Earth Protect Blog

WASHINGTON » Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt moved Thursday to rescind a series of safety measures proposed for chemical plants nationwide after a deadly blast at a Texas fertilizer plant.

Pruitt signed a significantly revised slate of rules from the Obama era on safety and risk management at 12,500 U.S. facilities, including chemical plants and refineries. A chemical manufacturing group welcomed the changes, while spokesman Alex Formuzis of the Environmental Working Group called them a “hollowing out” of the original safety upgrades.

The rules were prompted by a 2013 explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, that killed 15 people. The blast ripped open a 90-foot-wide crater and hurled debris for miles.

Pruitt’s changes eliminate several of the original requirements concerning safety training, accident prevention and accident investigations.