On September 18, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report on an evaluation conducted by OIG entitled “EPA Needs to Manage Pesticide Funds More Efficiently.” OIG states that it conducted the audit “to determine whether EPA manages the Pesticides Reregistration and Expedited Processing Fund (known as the [Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)] Fund) and the Pesticide Registration Fund (known as the...
September 22, 2017
Neste Announces Renewable Jet Fuel To Be Used At Genève Aéroport
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On September 13, 2017, Neste, a member of the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), announced it is collaborating with Genève Aéroport to make flying more sustainable. Neste will be providing renewable jet fuel for aircraft operations from Genève Aéroport. The goal is for one percent of the jet fuel consumed annually at Genève Aéroport to be composed of renewable jet fuel by late 2018. ...
September 22, 2017
New York Governor Signs Bill On Bioheating Fuel Requirements
By Kathleen M. Roberts The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) announced that on September 13, 2017, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that introduces bioheating fuel tax credits and bioheating fuel tax requirements to three New York counties. The bill (S5422A) requires all home heating oil sold for use in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties on or after July 1, 2018, to contain at least five percent biodiesel (B5). Assemblyman Steve Englebright and Senator Phil...
September 22, 2017
DOE Studies Impact Of Drought On Biomass Products
By Kathleen M. Roberts Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have linked changes in rainfall and other environmental stressors during crop growth to potential deleterious effects on biofuel production. The study demonstrates that the effect of weather conditions on crop yields can significantly impact the downstream processing of those crops for biofuel production. Researchers compared the production of biofuel from switchgrass harvested after a major drought to...
September 22, 2017
Pruitt Responds To Senators’ Request For Details On Icahn’s Advisory Role
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On September 11, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt sent a letter to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in response to the request by Senator Whitehouse and four other Democratic Senators to explain Carl Icahn’s role in shaping the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. According to Pruitt, Icahn did not exercise excessive influence on the U.S. biofuels policy while acting as an advisor of President...
September 21, 2017
EPA Issues Direct Final SNURs for Carbon Nanotube (Generic) and Nanocarbon (Generic)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated on September 21, 2017, significant new use rules (SNUR) for 37 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). Six of the chemical substances, including carbon nanotube (generic) and nanocarbon (generic), are subject to consent orders issued by EPA under Section 4 of the Toxic Substances Control Act. The SNURs require persons who intend to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or...
On September 15, 2017, the European Commission (EC) began a public consultation on the revision of the 2011 EC Recommendation on the definition of nanomaterial. The EC intended the definition to achieve consistent application of the term nanomaterial across all legislation. The definition includes descriptors that the EC intended to review by December 2014 to ensure that the definition corresponds to the needs. In particular, the review must examine issues where there...
The hearing on the nominations of four U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials by the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) scheduled for September 20, 2017, has been postponed without any specific reasons; a new hearing date has not been provided. Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) will be monitoring the Senate EPW Committee calendar for the new hearing date. More information on the nominees is available in our blog item Senate EPW Committee...
On September 19, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an update to Chapters 15 and 16 of the Office of Pesticide Programs’ (OPP) Label Review Manual. Updates to Chapter 15: Company Name and Address, include removing non-label related instructions on submitting address change requests and updating the National Pesticide Information Center’s contact information, including new hours of operation. Updates to Chapter 16: Graphics and Symbols, include...
September 20, 2017
EPA Extends Compliance Date for Substantiation of CBI and Schedules Three Webinars to Discuss Reporting under TSCA Inventory Notification (Active-Inactive) Rule
On September 20, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice in the Federal Register stating that it is extending the compliance date by which submitters of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) submissions containing information claimed as Confidential Business Information (CBI) and filed between June 22, 2016, and March 21, 2017, had to submit to EPA the substantiation required by TSCA Section 14(c)(3) for all information claimed as confidential, other than...