Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services passed versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 that included starkly different provisions on biofuels. The House version would severely limit U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) authority to promote the procurement of biofuels. For instance, it included a provision that would allow DOD to procure biofuels only if their costs were "equivalent to"...
On Friday, May 23, 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its semi-annual regulatory agenda (Agenda) indicating its intended actions and priorities for the remainder of the year. A copy of USDA's Agenda is available online. According to the Agenda, USDA intends to issue its final rule addressing how its BioPreferred® Program will designate complex products and intermediate materials and feedstocks in July 2014. USDA published its proposed rule on this matter in the...
On Friday, May 23, 2014, EPA published its semi-annul regulatory agenda (Agenda) indicating the Agency's upcoming priorities and timelines. A copy of the Agenda is available online. According to the Agenda, EPA plans to issue several actions that will impact the biofuels industry, including the following: * 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS): EPA anticipates issuing the final rule in June 2014. BRAG has issued a report on the 2014 RFS. A copy of that report...
May 23, 2014
REG Makes Deal For Full Ownership Of Dynamic Fuels
On May 21, 2014, Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (REG), a leading U.S. biodiesel producer, and Tyson Foods, Inc. (Tyson) announced that they have agreed to REG's acquisition of Tyson's 50 percent ownership position in Dynamic Fuels, LLC (Dynamic Fuels). Contingent upon the closing of REG's December 2013 announced agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Syntroleum Corporation (Syntroleum), the acquisition announced on May 21, 2014, would give REG full ownership of Dynamic...
May 23, 2014
Segetis Receives Minnesota NextGen Energy Grant
On May 19, 2014, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) announced that it has awarded Segetis, Inc., a green chemistry company based in the State, a $325,000 NextGen Energy Grant. The grant will be used for equipment, capital construction, and materials for operation of a pilot plant for process development required to commercialize their biobased non-phthalate plasticizer. A copy of the MDA press release on the grant awards is available online....
On May 21, 2014, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad (R) signed into law Senate Bill 2344, legislation to help promote the biofuels industry in the State. A copy of the legislation is available online. It extends the biodiesel production tax credit that was scheduled to expire at the end of 2014, enhances Iowa's E-15 retailer tax credit, and adds biobutanol as a renewable fuel option. This law reinforces Iowa's ongoing support for the biofuels industry....
May 23, 2014
House Agriculture Appropriations Bill Would Make Significant Cuts To Mandatory Funding For Farm Bill
On May 20, 2014, the House Committee on Appropriations' Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee) and the Senate Committee on Appropriations' Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee) marked up and passed their separate versions of a Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 spending bill for USDA. A...
On May 15, 2014, the U.S. Senate failed to pass a procedural measure that would have allowed for that body to consider and vote on S. 2260, the "Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency (EXPIRE) Act," the package of tax extenders approved by the Senate Finance Committee in April. The EXPIRE Act includes extensions through December 31, 2015 (and retroactive to January 1, 2014), of the following key biofuels incentives that have expired: the Alternative...
May 23, 2014
DOE Publishes Notices Announcing Meeting Of And Solicitation Of Nominees For Biomass R&D Technical
On May 19, 2014, two U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) notices were published in the Federal Register. The first is a notice of an open meeting of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee (Committee). The Committee advises DOE and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on the Biomass Research and Development Initiative (BRDI) and priority technical biomass research and development (R&D) needs, and makes recommendations to the Biomass Research and Development Board....
On May 19, 2014, the European Commission (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) announced the availability of a report discussing labeling and reporting schemes for nanomaterials in consumer products in the European Union (EU). The JRC notes that current EU legislation requires nanomaterials to be reported in the list of ingredients, with “nano” added in brackets after the substance name, for food, cosmetics, and biocides. According to the JRC, manufacturers sometimes add voluntary...
On May 12, 2014, the Silent Spring Institute and the Harvard School of Public Health released a study finding that 17 groups of chemicals found in everyday products could be linked to breast cancer. The groups of chemicals include those found in vehicle exhaust, flame retardants, stain-resistant textiles, including those commonly used to upholster furniture, paint removers, and disinfection byproducts found in drinking water. A copy of the report is available online....
On May 13, 2014, INVISTA and LanzaTech announced that they signed a research and development agreement to focus on the development of gas-fermentation process technology for the production of industrial chemicals from carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas (CO2 and H2) feedstocks. Warren Primeaux, President of INVISTA intermediates, explained that the agreement will "provide INVISTA increased access to LanzaTech's world-class gas-fermentation process technology and help accelerate the...
On May 7, 2014, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on "Alternative Jet Fuels: Federal Activities Support Development and Usage, but Long-Term Commercial Viability Hinges on Market Factors." GAO found that [a]chieving price competitiveness for alternative jet fuels is the overarching challenge to developing a viable market." To this end, according to stakeholders consulted for the report, both federal activities — including policy stability...
May 16, 2014
EPA’s Jim Jones And DTSC’s Dr. Meredith Williams Share Insights At Safer Consumer Products Summit
The 4th Annual Safer Consumer Products Summit was held May 6-8, 2014, in Santa Clara, California, and with the first draft Priority Products (PP) having been announced by California's Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) in March 2014, the regulators, manufacturers, brand owners, and retailers gathered for the Summit were able to engage in substantive and practical discussion and learn from case studies on California's implementation of the Safer Consumer Products Regulations...
Last week, Purdue University (Purdue) President Mitch Daniels, and U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), agreeing to work together on the development of alternative energy sources, including biofuels, for use by the U.S. Navy. As part of the agreement, Purdue has committed to establishing the Purdue Military Research Initiative. This initiative will cover the cost of graduate education for up to ten active duty members of the military pursuing studies...
May 16, 2014
DOE Inspector General Report On Loan Guarantees
On May 7, 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Inspector General (IG), Gregory H. Friedman, issued an audit report on "Implementation of Recommendations from the January 2012 Independent Consultant's Review of the Department of Energy Loan and Loan Guarantee Portfolio." A copy of the report is available online. In the fall of 2011, following the high-profile bankruptcies of alternative energy companies that had received DOE loan guarantees, including Solyndra, Inc....
Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) advocacy is continuing at a steady pace in anticipation of the expected imminent release of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2014 final RFS rule. Some biofuels advocates believe that they are making an impact with their stepped-up advocacy, as they believe the Administration will adjust the total renewable and advanced biofuel targets upwards from its proposed reductions to those categories of renewable fuels. The final rule is expected to be...
May 15, 2014
House Subcommittee Will Hold Hearing on Nanotechnology: From Laboratories to Commercial Products
The House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology will hold a hearing on May 20, 2014, on “Nanotechnology: From Laboratories to Commercial Products.” Scheduled witnesses include: The hearing will be webcast live....
An International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Advisory Group met on April 7-9, 2014, to recommend priorities for IARC Monographs during 2015-2019. The Advisory Group assessed the responses to a call for nominations and recommended a range of agents and exposures as high or medium priorities for assessment. According to the recommendations published in Lancet Oncology, multi-walled carbon nanotubes are a high priority for assessment — “cancer bioassay...
On May 6, 2014, INVISTA, a large U.S. headquartered integrated producer of chemical intermediaries, polymers, and fibers, and owner of the LYCRA Brand, announced the introduction of the "only commercial offering of a bio-derived spandex available globally and for use in a wide variety of apparel fabrics and garments." The company explains that "[a]pproximately 70 percent by weight of the new LYCRA® bio-derived spandex fiber comes from a renewable source made from dextrose...