As the Trump administration works to roll back the Obama-era rule strengthening EPA's facility accident prevention program, House Democrats are seeking to codify portions of the rule in pending legislation renewing the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) facility security program and incorporate some of its provisions into any future DHS program.
September 17, 2026
OSHA has scaled back its termination procedures for participants in the agency's Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), narrowing conditions spelled out in a 2013 Obama-era policy for when participating sites must be removed from the program that is designed to recognize exemplary workplace safety and health efforts.
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The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is urging lawmakers to bolster chemical information sharing between facilities and communities even as EPA is proposing to scrap some of the provisions of the Obama-era final rule updating its facility accident prevention program that would bolster such sharing of facility data.
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Labor and other groups are asking a federal court to quickly require the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) to issue a rule requiring chemical facilities to report their accidental releases following an incident, arguing they have standing to bring their case and that a slew of government documents establish a record of CSB's inaction.
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OSHA's review commission appears split over when and how the agency can use its general duty clause powers to cite employers for hazards not covered by the agency's standards, suggesting that the outcome of two pending cases under review may not provide clear indications of how regulators may proceed in the future.
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As House Republicans prepare for a possible floor debate on immigration legislation, Democrats and labor unions are stepping up their efforts to bolster workplace safety for migrant workers, building on an issue that has created a rift in the GOP which has grown deeper in the face of the Trump administration's strict limits on immigration.
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OSHA's enforcement review commission is holding unusual oral arguments June 7 in two closely watched cases that attorneys say could test the agency's power to cite employers under its general duty clause for heat stress and workplace violence -- two emerging issues for which OSHA has not set unique standards and is thus forced to rely on its general duty powers when citing employers.
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Representatives of labor unions representing auto manufacturing workers and at least two California air board members are praising a draft policy by air board and labor department staff that aims to ensure companies participating in the board's zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) purchase rebate program treat workers in a “fair and responsible” manner.
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EPA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) in a critical new report is detailing challenges facing the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), including that leadership lacks authority to address board members' policy violations, and that the Trump administration's proposals to eliminate CSB are harming efforts to attract and retain employees.
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EPA is further narrowing its approach for assessing the risks of the first 10 “existing” chemicals it is reviewing for possible regulation under the new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), issuing problem formulation documents that preclude consideration of risks that programs administered by other agencies, such as OSHA, are already addressing.
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After years of additional study and scientific review, EPA has again preliminarily found that formaldehyde poses leukemia and other cancer risks, according to three Democratic senators who also say the draft finding has prompted Trump EPA appointees to block release of the assessment and they are urging Administrator Scott Pruitt to quickly release it.
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Lowe's hardware store chain is planning to phase out paint strippers containing methylene chloride and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) from its global product selection by the end of the year, an announcement that comes days after EPA reversed course and pledged to complete a landmark Obama-era rule regulating similar uses of the chemical.
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States and industry attorneys are instructing employers who operate under OSHA-approved state plans to ignore a recent enforcement directive from federal OSHA that stated that the employers are required to submit their injury and illness data as required under the 2016 Obama-era recordkeeping update rule by July 1.
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Even as the Trump administration works to roll back Obama-era measures strengthening facility safety rules, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is urging EPA and OSHA to strengthen their requirements after its investigation of industrial incidents sparked by Hurricane Harvey flood waters found that the agencies do not adequately address risks.
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The Trump administration plan to scrap the Obama-era rule strengthening EPA's facility accident prevention program and wait for the OSHA to advance a similar rulemaking could stall changes to facility oversight for the foreseeable future, as OSHA has shelved plans to update its companion rule.
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Supporters of the Trump administration's deregulatory agenda are urging lawmakers to codify President Donald Trump's executive order (EO) forcing OSHA, EPA and other agencies to repeal two existing rules for every new measure, though their call is drawing strong pushback from Democrats who say it will undermine protections by limiting rules' estimated benefits and devalue human lives.
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Vanessa Allen Sutherland, who the Obama administration appointed to lead the federal board that investigates industrial chemical accidents, announced unexpectedly May 21 that she will be resigning from the board next month, though it is not clear if or who President Trump will select to fill two vacant slots on the panel given his administration's push to eliminate it.
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Democrats are taking the rare step of using the Congressional Review Act (CRA) -- the law that eases Congress' ability to repeal federal rules -- to block a Trump administration rule rolling back Obama-era 'net neutrality' mandates, despite criticism from safety advocates that it legitimizes use of a poorly-written law that Republicans and industry have long-used as a deregulatory tool and which they are seeking to repeal.
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The House Farm Bill includes language that would codify OSHA's Process Safety Management (PSM) rule's exemption for retail facilities, an issue that roiled the Obama administration, but the measure's fate is uncertain after House lawmakers failed to approve the underlying bill May 18.
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The Trump administration is proposing to scrap most requirements of the Obama-era final rule updating EPA's facility accident prevention program, rescinding numerous new safety requirements in response to industry and state petitions, and arguing that EPA failed to adequately coordinate with other agencies in issuing the costly changes.
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