Trump Administration Grants Two-Year Exemption from Federal Pollution Rules for Chemical Manufacturing Facilities

President Donald Trump has issued a sweeping two-year exemption from new federal pollution rules for Dow and 24 other chemical manufacturing facilities citing national security and economic resilience concerns.

In a July 17 proclamation, Trump postponed compliance with portions of the Environmental Protection Agency's 2024 "HON Rule" — a regulation that imposed stricter air emission standards on facilities that manufacture synthetic organic chemicals, polymers, and resins. The rule was intended to reduce hazardous air pollutants under the Clean Air Act.

The administration argues that the rule's requirements are overly burdensome and technologically unfeasible within the current timeframe.

"The technology to implement the HON Rule is not available," the proclamation states. "Such technology does not exist in a commercially viable form sufficient to allow implementation... by the compliance dates."

The two-year exemption applies to companies including Dow, BASF, Shell, Formosa Plastics, DuPont, Phillips 66, and others operating plants in Louisiana, Texas, Michigan, Alabama, and several other states. In total, the exemption affects 25 companies and over 40 individual facilities.

Trump's order says the delayed regulations are needed to prevent disruptions in chemical supply chains that support national defense, energy, health care, and agriculture. The proclamation warns that enforcing the rule on schedule could lead to "shutdowns or massive capital investments" before proven technology is available, weakening the country's industrial base.

Under the exemption, each listed facility may continue operating under the older, less stringent standards that existed before the HON Rule was finalized in May 2024. The reprieve will expire two years after each facility's original compliance deadline, though the administration did not indicate whether additional extensions could follow.

This executive action is the latest example of the Trump administration's broader effort to reduce federal regulatory burdens on U.S. industry, particularly in sectors the president considers vital to economic growth.