White House grants 2-year HON deadline exemption for annexed chemical plants

The White House issued a proclamation dated July 13, 2026 (signed July 9) granting a 2-year exemption from certain EPA “HON Rule” compliance requirements for specific stationary chemical facilities listed in Annex I. The practical effect is a changed compliance timeline for only those named sites—not a blanket rollback for all chemical plants.

What the July 13 proclamation does

The proclamation says annex-listed stationary sources are exempt from “those aspects” of the 2024 HON Rule that were promulgated under Clean Air Act section 112, for a period of 2 years beyond the HON Rule’s relevant compliance dates.

It further states that each compliance deadline established under the HON Rule applicable to Annex I facilities is extended by 2 years—and that, during each two-year exemption period, the facilities will be subject to the emissions and compliance obligations they had under the applicable pre-HON standard.

In the proclamation’s rationale, the president also finds that the technology needed to implement the HON Rule is not available in a commercially viable form that would allow full compliance by the HON Rule’s original compliance dates, and links the decision to national security and supply-chain resilience.

Who’s covered: Annex I facility list

The exemption applies only to the facilities named in Annex I. Annex I lists the following companies and affected facilities/sources:

• INEOS US Chemicals Company — Cooper River Facility (South Carolina)
• INEOS Nitriles USA LLC — Green Lake Facility (Texas); Lima Facility (Ohio)
• Occidental Chemical Corporation — Geismar Plant (Louisiana); Wichita Plant (Kansas)
• Zeon Chemicals LP — Louisville Facility (Kentucky); Zeon Chemicals LP Mississippi Plant (Mississippi)
• Westlake Vinyls Inc. — Calvert City Facility (Kentucky)
• Westlake Epoxy Inc. — Deer Park Facility (Texas)
• Westlake Chemicals and Vinyls LLC — Plaquemine Facility (Louisiana)
• Westlake Vinyls Company, LP — Geismar Facility (Louisiana)
• Eastman Chemical Company — Kingsport Facility (Tennessee)
• Hexion Inc. — Hexion Fayetteville Facility (North Carolina)
• Indorama Ventures Oxides, LLC — LAB Chocolate Bayou Facility (Texas)
• Methanex USA LLC — Geismar Facility (Louisiana)
• Methanex Beaumont, LLC — Beaumont Facility (Texas)
• Alpek Polyester USA, LLC — Columbia Site (South Carolina)
• Shintech Louisiana LLC — Plaquemine Complex (Louisiana)
• Nouryon Functional Chemicals LLC — Axis Facility (Alabama)
• AdvanSix Resins & Chemicals LLC — Frankford Plant (Pennsylvania)

If a facility is not named in Annex I, this proclamation does not automatically change that site’s HON compliance timeline.

How this fits the 2024 HON Rule (and SOCMI)

The proclamation points to EPA’s May 16, 2024 HON Rule for facilities in the synthetic organic chemical manufacturing industry (often described through the SOCMI category). EPA describes SOCMI as a large source category that includes hundreds of plants producing bulk commodity chemicals, with EPA promulgating NSPS for VOC emissions from process vents and requiring control via leak detection and repair for equipment leaks.

The president’s stated case for relief is essentially a timing/technology gap: testing, monitoring, or compliance pathways referenced in the HON Rule depend on technology the proclamation says is not practically available for some sites by the original deadlines.

What to watch next

For communities near the Annex I facilities, the immediate practical change is the shift in compliance deadlines by two years for the covered, annex-listed sources. Watch for follow-on steps from EPA and regulators—such as updated implementation expectations, permitting/compliance documentation updates, and the next milestones that could drive inspections or monitoring work for the annexed sites.

Sources

• The White House — Proclamation text (Regulatory Relief for Certain Stationary Sources to Promote American Chemical Manufacturing Security)
• U.S. EPA — Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturing Industry (SOCMI) NSPS page (context/rule history)
• Federal Register (May 16, 2024) — HON Rule PDF (FR Doc. 2024–07002)