The Daily Fuckup

President Donald Trump on July 13 issued a proclamation that gives a defined group of chemical facilities a two-year exemption from certain compliance deadlines under the federal HON Rule. The relief applies to stationary sources named in Annex I of the proclamation, and it does not repeal the rule itself. The order says those facilities remain subject, during the exemption period, to the emissions and compliance obligations that applied before the HON Rule took effect.

The proclamation relies on Clean Air Act section 112(i)(4) and says the White House is acting because the technologies needed to meet the rule are not commercially viable in the form or on the timeline the rule requires. It also says the exemption is in the national security interest of the United States. In the administration’s telling, the affected plants supply chemicals used in semiconductor production, medical device sterilization, advanced manufacturing, and defense systems.

EPA’s HON Rule covers the synthetic organic chemical manufacturing industry and related stationary sources, including standards for process vents, storage vessels, transfer racks, wastewater streams, and equipment leaks. The agency’s rule summary says the category is regulated under multiple subparts of 40 CFR part 63. The July 13 proclamation does not erase those standards. It extends compliance dates by two years for the listed sources, while leaving the rest of the framework intact. ([whitehouse.gov](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/07/regulatory-relief-for-certain-stationary-sources-to-promote-american-chemical-manufacturing-security-be40/))

The practical effect is narrower than a full rollback, but it is still a real delay for the facilities covered by Annex I. The administration says the exemption keeps critical operations running and avoids shutdowns or costly retrofits before the required technology is ready. For communities near those plants, the cleaner-air deadlines Congress and EPA set remain pushed out for the listed sources. For everyone else covered by the rule, the underlying standards remain on the books. ([whitehouse.gov](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/07/regulatory-relief-for-certain-stationary-sources-to-promote-american-chemical-manufacturing-security-be40/))