LONGVIEW — The Trump Administration proposed rolling back federal chemical safety regulations in February 2026. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led by Trump appointee Lee Zeldin, sought to loosen reforms introduced in 2024 under the Biden Administration. The proposal followed deadly industrial incidents in Longview, Washington, and Garden Grove, California.

On May 26, 2026, a 900,000-gallon chemical storage tank imploded at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in Longview, Washington, resulting in 11 deaths. Earlier that spring, a tank containing nearly 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate became unstable at an aerospace plastics facility in Garden Grove, California, prompting mass evacuations and a state of emergency; residents were cleared to return home the following Tuesday.

The 2024 Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention (SCCAP) rules had added safeguards such as third-party audits for facilities with prior accidents and required employee participation in accident prevention planning. The EPA’s proposed revisions would eliminate the requirement for facilities to establish a process for employees to report unaddressed hazards and remove the mandate to consider climate-related disasters like floods in emergency planning.

Emma Cheuse, senior attorney at Earthjustice, criticized the rollback in February 2026, stating, "Once again, we’re seeing the Trump Administration gamble with the health of entire communities, prioritizing the chemical industry’s profits, instead of doing its job to keep families safe from industrial chemical emergencies." She added, "This proposal to end and weaken protections from chemical fires, explosions, releases, and other safety incidents would take away solutions that are needed to help save lives, prevent injuries, and protect families and children from toxic chemical exposure." An EPA spokesperson defended the proposal, saying the 2024 regulations "disregarded warnings from national security experts that it would make chemical facilities and other sensitive sites more vulnerable to attack." The spokesperson also stated the changes "would preserve every core accident-prevention protection while removing duplicative, contradictory, or unproven requirements, ensuring stronger safety outcomes through clearer and more workable rules." The spokesperson noted that both the California and Washington facilities "are highly regulated and these regulations are largely overseen by the states — not EPA." The EPA confirmed it had provided monitoring and technical support at both incident sites.

The Trump Administration’s 2027 budget request, released in April 2026, proposed eliminating funding for the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), claiming it duplicates existing agency capabilities. Congress voted to maintain CSB funding in 2026.