What’s Happening with Response Management Program

The EPA’s Response Management Program (RMP) consists of 12,500 high-risk facilities which are required to have safety plans to prevent disasters and protect workers, first responders, and fence-line communities. Between 2004-2025 in the US there has been a chemical accident every other day (hurting people, hurting the environment, or both). The Trump EPA is full of former industry lobbyists who are pushing to dismantle the RMP. It should be noted that there are about 180 million people who live within 5 miles of a plant covered under the RMP and multiple people in these areas have died due to disasters.

According to the EPA, the proposed changes are to streamline prevention efforts while removing repetitiveness and confusion. Public health experts claim that the reason for the “repetitiveness” was to ensure all concerns and issues were being captured. The newest rules require hazardous facilities to utilize newer technology to detect chemical releases and have backup systems. These rules also call for the facilities to develop contingency plans for when natural disasters impact the chemical facility.

The dismantling of these rules will give more power to the industry, removing it from the workers and community members. The Trump administration also recently removed a public data tool from the EPA website that shows a map of hazardous facilities are located and which chemicals they use in their facilities.

What to do about the RMP

Written comments for the Response Management Program are currently being accepted through April 10th, 2026 at 11:59pm EST. Submit comments at https://www.regulations.gov under docket ID no. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2025-0313.

More Readings

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/Feb/27/trump-fire-chemical-safety-system-epa

https://www.preventionweb.net/news/trump-officials-move-kill-system-protects-us-chemical-disasters

https://prevent chemical disasters.org/assets/documents/2026%20RMP%20factsheet.pdf

What’s Happening with the Clean Air Act

The EPA has specific regulations for multiple categories of incinerators based on their size and the type of materials they burn. The Clean Air Act distinguishes the emission limits for each category. The EPA defines a municipal waste combustion unit under its Other Solid Waste Incinerators (OSWI) category. The proposed update will remove any reference to “pyrolysis/combustion unit” and therefore stop regulating those units. Pyrolosis is the process of burning plastic in the absence of oxygen. This process is predominantly used in “chemical/advanced recycling” plants. These facilities have a significant environmental impact due to the chemicals that are emitted in the air through the process. Chemical recycling facilities emit cancer-causing chemicals and substances, meaning that weakening regulations increase health and environmental risks.

The EPA is also trying to make it easier for waste management facilities to burn all the waste by redefining incinerators under the Clear Air Act Section 129. This will allow waste management facilities (most notably chemical/advanced recycling plants) to burn plastic without any regulations on how much chemicals they are emitting into the air. These toxins include dioxins, PFAS, flame retardants, benzene, formaldehyde, particulate matters, and heavy metals. Exposure to these pollutants increases risk of cancers, birth defects, reproductive system damage, developmental challenges, cardiovascular problems, respiratory impairment, and neurological problems. While this risk is present at just 0.5g of exposure, this proposal removes reporting requirements, pollution controls, or monitoring. There is no other regulation for pyrolysis incinerators under the Clean Air Act if these are removed from section 129.

Supporters of “chemical/advanced recycling” have been advocating for these facilities to be classified as manufacturing plants rather than incineration or waste management. These supporters include the American Chemistry Council and Plastics Industry Association. The reclassification of these incinerators as manufacturing facilities in the Clean Air Act will green light several “chemical recycling” facilities which aligns with Trump’s Project 2025.

What to Do about the Clean Air Act

There is a public hearing against changes to the Clean Air Act on April 6, 2026 from 11am-3pm. Sign up before April 1, 2026 at 11:59pm at https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8763276/EPH-PH-ACHI-Consol. If you can’t join the hearing, submit a written comment by May 4, 2026.

More Readings

https://www.wastedive.com/news/epa-reclassify-chemical-recycling-pyrolysis-air-regulation/815554

https://www.propublica.org/article/plastics-industry-wish-list-second-trump-administration

Let’s save the world.

Love,

Big Love Network