802) 251-0203 ext. 711, dnelms@comingcleaninc.org.