A public interest group is calling for stepped up enforcement of EPA administered industrial facility safety rules that require disclosure of facilities' data after a federal court expedited compliance with an Obama-era rule strengthening the agency's accident prevention program, even as the Trump administration seeks to roll the rule back.
September 16, 2026
Appellate court judges have again granted environmentalists' request to force quick implementation of an Obama-era rule tightening facility safety requirements, expediting its ruling that struck down a Trump administration effort to delay the rule's effectiveness by almost two years while the agency considers whether to undo the stricter mandates.
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As floodwaters from Hurricane Florence threaten industrial facilities in the Carolinas, the City of Houston, House Democrats, and former EPA staff are strongly opposing the Trump administration's rollback of an Obama-era rule strengthening EPA's facility accident prevention program, arguing it would make facilities more vulnerable to flooding.
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State and environmentalist petitioners are reiterating their request for an appellate court to compel the agency to quickly implement an Obama-era update to the agency's facility accident prevention rule, arguing that accidents are occurring regularly, and that the court already found the Trump administration's delay causes harm.
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Senate Republicans have introduced a bill to reauthorize a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) facility safety program that would streamline compliance for certain facilities, but rejects calls from House Democrats and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to bolster the disclosure of facility data to first responders.
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EPA, chemical manufacturers, and GOP-led states are urging a federal appellate court to reject environmentalists' request to compel the agency to quickly implement an Obama-era update to the agency's facility accident prevention rule, arguing petitioners have failed to show the rare move is needed and that a prior RMP rule reduces risks.
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A federal appellate court has withdrawn its order striking down the Trump EPA's delay of an Obama-era rule tightening facility safety requirements, saying it “inadvertently” issued its mandate, a procedural step finalizing its ruling, following environmentalists' request and will give EPA and other litigants one day to oppose advocates' request.
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Environmentalists and Democratic-led states are threatening to sue EPA if the agency does not drop its plan to roll back the Obama-era rule strengthening the agency's facility accident prevention program, citing the recent appellate ruling vacating EPA's measure delaying the rule's implementation.
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Environmental and community petitioners are urging an appellate court that struck down the Trump administration's delay of the Obama-era facility accident preventation rule to quickly finalize its ruling, arguing that continued delay poses risks to millions, and that EPA is unlikely to prevail in any future appeal.
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Environmentalists and industry attorneys say the appellate court ruling vacating the Trump administration's delay of the Obama-era facility safety rule sets a high bar for EPA's ongoing effort to revise the regulation, given the judges' emphasis on EPA's Clean Air Act duty to prevent disasters and failure to show the delay was consistent with increased safety.
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