Congress Signals Changes to EPA-OSHA Coordination for Chemical Safety Regulation in 2026 Spending Package
As part of the 2026 appropriations package, on January 6, 2026, the U.S. House and Senate Committees on Appropriations issued a joint statement outlining several procedural changes they are seeking for the U.S. EPA’s regulation of toxic chemical substances. The appropriations bill passed in the House last week, and is now pending before the Senate.
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) tasks EPA with regulating unreasonable risks to human health and the environment presented by new and existing chemical substances under their conditions of use — many of which are in the workplace. At the same time, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is responsible for protecting U.S. workers from chemical exposure risks. These overlapping responsibilities have led the two agencies to enter joint agreements requiring EPA to seek input from and keep OSHA informed as EPA regulates chemicals in the workplace.
If signed into law, the 2026 appropriations bill would require EPA to revise this process, and it may result in EPA taking a less active role in regulating chemical exposures in the workplace, deferring instead to OSHA’s expertise in worker safety. It also highlights the importance of information sharing between the two agencies.
EPA and OSHA’s Regulation of Chemical Risks in the Workplace
TSCA requires EPA to review chemical substances for unreasonable risks they pose to human health and the environment and to undertake rulemaking to address those risks. As amended by the 2016 Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act, EPA’s analysis under TSCA Section 5 (for new chemicals) and Section 6 (for existing chemicals) is limited to reviewing chemicals in their conditions of use — i.e., “the circumstances . . . under which a chemical substance is intended, known, or reasonably foreseen to be manufactured, processed, distributed in commerce, used, or disposed of.”[1] In many instances, those conditions of use occur in the workplace, and EPA has issued multiple regulations over the past several years imposing safety measures for employees across a broad range of industries.
Similarly, the OSH Act grants OSHA broad authority to address workplace safety and health hazards, including the power to promulgate occupational standards. Employers have a general duty to provide workplaces free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm and must comply with more specific OSHA health standards, ranging from OSHA’s relatively broad Hazard Communications Standard[2] to chemical-specific standards.[3] Those standards often include exposure-reducing measures for the same chemical substances that EPA regulates under TSCA.
Historically, this dual regulatory authority has drawn criticism from regulated entities subject to conflicting regulations by separate agencies with respect to the same chemicals. For example, in the 2024 risk management rules for the solvents trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene, EPA established workplace chemical program requirements — including exposure thresholds well below those set by OSHA. Litigation is pending over this tension and other Section 6 rules, as well as over the Biden administration’s TSCA risk evaluation framework rule.
EPA/OSHA Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs)
In light of the overlap in the agencies’ responsibilities, in last weeks of the Biden administration, EPA and OSHA signed a 2024 MOU to formalize agency cooperation when EPA assesses and manages the risks posed by existing chemical substances. The 2024 MOU established mechanisms for information sharing, consultation, coordination, and outreach between the agencies as EPA undertakes TSCA Section 6 chemical prioritization, risk evaluation, rulemaking, and enforcement. The 2024 MOU recognized the agencies’ shared goals of “efficient and effective protection of workers, the public, and/or the environment,” while also aiming to respect the agencies’ separate authorities and responsibilities.
This effort was similar to the agencies’ agreement in the final days of the first Trump administration to enter into a 2021 MOU that outlined agency cooperation when EPA assesses risks for new chemical substances under TSCA Section 5.
Notably, the 2024 MOU makes express reference to TSCA Section 9, “Relationship to other Federal laws.” This section states that if EPA determines that a chemical’s unreasonable risks may be prevented or reduced by another federal agency, EPA must refer the issue to that other agency and defer to that agency if [such agency affirmatively decides there is no unreasonable risk or opts to undertake rulemaking to manage that risk.
2026 Legislative Directives
The latest congressional joint statement directs EPA “to revise the [MOU] with [OSHA] to meaningfully delineate between each Agency’s role and clearly articulate the areas of collaboration between the agencies.” The statement does not identify which of the two MOUs are to be revised or provide any additional guidance beyond “remind[ing] [EPA] of the requirements in Section 9 of TSCA (15 U.S.C. 2608) related to responses from other Federal agencies.”
The joint statement additionally directs EPA “to enhance communication, improve the transparency of the process, and communicate the status of submissions with new chemicals submitters.” It sets a 120-day deadline by which EPA must brief the Appropriations Committees on these efforts.
What This Means for Industry
If enacted, the appropriations directive could prompt a shift in how EPA addresses workplace-related chemical risks under TSCA, and put more enforcement expectations on OSHA’s shoulders. In particular, industry should watch how EPA responds to Congress’ instruction to more clearly delineate responsibilities between EPA and OSHA. To the extent EPA revises one or both MOUs to defer workplace exposure issues to OSHA, EPA may narrow the scope of its workplace analyses in TSCA risk evaluations, potentially reducing duplicative or inconsistent regulation.
The joint statement’s reference to TSCA Section 9 also underscores congressional interest in EPA more fully engaging other federal agencies before regulating risks within those other agencies’ primary jurisdictions. This may strengthen industry arguments that EPA should defer to OSHA where workplace safety is at issue.
While the directive does not mandate specific outcomes, it reflects increased scrutiny of EPA’s TSCA program. If the spending bill passes the Senate and is signed by the president, businesses should monitor the response by OSHA and EPA and consider how any changes to EPA-OSHA coordination could impact TSCA review practices, future rulemaking for chemical substances, and on-the-ground enforcement.
[1] See 15 U.S.C. §§ 2602(4), 2604, 2605.
[2] See 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1200 (Hazard Communication Standard).
[3] See 29 C.F.R. Subpart Z on “Toxic and Hazardous Substances” such as asbestos, 4-Nitrobiphenyl, benzidine, beryllium, lead, formaldehyde, and more.
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