EPA announces string of deregulatory actions affecting chemicals-related rules

The EPA announced more than 20 actions last week to reconsider existing regulations, including the 2024 TSCA existing chemicals procedural rule and several rules on substances such as ethylene oxide and hydrofluorocarbons. Part of Trump’s deregulatory agenda, the plans also include paring back some enforcement efforts and eliminating environmental justice offices.

Regulatory background: Trump EPA’s deregulatory agenda

• Deregulation has been a driving force of the second Trump administration. In a January announcement naming his pick for EPA administrator, then President-elect DONALD TRUMP put forward a vision of “fair and swift deregulatory decisions.”
• Once in office, Trump signed an executive order called “ Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation” to reduce industry compliance costs by directing federal agencies to identify at least 10 regulations to eliminate for every new one issued or proposed. The January order also blocks agencies from issuing regulations beyond the most recent unified regulatory agenda. [ Read AgencyIQ’s analysis of the order.]
• The White House issued another executive order last month, setting out the types of regulations agencies should reconsider. The order, “ Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Deregulatory Initiative,” looks to rescind or modify regulations meeting certain criteria, increase scrutiny of potential new regulations via those criteria, and deprioritize some enforcement efforts. Th order requires agency heads to submit a list of regulations flagged for potential withdrawal or change to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within 60 days of the order’s publication. [ See AgencyIQ’s analysis of the order.]

Reexamination of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluation process

• On March 10, following a review pursuant to the February executive order, the EPA announced plans to begin rulemaking to reconsider the 2024 TSCA risk evaluation procedural rule. “Considering public comments and concerns, including those from other Federal agencies, the agency intends to initiate further rulemaking in the near future that will reexamine multiple aspects of this rule for consistency with the law and Administration policy,” the EPA stated.
• The effort will examine whether the Biden-era approach of making a single risk determination for the whole chemical, rather than separate determinations per condition of use, is consistent with TSCA. The EPA will also look at whether it “must evaluate all conditions of use of a chemical at the same time in the three years generally allotted by Congress to conduct this review” under TSCA section 6. Additionally, the agency will “reconsider whether and how the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and industrial controls in an occupational work environment should be incorporated into risk evaluations.” The agency noted that it’ll reexamine whether the regulation should define terms more broadly than the statute.
• Reconsidering the existing Biden-era policies would “allow EPA to develop a path forward to ensure a timely review of chemicals while bolstering our commitment to safeguard public health and the environment,” according to Administrator LEE ZELDIN. It would advance the third pillar of his “ Powering the Great American Comeback” initiative – permitting reform, cooperative federalism and cross-agency partnership – “by better integrating best workplace standards from across the Federal government and industry,” he said.
• The American Chemistry Council (ACC), which has criticized the Biden EPA’s approach to TSCA existing chemical reviews, welcomed the news. Revisiting the current regulation could boost the assessments’ predictability, “help protect American innovation, bring chemical production back to the U.S. and strengthen America’s competitiveness,” according to CHRIS JAHN, the trade group’s CEO and president. [ Check out Agency IQ’s forecast of the February executive order’s potential impact on this framework regulation and other TSCA rules.]

‘Biggest Deregulatory Action in U.S. History,’ with impacts on chemicals

• On March 12, the EPA announced another 22 actions to reconsider or change Biden-era rules and practices, calling the effort the “biggest regulatory action in U.S. history.” These actions relate to various issues including chemical management, air and water pollution, enforcement, environmental justice, and climate change.
• One action from the announcement involves reconsideration of multiple National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAPs), including for commercial sterilization using ethylene oxide (EtO), synthetic organic chemical manufacturing and rubber tire manufacturing. The agency noted that it is considering a two-year compliance exemption under section 112(i)(4) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for affected facilities for the duration of the rulemaking process.
• Amendments made to the commercial sterilization NESHAP in 2024 cover new EtO sources such as building leaks and chamber exhaust vents and affect nearly 90 medical device and spice sterilizers nationwide, according to the EPA. The Biden administration projected that the rule would slash the carcinogen’s emissions by more than 90%. [ Check out AgencyIQ’s article on the rule.]
• In 2024 amendments to the NESHAP for the synthetic organic chemical manufacturing industry, the EPA adopted EtO emission standards for process vents, storage vessels, equipment leaks, heat exchange systems and certain wastewater. The rule, which the agency noted would cut emissions from more than 100 “air toxics” such as EtO and chloroprene, also imposed fenceline monitoring requirements for those two substances, as well as for benzene, 1,3-butadiene, vinyl chloride and ethylene dichloride. [ Check out AgencyIQ’s analysis on the rule.]
• The ACC wrote that it applauds the EPA for revisiting both regulations, noting that they negatively affect chemicals used in important industries like healthcare and semiconductor manufacturing. “We look forward to working with EPA throughout this process to develop appropriate, science-based requirements that help protect public health and safety without imposing unnecessary regulatory burdens,” Jahn said.
• Additionally, the EPA will revisit a 2023 technology transitions rule that imposes hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) restrictions under the 2020 American Innovation and Manufacturing Act. The rule restricts HFC use in foams, aerosols and the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump sector to curb associated greenhouse gas emissions. The regulation “forces companies to use particular technologies for refrigerant systems,” harming semiconductor manufacturers and grocery stores, according to the Trump administration.
• The EPA will also reconsider the 2024 Risk Management Plan (RMP) rule, which amended chemical accident prevention requirements for certain facilities under the CAA. The rule aimed to strengthen chemical process safety, emergency preparedness and the public availability of chemical hazard information from regulated sources. However, according to the Trump EPA, the regulation brought prescriptive requirements and national security concerns that make America’s chemical facilities and oil and gas refineries “less safe and less competitive.” KIMBERLY WHITE, the ACC’s vice president of regulatory and scientific affairs, said the new administration’s action “is absolutely necessary to address the serious flaws” of the rule. [ Check out AgencyIQ’s analysis of the rule.]

Other actions on enforcement, environmental justice, science board

• The EPA announced several additional measures to move away from Biden-era priorities and practices. The agency wrote that it’ll “immediately revise National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives [NECIs] to ensure that enforcement does not discriminate based on race and socioeconomic status,” pursuant to the February executive order, “relieving the economy of potentially unnecessary bureaucratic burdens.” The Biden EPA’s six NECIs for 2024-2027 included addressing PFAS contamination, decreasing air pollutants in overburdened communities and reducing the likelihood of chemical accidents.
• The EPA also stated that it plans to end its environmental justice and diversity, equity and inclusion arms, which Zeldin described as “forced discrimination” efforts. “‘Environmental justice’ has been used primarily as an excuse to fund left-wing activists instead of actually spending those dollars to directly remediate environmental issues,” he said. The agency wrote that the changes will “ensure the EPA is best positioned to meet its core mission of protecting human health and the environment, and Powering the Great American Comeback.” The agency intends to eliminate all environmental justice and DEI positions, including in the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights established by the Biden administration, pursuant to a January executive order on “ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs.”
• Additionally, the EPA noted that it intends to seek nominations to reconstitute the Science Advisory Board (SAB), a congressionally created independent body that offers advice to the agency’s administrator on the science underpinning rulemaking. The move will “reverse the politicization” of the board under the previous administration, the agency stated. The EPA intends to publish a Federal Register notice to launch the nomination process.

Potential impact, next steps

• Rolling back and revising regulations will likely take years because the EPA needs time for associated public notice and comment rulemaking processes. The agency’s ongoing hiring freeze and layoffs, coupled with probable spending cuts, could further prolong timelines. Current regulatory procedures, such as those established by the Biden EPA’s TSCA risk evaluation framework rule, will remain in place until any new regulations take effect.
• Regulatory rollbacks could invite legal challenges from stakeholders such as environmental groups. Lawsuits could launch prolonged legal battles that further increase uncertainty around targeted regulations and related industry compliance efforts.
• In the meantime, the EPA may loosen enforcement efforts as it implements enforcement discretion pursuant to its February executive order and gives companies time to understand and adhere to any forthcoming regulatory changes. This is indicated not only by the Trump administration’s consideration of a temporary compliance exemption for NESHAPs under reexamination, but also by its dismissal this month of an environmental justice focused lawsuit brought by the Biden EPA against a neoprene manufacturing company. In the dismissal announcement, ADAM GUSTAFSON, acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, said the division doesn’t regulate via litigation or “stretch statutes beyond their plain meaning to advance political agendas.”
• In addition to tracking the EPA’s activities, businesses should monitor state-level regulatory and legislative developments. States like California and New York may respond to federal deregulation by ramping up work to introduce additional restrictions and other requirements for chemicals such as PFAS and plastic additives. [ See AgencyIQ’s analysis of recent state-level developments.]

To contact the author of this item, please email Xiaolu Wang ( xwang@agencyiq.com).
To contact the editor of this item, please email Julia John ( jjohn@agencyiq.com).

Key documents, dates

• EPA Launches Biggest Deregulatory Action in U.S. History (EPA Press Release, March 12, 2025)
• EPA Announces Path Forward on Chemical Reviews to Protect Public Health, Increase Efficiency and Follow the Law (EPA Press Release, March 10, 2025)