Blogs

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 17, 2018, it was announced that Japan’s new biofuel policy will allow imports of ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) made from U.S. corn-based ethanol.  Japan has updated its sustainability policy to tighten the carbon intensity reduction requirements of ethanol that is used to make ETBE from a 50 percent reduction to a 55 percent reduction.  Originally, the policy only allowed sugarcane-based ethanol for import and production of ETBE, but the...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 20, 2018, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Green Chemistry Institute (GCI) announced the opening of the 2018 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards.  The announcement states that EPA “supports the continuation of the awards program for 2018 under the sponsorship of the ACS GCI,” and “[t]o ensure continuity, the awards categories and guidelines are remaining the same, only the timing of the awards cycle is changing, and the ACS GCI will...

By Lynn L. Bergeson EPA recently announced that it will be hosting a Safer Choice Partner & Stakeholder Summit on May 14, 2018, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, that will “build off of the previous Summits, exploring topics of importance to stakeholders and the program. The Summit will include informational sessions, and also breakout sessions with a focus on dialogue and developing solutions that can...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 25, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it was seeking applications for the 2018 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Awards in a notice in the Federal Register.  At the 2018 Partner of the Year Awards, Safer Choice will recognize stakeholder organizations from five broad categories: Formulators/Product Manufacturers of both Consumer and Institutional/Industrial products; Purchasers and Distributors; Retailers; Supporters (e.g.,...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 12, 2018, House Agriculture Committee Chair Michael Conaway (R-TX) released the Committee’s draft Farm Bill reauthorization, the “Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018” (H.R. 2).  The 600-plus page draft legislation includes a number of provisions that will be of interest to Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) members and the biofuel industry, including the following sections: Sec. 6402. Biobased markets program. ...

The European Commission (EC) Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Committee voted on April 26, 2018, to amend several REACH Annexes to clarify the registration requirements for nanomaterials.  According to the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) press release, the amendments address the knowledge gap regarding which substances registered under REACH are placed on the market as nanomaterials and in what quantities.  ECHA states that the...

On April 26, 2018, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt was grilled by Members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Environment at a hearing titled The Fiscal Year 2019 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Budget.  The budget was plainly not the primary topic as the House Committee Members covered a lot of ground.  Pruitt fielded many questions and comments from House Democrats on his alleged...

On April 24, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has updated Chapters 3, 7, and 17 of the Pesticide Label Review Manual.  The three updated Label Review Manual chapters are: General Labeling Requirements (Chapter 3) changes include: Precautionary Statements (Chapter 7) changes include: Net Contents/Net Weight (Chapter 17) changes include: Each updated chapter includes a new section identifying the changes in the updated version.  EPA states that it...

On April 19, 2018, the European Parliament (EP) approved a regulation on organic production and labeling of organic products.  Under the regulation, the production of processed organic food will be based on several specific principles, including the exclusion of food containing or consisting of engineered nanomaterials.  The regulation defines engineered nanomaterial as defined in the 2011 regulation on the provision of food information to consumers as amended in 2015 by...

On April 23, 2018, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) circulated a presentation entitled “Top 10 Agricultural Pesticide Use Violations of 2017” that identifies the top ten agricultural most common pesticide use violations of 2017 in California.  The violations are listed from the least common (#10) to the most common (#1): 10.       Handler Training, regulated under Title 3 of the California Code of Regulations (C.C.R.) §...

On April 24, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it would be presenting a webinar to assist processors with reporting under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory Notification (Active-Inactive) Rule, published in the Federal Register on August 11, 2017.  This webinar, scheduled for May 23, 2018, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (EDT) will “include an overview of reporting requirements for processors, a demonstration of the electronic...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a Federal Register notice on April 24, 2018, announcing the availability of a draft research plan entitled Continuing to Protect the Nanotechnology Workforce:  NIOSH Nanotechnology Research Plan for 2018-2025 for public comment.  The draft Nanotechnology Research Plan presents the Nanotechnology Research Center (NTRC) strategic plan for fiscal years (FY) 2018-2025, highlighting how the...

On April 24, 2018, the U.S. – Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) Stakeholder Group announced that a 2018 RCC Stakeholder Event will be held on; June 4-5, 2018, in Washington, D.C. to “bring together senior regulatory officials, industry, and other members of the public on both sides of the border to provide progress reports on existing RCC work plans and to discuss new opportunities for regulatory cooperation.” The announcement states that details regarding the 2018...

On April 16, 2018, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a report entitled “EU Insights — Consumer perceptions of emerging risks in the food chain.”  To understand better the views of European Union (EU) consumers on food-related emerging risks, EFSA surveyed 25 EU countries using three examples of emerging risks:  green smoothies, plastic rice, and nanoparticles.  According to the report, the study found that consumers tended to be more concerned about...

On April 19, 2018, the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule entitled “Strengthening Transparency and Validity in Regulatory Science.”  This new proposed rule, item 2080-AA14, has not been published in the regulatory agenda; the only information available concerning the content of this rule is its title.  On April 11, 2018, OIRA received an advanced...

On April 24, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to publish a notice in the Federal Register that it will be adding a supplemental analysis, “Supplemental Analysis of Alternative Small Business Size Standard Definitions and their Effect on TSCA User Fee Collection,” to the rulemaking docket for the User Fees for the Administration of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) proposed rule published on February 26, 2018.  EPA will also...

On April 12, 2018, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway (R-Texas) released the Committee’s draft Farm Bill reauthorization, the “Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018” (H.R. 2). The House Agriculture Committee passed the Farm Bill package on April 18, 2018, setting it up for a floor vote in the House.  The 600-plus page draft legislation includes a number of provisions that will be of interest to pesticide registrants and the pesticide user community, including the...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 13, 2018, Neste, a Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) member, announced that Red and White Fleet cruise company is committing to switch its entire fleet of vessels from conventional diesel to 100 percent Neste MY Renewable Diesel. This drop-in low-carbon biofuel cuts greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 80 percent and allows for reductions in engine-out emissions while enhancing fleet performance. Switching to renewable diesel has not...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 17, 2018, the Green Chemistry & Commerce Council (GC3) announced that ten startup companies had won the opportunity to pitch their technologies to major companies at the GC3’s 3rd Annual Green & Bio-Based Chemistry Technology Showcase & Networking Event. The Technology Showcase will be held on May 8, 2018, during the GC3 Annual Innovators Roundtable, with participation from 16 large companies, including Apple, BASF, Johnson &...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 10, 2018, Vivergo Fuels announced that it was re-opening its bioethanol plant following the passing of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). The Vivergo plant, the largest plant in the United Kingdom (UK) and the second largest producer of bioethanol in Europe, was originally shut down due to unfavorable trading conditions and uncertainty about the future of renewable fuel policies. RTFO will increase the use of renewable fuels in transport...