EPA chemical safety rules, finalized in December, delayed until 2019

June 21st, 2017 by Dakota Software Staff Industry News

Environmental Protection Agency rules affecting chemical safety at plants and other facilities are on hold as part of a wide-ranging review process undertaken by the federal environmental regulator's new leadership. The rules, which were previously finalized in December 2016 by Barack Obama's presidential administration, focused on increased safety measures for certain chemical facilities, storehouses and similar operations.

The strengthening of various measures related to safety improvements were spurred on by an explosion at a fertilizer facility in West, Texas. That incident, which occurred in 2013, caused by ammonium nitrate fertilizer, killed 15 people and injured about 160 in total. Casualty figures were amplified since local emergency services were responding to a fire at the site before the explosion. The blast also damaged around 150 buildings, with some of them destroyed completely.

A significant delay for chemical safety changes

The Hill said the major impetus for Scott Pruitt, chief EPA administrator, and the agency's decision to delay enforcement was a desire to take a closer look at the changes involved in the new rules. Enactment was already delayed once in March, which The Hill covered in a separate article. At the time, Pruitt said he wanted to discuss the rules' impact on businesses before they moved any further.

A number of companies in affected industries lobbied Pruitt to delay and repeal the safety regulation. Arguments ranged from issues with the new rules related to operational safety and security to the belief that the previous regulations were effective in keeping employees and other stakeholders safe. Pruitt said the EPA wants to evaluate all of the issues raised by the businesses and individuals who have commented on the delayed regulations and execute a broad review of the policy as it currently stands as well.

"We are seeking additional time to review the program, so that we can fully evaluate the public comments raised by multiple petitioners and consider other issues that may benefit from additional public input," Pruitt said in a statement, according to the Washington Examiner.

This second delay means the safety rules won't go into effect until until late February, 2019. The addition of more than two years to the timetable for enforcement is a major change for businesses that would have otherwise faced significant changes to the way they handle and store chemicals on June 19.