EPA's RMP (Risk Management Program) Rule is Changing. Again.

On February 24, 2026, EPA's Office of Land & Emergency Management (OLEM) proposed a new rule making which will, for the fourth time in about 10 years, revise its process safety related regulation - Risk Management Program. So, this proposed rule is the re-re-re-revised rule. This new proposed rule, known as the "Common Sense Approach to Chemical Accident Prevention", is intended to amend or rollback certain controversial and other aspects of the Biden-era 2024 version of the RMP rule.

The comment period deadline for the new proposed rule is April 10, 2026 and should be submitted via the docket linked here.

Before getting into the proposed rule, here is a brief summary of the changes to the rule over the past 10 years:

2017 Obama Administration: EPA adds significant new requirements to the RMP rule, such as safer technology & alternatives analysis (STAA) for refineries/chemical plants, public disclosures (including security sensitive information), and new emergency response requirements.

2019 Trump Administration: Reopened the RMP rule via reconsideration to rollback some of the controversial 2017 requirements.

2024 Bide Administration: Reopened the RMP rule to restore the 2017 requirements and expand it with new provisions. This rule remains in effect with a key compliance date deadline for some provisions of May 10, 2027. (Some compliance date provisions were set for March 2024, field exercise compliance date is March 27, 2027, and new RMP reporting provisions are May 2028).

2026 Trump Administration: Reopened the RMP rule following the legal challenges to the 2024 version and is currently soliciting stakeholder input through April 10.

It is noted that each of these revisions were legally challenged, and it is reasonable to presume that the new proposed rule, if/when finalized, will be no different.

Summary of what changes are being proposed with this new rulemaking:

Safer Technology & Alternatives Analysis (STAA) — Proposal for relief to existing covered processes. The 2024 rule required refineries and chemical plants (NAICS 324/325) to evaluate safer technology alternatives for all Program 3 processes (existing and new) and, in some cases, implement changes. The new proposal limits STAA to new processes only (i.e., "grandfather" exemption for existing processes). Implementation provisions are proposed to be rescinded.

Third-Party Audits - Proposal to amend the audit trigger and auditor criteria provisions. Under the current 2024 rule, a single RMP-reportable accident will trigger a mandatory third-party audit — and the report goes to the Board of Directors, becoming both a compliance and corporate governance risk. The new proposal offers two options:

1. Rescind the third-party audit requirement entirely, or

2. Amend the audit requirement to trigger when/if there are 2 reportable accidents within a 5-year period. Further, EPA proposes to rescind the 2-year cooling off period for auditors not to accept future employment with the source being audited, rescind the mandatory Board of Directors reporting of the audit results, and also have a 10-year sunset provision of all third-party audit requirements. EPA is seeking public comment to clarify auditor competency and independence criteria as well as other issues.

Community Information - Proposal to protect security-sensitive facility information. The 2024 rule created a new requirement for facilities covered by the regulation to provide chemical hazard information directly to residents within six miles of the plant and in the two most common local languages, upon request. The new proposal eliminates the requirement for facility owners/operators to provide certain information upon request, make notification about the availability of information, adhere to a 45-day timeframe for information requests, provide details on declined PHA / audit recommendations, offer information access in multiple languages, maintain records, and document notification methods and locations in the facility’s RMP. Instead, the EPA proposes providing selected information elements through the RMP public data tool, which was introduced when the 2024 rule was finalized. These elements would include the names of regulated substances, SDS for these substances, accident history, Emergency Response information including whether the facility is responding or non-responding, the name and phone number of the LEPC (local emergency planning committee), notification procedures in case of a release, and scheduled exercises. The EPA also proposes revising the public data tool to remove the map display and limit the search function to county or facility name (the public data tool is currently offline as the EPA reviews the proposed changes).

Employee Participation - Proposal to rescind certain enhanced requirements for activities.

The 2024 rule required employees to be meaningfully consulted on PHA findings, compliance audit results, and incident investigations. It added stop-work authority procedures, anonymous reporting mechanisms, and training requirements for Program 3 facilities. The proposal rescinds many of these additions, reverting to the pre-2024 employee participation framework.

Summary of the changes:

• Retains requirements for P2 facilities to develop a participation plan, notify employees of its availability, and grant access to prevention program information.

• Rescinds P2 and P3 requirements for training on the employee participation plan.

• Rescinds P2 and P3 requirements for a process to report unaddressed hazards, accidents, or noncompliance, including record retention for 3 years.

• Rescinds P3 requirement for employee consultation on recommendations and findings from PHAs, compliance audits, and incident investigations.

• Rescinds P3 requirement allowing knowledgeable employees to recommend unit shutdowns and the authority for qualified operators to shut down a unit based on catastrophic release potential.

Natural Hazards & RAGAGEP - Proposal to rescind various codified requirements. The 2024 rule explicitly required PHAs (process hazard analysis) to address natural hazards — floods, wildfires, extreme temperatures — as a standalone element, and mandated backup power for process release monitoring equipment. A RAGAGEP gap analysis was required for Program 3 PHAs. Under the new proposal, those specific codified requirements are rescinded. EPA notes that underlying duties to evaluate hazards under existing regulations remain — but the explicit natural hazard and RAGAGEP audit hooks would be removed.

Community & Emergency Responder Notification and Exercises - Proposal to modify emergency response requirements. The proposed rule would amend the provisions in 40 CFR 68.90 and 68.95 for both non-responding and responding facilities, clarifying that RMP facilities are not obligated to create a community notification system. Instead, they must collaborate with local emergency response agencies to ensure responders have access to essential information and clarify that responders can disseminate this information via a community notification system. Proposal would rescind the documentation requirements related to the partnership between the owner/operator and local response agencies. For emergency response exercises, the proposed rule would retain the requirements from the 2024 rule. However, EPA seeks comment on whether changes are needed to address when facilities are unable to coordinate with LEPCs despite a good faith effort to do so.

Additional Issues Addressed and Ancillary Amendments

Hot work permit retention: Rescinds the 3-year permit retention requirement of the SCCAP rule and realigns the hot work permit provisions with the OSHA PSM standard.

Retail facility definition: Modifies the retail facility definition to include alternate time frames (i.e., calendar year, fiscal year, previous 12 months) for determining retail sales, lock a facility into its choice of sales period for 3 consecutive years, and address retail sales determination for new facilities that have less than one year of sales data by measuring from the time that the facility commences operations.

RMP deregistration forms: Proposes new optional fields in the RMP deregistration form to compile data on safer alternatives.

Summary of Key Proposed Changes to the RMP Rule:

Key Topic	Current 2024 Rule	2026 Proposal
STAA	Required for existing NAICS 324/325 Program 3 facilities; some must implement safeguards	New Program 3 processes only; no implementation mandate
Third-Party Audits	1 accident triggers third-party audit; board reporting required	Either rescinded entirely OR 2-accident trigger; board reporting gone
Community Disclosure	Hazard info to anyone within 6 miles, on request, and in top 2 languages for the community	Removed; public directed to RMP Data Tool (mapping feature also removed)
Employee Participation	Expanded consultation, stop-work authority, anonymous reporting, training	Reverts to pre-2024 scope
Natural Hazards in PHA	Standalone element to address floods, wild fires, high temps, etc; and, backup power mandated	Rescind codified 2024 natural hazard  and RAGAGEP gap analysis
HF Alkylation (Refineries)	IST/ISD assessment + must implement at least one measure	Rescind the implementation mandate for existing units