2026 Look Ahead
Posted: January 14th, 2026
Author: All4 Staff
2026 Look Ahead Intro // Colin McCall
Happy New Year to all of our readers. We are looking forward to another year of work and camaraderie with our colleagues, clients, and partners. In keeping with tradition, we use our January Lookahead to step outside of the day-to-day tasks and evaluate the big picture for the year ahead. We have been penning Lookahead articles for over ten years and are always grateful for the opportunity to outline practical considerations in support of your Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) programs. The articles this year are structured in the following categories:
- EHS regulatory and policy updates at both the Federal and local levels. We expect that most new regulatory activity will emerge at the state and local level, while the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) will focus on meeting its routine statutory compliance deadlines and streamlining some of the areas that they have prioritized in their first year under the current administration.
- Evolving areas to place on the radar of your EHS programs including the evolution of digital solutions in EHS program management and strategy, greenhouse gas reporting expansion at the state level, chemical reporting watchouts, and emerging contaminant developments (e.g., how U.S. EPA is addressing continued Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) policy).
- Insights directed at several industry sectors that have been a major part of ALL4’s history and that will continue to experience significant growth in 2026. In addition to the regulatory updates highlighted above, we see a continued evolution and increase in public stakeholder involvement in the environmental permitting process, particularly in industries that are experiencing a high volume of greenfield construction development. The importance of early stakeholder involvement and messaging that spans public and regulatory audiences alike continues to increase. ALL4 will be very involved in crafting comprehensive messaging around new projects in 2026.
As always, we hope that our January Lookahead and 4 The Record articles throughout 2026 can serve as a helpful point of reference as you manage and grow your EHS programs. We look forward to the work we will do together this year and I encourage you to reach out to me or our authors directly with comments and other topics that would be of interest.
Part 1
2026 Air Quality Look Ahead // Amy Marshall
While 2025 brought a new administration and changes to how the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) approaches air quality regulation and policy, we expect to see even more air quality regulatory activity in 2026. The Spring 2025 regulatory agenda was already outdated by the time it was released in Fall 2025, the government shutdown delayed several actions, and no Fall 2025 regulatory agenda was issued. However, we can speculate on actions that are likely to occur in 2026 based on 2025 executive orders and other announcements from the administration, which consistently emphasize energy from fossil fuel, new data centers, and reducing regulatory and permitting burden…
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2026 Water Look Ahead // Lizzie Smith
As we move into the second year of the second Trump administration, the water regulatory landscape is continuing to evolve quickly. ALL4 has been tracking key regulatory updates affecting industry and helping clients navigate regulatory uncertainty resulting from these fast-paced changes. Read on for the latest on federal effluent limitation guidelines (ELGs), facility response plans, drinking water, waters of the United States (WOTUS), and more!
2026 RCRA and Waste Lookahead // Meredith Pedraza
We have seen a lot of action in the world of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in recent years, including the hazardous waste generator improvement rule and RCRAinfo changes. We do not expect the pace of change to slow in 2026. Here are ALL4’s top 5 RCRA and waste compliance developments that we will be keeping an eye on in 2026…
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2026 Look Ahead: Occupational Health and Safety // John Kelleher
Looking back at 2025, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continued to move forward with its proposed rule for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings, published a series of over two dozen proposed deregulatory rulemakings, and updated its site-specific targeting (SST) program. The deregulatory rulemakings are aligned with Executive Order 14192, “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,” which directs agencies to streamline regulatory obligations by repealing outdated or redundant standards, with the intent of reducing compliance costs and fostering economic growth. While the deregulatory rulemakings may tempt some employers to take their foot off the gas and reduce their focus on Health and Safety (H&S) compliance programs, taking a closer look at OSHA’s actions may make them think again before they decide to pump the brakes. We encourage you to be mindful of OSHA-related enforcement topics that are likely to be a priority in 2026.
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Part 2
2026 Digital EHS Considerations // Mike Myers
Most Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) organizations within companies have some form of digital EHS tools available to support their compliance and data management needs. But merely having a digital EHS system does not ensure high performing EHS teams and operations.
In 2026, the maturity differentiators of an organization’s digital EHS ecosystem will be judged in four main considerations: Strategy, Master Data, Integrations, and User Engagement. These focus areas are fundamental to moving EHS programs from simple data management to true value creation within your company. Regardless of where your company sits on the digital transformation maturity curve, dedicating investment within each topic is critical to business successes…
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PFAS Expectations for 2026 // Kayla Nuschke & Cody Fridley
As public scrutiny continues to grow, administrations change, and analytical methods continue to improve, the regulatory landscape of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) continues to shift. The trend in 2026 is expected to take the form of federal deregulation with state-level regulations proceeding forward, as well as continued legal involvement with many important decisions regarding liability and authority coming down to the courts. It will continue to be important to monitor PFAS regulations closely and understand potential variance between state and federal regulations.
2026 Climate Reporting Look Ahead // Louise Shaffer
As we head into 2026, the climate regulatory landscape has fractured into a complex world for companies to navigate, one that will test the responsiveness of a company’s sustainability data and recordkeeping. While the Federal government moves toward significant deregulation, a mounting patchwork of state mandates and international carbon taxes is effectively raising the bar for corporate transparency. This Look Ahead article examines strategies for organizations to advance beyond basic compliance, focusing on the development of resilient, audit-ready data processes. These processes should be designed to accommodate customer requests and adapt effectively to potential litigation swings at both the Federal and state levels.
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Part 3
2026 Chemical Sector Look Ahead // Philip Crawford & Julie Taccino
At the end of 2024 there were numerous regulatory developments impacting the chemical manufacturing industry. For many, it felt like a nonstop stream of changes that were going to significantly impact the legacy compliance programs of their facilities. In 2025, with the change in administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) shifted to a deregulatory focus. However, with the full agenda and the government shutdown, not many of the stated deregulatory priorities were achieved in 2025. Now that we are entering 2026, we are expecting to see progress in the form of proposed and final rules that will scale back or remove completely the changes that were completed during the previous administration. Additionally, there remain some consent decree driven deadlines that U.S. EPA must meet that will have impacts on the industry. This lookahead article briefly touches on several of the more significant actions we expect the agency to take in 2026…
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US Power Sector 2026 Look Ahead // Rich Hamel
2025 was an interesting year in power in the United States, with the power sector expanding at breakneck speed driven by the rapid expansion of data centers and the energy needs to support artificial intelligence (AI). While the final numbers on capacity additions have not yet been published, if the projected numbers for the second half of 2025 were met, about 64 gigawatts (GW) of new electricity generating capacity will have been deployed, with more than half (33.3 GW) coming in the form of new solar photovoltaic generation, and over 18 GW of new battery storage…
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Data Centers 2026 Look Ahead // Sharon Sadler
The data center industry is a rapidly growing sector in the United States (U.S.), with buildings increasing in both number and capacity to meet global connectivity. As demand rises, so do the challenges. This article highlights some of the recent changes in air regulations, the intersection of data centers and power, and other topics data centers must navigate to succeed.
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Forest Products Industry Lookahead // Amy Marshall & Lizzie Smith
The last few years have brought a lot of change to the forest products industry. Companies have bought, sold, and closed facilities and a new company, Global Cellulose Fibers, was formed as International Paper made strategic shifts. Several states are focused on extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws for packaging, which could favor paper-based packaging over plastic, but also creates a regulatory patchwork when different states have different requirements. While companies have sustainability goals, we haven’t really seen a large carbon reduction project in the pulp and paper industry yet, and this is certainly not a priority for the current administration. In the wood building products space, we hope for lower mortgage rates in 2026 to spur the demand for new homes. With the current deregulatory atmosphere and push for permit streamlining, 2026 could be the year to plan and permit capital improvements to optimize production and energy efficiency and reduce operating costs…
