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ACC sees ‘palpable optimism' in Trump deregulation agenda

American Chemistry Council

EPA Acting Deputy Administrator Chad McIntosh, left, and ACC President and CEO Chris Jahn at the GlobalChem conference in Washington April 15.

The American Chemistry Council has a "palpable sense of optimism" that President Donald Trump's administration will bring favorable regulations for chemical and plastics companies, the head of ACC said at a conference April 15.

President and CEO Chris Jahn told the Global Chemicals Regulation Conference in Washington that ACC is hoping Trump's leadership can bring clarity they say is needed to regulations for chemical recycling of plastics, among other areas.

"While we navigated through a recent period of significantly increased regulatory burdens and a lack of clarity, there's a palpable sense of optimism that the Trump administration is committed to working with us," Jahn said in a keynote address to open the conference.

"This shift in leadership and direction will enable America's chemistry industry to create innovative products and solutions we need today so that America cannot only compete but dominate in the global market."

ACC had publicly criticized former President Joe Biden's EPA for what it called regulatory overreach that hurt the chemical and plastics industries.

In his speech, Jahn detailed industry regulatory priorities in Washington, like updates to toxic chemical safety laws and new chemical approvals.

For plastics, he said ACC wants policies for chemical recycling that treat its products as recycled plastic and regulate it as manufacturing, rather than as solid waste disposal.

In a speech at the conference, the second-ranking official in the Trump Environmental Protection Agency did not offer details around plastics policy, but outlined a broad deregulatory focus and said ACC is a "full partner" with the new administration.

EPA: ACC a ‘full partner'

"It's really good to see that there is an advocate and a full partner to everything we're trying to do in the Trump administration," said Acting Deputy Director Chad McIntosh, in a speech immediately after Jahn's remarks. "Chris, you really kind of took most of my speech, so I don't have a lot to say. And I can't say it better."

McIntosh referred to a five-point plan unveiled Feb. 4 by new EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin that included clean air, land and water, as well as permitting reform, boosting energy production and having the EPA support the artificial intelligence and auto industries.

He suggested EPA would be narrowing how it reads environmental laws.

"We're working very hard on implementing and reforming all of our regulations," he said. "They need to be based on statute, and not just based on statute, but the plain English meaning of the statute."

He listed many regulations he said the administration was reconsidering, including chemical risk management rules from the Biden administration, as well as particulate air emission standards and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollution rules for manufacturers.

McIntosh praised recent Supreme Court decisions limiting the authority of federal agencies, like the Loper Bright ruling in 2024 that overturned a 1984 decision from the high court that told lower courts to defer judgment to administrative agencies in interpreting laws, a doctrine known as Chevron deference.

"The Supreme Court cases have just been awesome," McIntosh said. "The agencies cannot make major doctrine. Congress is the one that will have to decide."

As well, McIntosh praised the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency for its work. Trump has suggested the EPA budget could be cut by 65 percent although news reports said White House officials have, to some degree, walked back those comments while saying reductions could be coming.

"We're working very hard on reforming every part of the EPA, everything is under review," McIntosh said. "We've got a wonderful partner in the DOGE folks that are working with us. They're actually normal people. They're not monsters like the media leads them out to be."

Jahn: Shift TSCA focus

Jahn said ACC wants the Trump EPA to keep its interpretation of the Toxic Substances Control Act, the major federal statute for chemicals regulations, closer to what ACC argues the law says.

"EPA must shift its focus to what TSCA actually says," Jahn said. "The statute directs EPA to consider reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, not every hypothetical or imagined use of a chemical. TSCA doesn't require the EPA to seek zero risk."

He also pointed to EPA delays in approving new chemicals. The agency is legally required to approve new chemical submissions in 90 days, but Jahn said the agency fails to meet that deadline 90 percent of the time.

"In our view this is unacceptable and it creates enormous uncertainty for our members looking to bring safer and more innovative chemistries to market," he said.

Jahn repeated previous ACC calls for changes to TSCA but said the association favors targeted fixes rather than major revisions.

TSCA plastics review

Another speaker at the conference said that while the Trump administration is taking a deregulatory approach to the EPA, it's so far not announced decisions on key plastics topics like chemical recycling or health reviews of chemicals that are key feedstocks for plastics, like vinyl chloride and styrene.

Those reviews began in President Joe Biden's administration.

"The takeaway here is that on a federal scale, yes there is broader deregulatory efforts," said Brittany A. Bolen, an associate EPA administrator in Trump's first term and current partner at Sidley Austin LLP in Washington. "At least for right now it does not appear that any of that has any bearing with respect to plastics."

She said it's not clear how the Trump EPA will handle decisions from the Biden EPA in 2023 and 2024 to begin lengthy scientific reviews of 10 mass production legacy chemicals, with seven or eight of those like vinyl chloride having roles in plastics production.

"It's still very early but it's something to monitor," Bolen said in remarks April 16.

Another speaker and Washington regulatory attorney said the Trump administration could take actions around some of the ongoing risk evaluations of vinyl chloride and other chemicals.

"I know a lot of people have questions about vinyl chloride specifically, and some of the other chemistries, which are building block chemistries for plastics, in particular," said Karyn Schmidt, a principal at the law firm Squire, Patton and Boggs and a former ACC lawyer.

While the Trump administration may not take a formal deregulatory action for those 10, it could make other changes in the process, like redoing the scientific scope of the evaluation, splitting it into separate evaluations for different uses or doing a supplemental scientific review, she said in an interview at the conference.

"All of those sorts of things have been done in other contexts before," she said. "I would expect, for the ongoing risk evaluations, for there to be at least a pause and a reevaluation, and then potentially changes with respect to how Trump 2.0 proceeds."

EPA cuts DEI

McIntosh did point to one area where he said the new Trump EPA has sharply reversed course from the Biden EPA: environmental justice and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

He said they would be "terminating Biden's environmental justice and DEI initiatives at the agency."

"We spent so much time and money worrying about those areas that actually have nothing to do with environmental protection," McIntosh said. "We've instituted a policy that just everybody is equal and all the statutes apply to everybody regardless of who they are and what they are."

The Trump EPA in March said it would eliminate offices related to diversity and environmental justice, with media reports pointing to about 200 likely staff layoffs.

That contrasts with Biden EPA Administrator Michael Regan, who elevated voices from historically disadvantaged communities. He embarked on a high-profile tour of areas in Louisiana and Texas next to petrochemical facilities where residents have pollution concerns.

Another speaker advised companies to continue to keep environmental justice in their thinking.

In her remarks, Bolen told the audience of chemical company managers that at least eight states have their own environmental justice laws and programs.

"Even though EPA has made some pretty decisive statements about its intent to shift its approach on environmental justice … EJ is still very much an issue and very much needs to be something that's part of your consideration," Bolen said.

* Source : https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/acc-sees-palpable-optimism-trump-epa-deregulation-plans

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