WASHINGTON (Reuters) — A federal appeals court has ordered the Trump administration to immediately implement an Obama-era chemical safety rule introduced after a 2013 explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant that killed 15 people.
The D.C. Circuit Court ruling was the latest to counter efforts under President Donald Trump to delay environmental regulations introduced by former President Barack Obama.
The court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to implement the Chemical Disaster Rule, saying the EPA did not have authority to delay the rule.
A week before Trump took office, the EPA issued the rule, which required industries to take steps to prevent disasters. Those included more analysis of safety technology, third-party audits, incident investigation analysis and stricter emergency preparedness.
Former EPA head Scott Pruitt, who resigned in July under ethics allegations, had argued the rule posed unnecessary burdens and introduced a proposal to rescind the rule.
