The Trump administration is touting a first-ever enforcement action aimed at ensuring that major industries promptly report accidental releases of toxic air pollution to the Chemical Safety Board.
The announcement, though, comes on the heels of the administration seeking to abolish the board. As part of the White House’s budget request for next year, the investigative agency would be “permanently canceled” at the end of September 2026..
Under the settlement announced Monday, Pacific Gas and Electric, one of the nation’s largest utilities, agreed to a $45,273 penalty for failing to report a June 2023 mishap at a San Jose, California, natural gas distribution facility that sent an employee to the hospital.
While PG&E notified EPA’s National Response Center and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the utility “did not submit a report directly to CSB within eight hours of the accidental release” as required by 2020 regulations, according to the settlement, which federal regulators hope will set a precedent for the future.
