Delay of U.S. chemical safety rule challenged

Abstract

Eleven state attorneys general say they will file suit to block the Trump Administration’s delay of a final regulation intended to protect communities and workers from chemical accidents. Their suit will join similar legal challenges by community groups and labor unions that also oppose the Trump Environmental Protection Agency’s postponement of the rule, which was issued during the last days of the Obama Administration. The delay’s backers are acting too. Twelve states filed legal arguments with a federal court earlier this month supporting EPA’s action. Pressure from industry groups, including the American Chemistry Council, a chemical industry trade association, led EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in June to delay the effective date of the rule until February 2019. “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,”