In 2017, the Trump administration sided with industry lobbyists and rescinded safety rules governing thousands of chemical plants across America. Five years later — after multiple chemical plant explosions in the Houston area — government investigators are telling lawmakers that a lack of federal regulation is heightening the risk of chemical disasters during climate change–related extreme weather events at thousands of facilities nationwide.

President Joe Biden’s administration is considering issuing a new rule regulating such facilities — but not until next summer. Chemical companies and industry groups have already sicced their lobbyists on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop the new rules, arguing that, despite all evidence to the contrary, their members are well-prepared for disasters and will only be made more vulnerable by new regulations.

Last week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a watchdog agency, published a report warning that nearly one-third of commercial and industrial facilities that make, use, handle, or store hazardous chemicals are located in areas vulnerable to natural hazards like flooding, storm surges, and wildfires that are likely to be worsened by climate change.