The White House issued a presidential proclamation on 9 July granting a two-year exemption to the new HON emissions regulations applicable to some chemical manufacturing facilities. The bulletin states that the relevant compliance technology has not yet resulted in a commercially deployable programme and that, if implemented within the original time frame, some of the plants may be forced to shut down or invest in large capital in advance.

HON rules for chemical emissions

HON rules were issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency on 16 May 2024, for the synthetic organic chemical manufacturing industry, setting new emission control requirements under section 112 of the Clean Air Act. While industries are not often of direct public interest, their products are widely used in energy, defence, agriculture, medical, semiconductor and critical infrastructure.

The White House stated in its bulletin that some of the testing and monitoring requirements contained in the rule depended on systems that were not yet commercially mature. These systems are either difficult to obtain in practice or have not yet been validated at the required scale and are difficult to stabilize under real conditions.

Exemption only covers listed facilities

The exemption was based on section 112(i)(4) of the Clean Air Act. The bulletin includes some of the fixed sources listed in annex I, and provides a uniform two-year extension for compliance under the HON Rules.

This arrangement does not apply to all chemical enterprises. Facilities not listed in the annex still need to implement HON rules according to the original schedule. The exempted facility was not completely deregulated during the two-year window, but continued to comply with the emission and compliance requirements prior to the entry into force of the HON rule.

  • Exemption from signature: 9 July 2026
  • Rule: 16 May 2024
  • Exemption period: 2 years extension from original period

The White House linked it to national security.

The bulletin directly links domestic chemical capacity to national security. The White House believes that if enterprises are forced to meet the new rules in the absence of viable technologies, they may shock the United States chemical supply chain and increase reliance on overseas producers.

According to this, chemical manufacturing relates not only to industrial production, but also to material security capabilities in times of crisis. The White House emphasized that such essential chemical inputs were relied on in such areas as energy, agriculture, health and defence.

Two years from now.

In terms of practical impact, the listed facilities will continue to operate at the old standards for a period of two years without the need for immediate modifications, upgrades or shutdowns to meet the new threshold. The White House described this arrangement as maintaining regulatory continuity rather than deregulating it.

However, the bulletin does not indicate how the relevant technology will be followed if it is not commercially viable after the biennium. This means that the long-term pace of implementation of the rules remains dependent on technological progress and subsequent policy decisions.