April 2026: Stop the Rollback of the EPA’s Risk Management Program
BACKGROUND: Under the Clean Air Act, the current Risk Management Program (RMP) regulations require about 12,000 facilities across the US that handle extremely hazardous materials to each develop and submit a risk management plan to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prepare for and prevent chemical disasters. But now, the EPA, under pressure from these same facilities, is considering significantly rolling back those regulations and many others.
Under President Obama, new accident prevention provisions were introduced, but the first Trump Administration rolled back many requirements. Under President Biden, new rules strengthened the RMP by restoring and expanding the measures Trump had rolled back. However, in December 2024, sixteen trade associations sent a letter to President-elect Trump requesting wide-ranging regulatory rollbacks. On February 24, 2026, the EPA published its “Commonsense Approach to Chemical Accident Prevention Rule.” This rule proposes a near-complete reversal of all the protections currently in place. It would:
rescind corporations having to provide chemical hazard information to the public upon request,
modify emergency response exercise requirements, and
weaken protections for workers and communities nearby chemical and petrochemical facilities.
A group of labor, environmental, and public health organizations recently stated that this would be a rollback of “long-awaited, life-saving protections.”
ACTION: As required by law, the EPA is now seeking public comments on its proposed elimination of these protections and regulations. Please submit your comments by April 10th, when the public comment period ends. Indicate that you oppose this new EPA Risk Management Program ‘Commonsense’ Approach Rule. You can add that the regulations that the EPA wants to eliminate and weaken are critical health and life-saving protections.
CONTACT: How to leave your comment with the EPA:
Go to www.regulations.gov
Copy and paste Docket ID into search bar: EPA-HQ-OLEM-2025-0313 & hit ‘search’
Click ‘Dockets’ under search bar
Click on ‘Open for Comments’ box
Click ‘Comment’ box
Enter your comment into the ‘Start Typing Comment Here’ box
Scroll down, follow prompts & click ‘Submit Comment’ box
Fill in the information required and type in your comment.
Send a letter-to-the-editor or your local paper on this topic to educate others.
