Blogs

By Lynn L. Bergeson On December 5, 2018, the United Kingdom (UK) published a policy paper titled “Growing the Bioeconomy, Improving Lives and Strengthening Our Economy: A National Bioeconomy Strategy to 2030.” As the UK strives to double its bioeconomy value by 2030, four main goals are outlined as part of the strategic plan: Capitalize the research, development, and innovation base; Maximize productivity and potential from existing bioeconomy assets; Deliver real, measurable...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On December 10, 2018, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) submitted a letter urging Congress to investigate the reason for which DOE has not spent all of its 2018 fiscal year funding for clean energy research, development, and demonstration (RD&D). In the letter to Congress, NRDC expresses concerns that certain DOE Administration officials may be purposefully hindering clean energy RD&D funding from innovative businesses focused on clean energy. The analysis...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On December 11, 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced that registration is now open for the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) 2019 Project Peer Review. The event will take place in Denver, Colorado, from March 4-8, 2019. BETO’s early-stage research and development portfolio is to be presented to the public and reviewed by experts from academia, industry, and federal agencies. The portfolio...

On November 21, 2018, in Court of Justice of the European Union (EU), the Fourth Chamber of the General Court (General Court/Fourth Chamber) issued a judgment in the appeal case T-545/11 RENV that denied all three pleas on appeal and prevented applicants Stichting Greenpeace Nederland and Pesticide Action Network Europe (Applicants) from receiving certain documents containing confidential information relating to the first authorization of the placing of glyphosate on the market as an...

On December 7, 2018, the Occupational Cancer Research Center (OCRC) held a seminar on “Perspectives on Mitigating Exposures to Engineered Nanomaterials in the Workplace.”  The seminar was part of the Occupational and Environmental Health seminar series supported by the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Public Health Ontario, OCRC, and the Center for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease.  Pat Rasmussen, Health Canada/University of Ottawa, gave the presentation, addressing:...

On December 6, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it was proposing a rule (83 Fed. Reg. 62760) to harmonize the EPA-specific regulations regarding research involving human subjects conducted or sponsored by EPA or submitted to EPA for regulatory purposes with the revised regulations of the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (Common Rule) issued on January 19, 2017 (82 Fed. Reg. 7149).  Specifically, EPA is proposing to amend subparts C,...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on December 7, 2018, withdrawing significant new use rules (SNUR) promulgated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 28 chemical substances, including single-walled carbon nanotubes, that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN).  As reported in our October 10, 2018, blog item, EPA issued the SNURs through a direct final rule on October 10, 2018.  EPA states that it...

BCCM is pleased to announce that Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.’s (B&C®) podcast “All Things Chemical™” will release an episode on biobased equivalency determination.  The podcast will be presented by B&C’s Director of Chemistry, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., who is a 17-year veteran of EPA and is one of the most widely recognized experts in the field of green chemistry.  It will provide an overview of the term “biobased” and what it...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 29, 2018, the Government of Ontario, Canada, submitted for public comment the Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan (Plan).  The Plan outlines the government’s commitment to addressing climate change through the protection of land, air, water, and reduction of waste and greenhouse gas emissions.  Posted by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, the Plan would increase ethanol use in gasoline by 15 percent in 2025, increase the...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 28, 2018, the European Commission (EC) published a document called “A Clean Planet for all: A European strategic long-term vision for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy.”  Due to EC’s expressed concerns about climate change, part of this new long-term vision includes new rulings that facilitate the production of bio-fertilizers, encourage the production of biogas from manure treatment, and increase biomass imports....

By Lynn L. Bergeson On December 4, 2018, EPA announced that it is accepting nominations for the 2019 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards.  Sponsored by EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) in partnership with the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute (ACSGCI), these awards promote the development and use of novel green chemistry for environmental and economic benefits.  There are five award categories for which eligible candidates can be...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On December 4, 2018, as part of its efforts to crowdsource solutions to increase energy productivity, DOE announced it will issue two new prizes as part of its Manufacturing Innovator Challenge.  The first new prize focuses on Biobased Additive Manufacturing (BAM) and will be distributed to three winners.  BAM involves the production of rapid prototyping of complex structures through biobased three-dimensional printing.  To qualify for the BAM prize, candidates...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 30, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the final renewable fuels volumes under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2019 and the biomass-based diesel volumes for 2020.  The final rule establishes that the 15-billion gallon targets originally set by Congress for 2019 will be maintained and primarily met by corn ethanol.  Additionally, in 2019, advanced biofuel volumes will increase by 630 million gallons and cellulosic biofuel...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 27, 2018, DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) announced the discovery of a new process that uses biomass gasification.  Developed by the Bioenergy Technologies Office and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the process converts solid biomass into gas under high temperatures, creating a new blendstock that is low on aromatic compounds.  The blendstock consists of high-octane gasoline that can be produced in a...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 15, 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced the latest open funding opportunity for 40 new projects (OPEN 2018).  The funds add up to $98 million and are designed to support research and development (R&D) innovators’ projects to transform the U.S. energy system.  Solicitations for ARPA-E OPEN funding are available for scientists and engineers focused on transformational...

The European Commission (EC) announced on December 3, 2018, that it adopted amendments to several Annexes of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation to clarify the information requirements for nanomaterials.  The EC notes that REACH “has always applied to nanomaterials, but did not contain specific provisions for them, which is why companies often did not know how to register these ‘substances in nanoform.’”...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to publish a Federal Register notice on December 4, 2018, withdrawing significant new use rules (SNUR) promulgated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 26 chemical substances, including carbon nanomaterial (generic), that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN).  As reported in our October 2, 2018, blog item, EPA issued the SNURs through a direct final rule on October 3, 2018.  EPA states that it received...

The Swedish National Platform for Nanosafety (SweNanoSafe) has posted a report on the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) November 8-9, 2018, workshop on the upcoming Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) information requirements for nanomaterials.  As reported in our April 26, 2018, blog item, the European Commission (EC) REACH Committee voted on April 26, 2018, to amend several REACH Annexes to clarify the registration requirements...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On December 6, 2018, DOE EERE will host a webinar on “Biomass Production and Water Quality in the Mississippi River Basin” at 8:00 a.m. (EST). The webinar will be presented by Argonne National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, who will delve into the “modeling and analyses of potential implications of biomass production on nutrients and sediments in each of the six tributaries of the Mississippi River Basin.” Discussions will be...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 13, 2018, Neste, a member of the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), announced that the Finish airport operator Finavia has decided to adopt Neste’s MY Renewable Diesel in its vehicles at four airports. Neste MY Renewable Diesel is a low-carbon biofuel produced 100 percent from renewable raw materials. Finavia’s switch to this renewable biofuel is part of its goal to reach carbon neutrality within its airports by...