diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d343ae255c..6ccc568d26 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -119,6 +119,9 @@ Unreleased changes template.
   change. Fixes [#2468](https://github.com/bazelbuild/rules_python/issues/2468).
 + (gazelle) Gazelle no longer ignores `setup.py` files by default. To restore
   this behavior, apply the `# gazelle:python_ignore_files setup.py` directive.
+* Don't re-fetch whl_library, python_repository, etc. repository rules
+  whenever `PATH` changes. Fixes
+  [#2551](https://github.com/bazelbuild/rules_python/issues/2551).
 
 [pep-695]: https://peps.python.org/pep-0695/
 
diff --git a/python/private/repo_utils.bzl b/python/private/repo_utils.bzl
index 0e3f7b024b..e5c78be815 100644
--- a/python/private/repo_utils.bzl
+++ b/python/private/repo_utils.bzl
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ def _which_checked(mrctx, binary_name):
 def _which_unchecked(mrctx, binary_name):
     """Tests to see if a binary exists.
 
-    This is also watch the `PATH` environment variable.
+    Watches the `PATH` environment variable if the binary doesn't exist.
 
     Args:
         binary_name: name of the binary to find.
@@ -268,12 +268,12 @@ def _which_unchecked(mrctx, binary_name):
         * `describe_failure`: `Callable | None`; takes no args. If the
           binary couldn't be found, provides a detailed error description.
     """
-    path = _getenv(mrctx, "PATH", "")
     binary = mrctx.which(binary_name)
     if binary:
         _watch(mrctx, binary)
         describe_failure = None
     else:
+        path = _getenv(mrctx, "PATH", "")
         describe_failure = lambda: _which_describe_failure(binary_name, path)
 
     return struct(