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EPA Rescinds Only Safety Updates Imposed After 2013 Texas Fertilizer-Warehouse Explosion

Rules came down after fertilizer explosion killed 15 in town of West, but agency will remove mandates for expanded access to details about chemical storage, citing terror threat.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced that it will rescind the only safety updates imposed by the federal government in the aftermath of the 2013 fertilizer-warehouse explosion in West, Texas, that killed 15 people, most of them volunteer firefighters, and left a 90-foot crater in the town. The changes will roll back mandates for expanded public access to details about the chemicals at chemical-storage sites, claiming terrorists could exploit the information to blow up such facilities. The eased requirements, along with cutbacks to safety drills and assessments, will save companies and emergency agencies about $88 million per year, EPA leaders claim. “Under the Trump administration, EPA is listening to our first responders and homeland-security experts,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement. “Accident prevention is a top priority of the EPA and this rule promotes improved coordination between chemical facilities and emergency responders, reduces unnecessary regulatory burdens, and addresses security risks.”