EPA's 2026 Unified Agenda: deregulatory priorities and pending TSCA risk management rules

On 3 July 2026, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs published the Trump administration's 2026 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, often referred to as the Agency Rule List. The Agenda sets out each federal agency's regulatory priorities for the coming period. Agencies are normally required to publish this agenda twice a year, so the timing and framing of this release suggest it may serve as the single Unified Agenda publication for 2026 rather than one of two.

For EPA, much of the list leans toward deregulation or delay rather than new restriction. The clearest example is a planned revision of effluent limitations guidelines and standards addressing PFAS discharges from PFAS manufacturing facilities and from chromium electroplating facilities, which would roll back discharge limits finalized under the previous administration.

Beyond PFAS, the Agenda lists several other actions relevant to chemical and product compliance:

1. Proposed risk management rules under TSCA Section 6 for formaldehyde, diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and diisononyl phthalate (DINP). EPA completed final risk evaluations for all three substances between December 2024 and January 2025, finding unreasonable risk, and the Agenda projects an NPRM for DIDP in July 2026, DINP in November 2026, and formaldehyde in August 2026, with final rules following roughly a year after each proposal.
2. A final Part 2 risk management rule for asbestos, covering legacy uses and associated disposals, non-chrysotile asbestos fiber types, and asbestos-containing talc. EPA opened a pre-proposal information request on this topic on 23 June 2026, with comments due 24 August 2026, and the Agenda points to a proposed rule around mid-2027 rather than a rule EPA is finalizing imminently, despite the framing in the Agenda summary.
3. A repeal, in full or in part, of the Carbon Pollution Standards limiting greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants, with a projected action already listed for July 2026.

The Agenda also lists a projected final rule for 1-Bromopropane (1-BP) under TSCA in August 2026, continuing EPA's backlog of risk management rules for substances that completed risk evaluation under the previous administration.

Each entry in the Agency Rule List carries a tentative projected publication date rather than a binding deadline, and EPA's recent record under TSCA shows these dates slipping repeatedly. Formaldehyde's proposed rule, for instance, has already moved past an earlier May 2026 projection with no rule yet issued, and DIDP and DINP proposals have similarly been delayed multiple times since risk evaluations completed at the end of 2024. Companies tracking these substances should treat the listed dates as a directional signal of EPA's sequencing rather than a firm compliance calendar, and continue monitoring docket activity for each substance directly.

Source: Reginfo.gov, Agency Rule List 2026