Trump aims to eliminate federal board investigating Nippon spill
President Trump's 2027 budget aims to eliminate funding for the federal agency tasked with investigating ways to prevent another fatal chemical tank rupture like the one in Longview last week.
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The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is a nonregulatory committee that is reviewing the May 26 Nippon Dynawave Packaging plant chemical spill that killed 11 and injured eight.
The board makes safety recommendations to companies, labor groups and regulatory agencies, but doesn't issue fines; its main goal is prevention.
The Trump administration aims to eliminate the Chemical Safety Board in fiscal year 2027 "to streamline functions across government," according to the board's website.
However, the U.S. House subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations OK'd on May 26 the board's budget at about $8.24 million for the same time period.
The Senate later upped it to $14 million.
Gluesenkamp Perez weighs in
The House Appropriations Committee adopted Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez's amendment on Wednesday, adding over $5 million to the previously approved $8.24 million in the House.
Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, who represents Longview, had previously said she intended to fight for the funding.
"Fortunately, this appropriations bill will be in my committee of jurisdiction," Gluesenkamp Perez said on Sunday. "So next week, I'm making my priority ensuring that they have the resources they need for a thorough, unbiased investigation."
The budget amendment is far from a done deal, but it is welcome news, according to Emily Kolano, Gluesenkamp Perez's chief of staff.
Next steps include a House vote next week, followed by a vote in the Senate.
Gluesenkamp Perez spoke in favor of the board at a Wednesday morning House Committee meeting in Washington, D.C.
"The people of Longview deserve answers, and across the country, working people need to know that we are making sure they have safe jobs where they come home every day," Gluesenkamp Perez said. "The CSB plays a critical role in delivering these answers."
Gluesenkamp Perez separately has called for filling three vacancies on the Chemical Safety Board. The president appoints the agency's board members, subject to Senate confirmation.
Brent Hennrich, one of her Democratic opponents in Washington's upcoming 3rd Congressional District race, also wants the board funded to conduct a "robust, independent investigation."
"The continued attacks on worker safety oversight by the Trump administration are unconscionable, unwarranted, and unwanted," he said in a statement.
Hennrich said he hasn't visited Longview out of respect for the victims to avoid making "this a political situation," after being advised by local labor groups.
Washington state Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, is also a candidate in the race and could not be reached for comment.
Remaing 3rd District candidates
* Antony Barran of Ocean Park with the Cascade Party,
* Democrat Austin Braswell of Vancouver,
* Republican Lawrence Kellogg of Washougal,
* Democrat Troy Rasband of Vancouver,
* Republican John P. Roco, of Centralia, and
* Independent John Saulie-Rohman of Washougal.
Reported 5 chemical incidents a week in US
The Chemical Safety Board did not immediately return a request for comment either, but chairperson Steve Owens said in an official release that the agency opened its investigation in the Longview incident on May 27 "to determine how it happened and what can be done to prevent something like this from happening again."
While the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries is also investigating the Nippon tank failure, the state's investigation is set to run a maximum of six months. The Chemical Safety Board's reviews can last years, and final reports can be over 100 pages.
The only completed Chemical Safety Board review in Washington state was for a 2010 explosion that killed seven workers at the Tesoro Anacortes Refinery, which is now owned by Marathon. The 148-page report was issued about four years after the blast.
A group that includes nonprofits that litigate environmental issues, as well as national coalitions of labor unions and environmental groups, reports that hazardous chemical incidents are a regular occurrence in the U.S.
The Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters has tracked national chemical incidents reported in the media since 2021, showing 116 incidents so far in 2026.
From Jan. 1, 2021, to present, there have been at least 1,446 hazardous chemical incidents, or about five a week, the organization reports.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with the latest information and to clarify the death toll of the Tesoro Anacortes Refinery explosion.
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