On May 8, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its invitation for public input regarding the “Strategic Roadmap: New Approaches to Evaluate the Safety of Chemicals and Medical Products” (Roadmap), the development of which was coordinated by the National Toxicology Program’s (NTP) Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM). ICCVAM states that the vision of the Roadmap is to “establish new approaches for...
On March 10, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that its Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) would be hosting two webinars covering the use of the Central Data Exchange (CDX) for upfront confidential business information (CBI) substantiation. Per EPA’s notice on January 19, 2017, the statutory requirements for substantiation of CBI claims will change effective March 21, 2017, for Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) submissions. In...
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Margaret R. Graham On March 9, 2017, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) announced the release (pre-publication version) of a new report: Preparing for Future Products of Biotechnology. Pursuant to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy's (OSTP) July 2, 2015, memorandum, “Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products,” NAS was tasked with looking into the future and describing the...
On March 9, 2017, the NanoSafety Cluster published its 2017 Research Regulatory Roadmap. The purpose of the Roadmap is to identify both ongoing and complete activities associated with the development of regulations promoting the safety of nanomaterials. The Roadmap identifies research areas or priorities that need to be addressed further to facilitate this process. According to the Roadmap, there remain significant gaps in knowledge and procedures that need to be addressed...
On March 2, 2017, Kathleen M. Roberts, Executive Director of the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), participated as a panelist alongside four other trade associations in the “Domestic Policy Forum” at the 2017 Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference (ABLC2017). Ms. Roberts discussed the challenges facing the bioeconomy, including the implementation of the amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), issues with the TSCA nomenclature system,...
March 9, 2017
RFA Publishes Report On U.S. Ethanol Industry
On February 22, 2016, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) published the results of a study on the impact of the ethanol industry on the U.S. economy. The study, which was commissioned by ABF Economics, found that the U.S. ethanol industry contributed over $42 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and supported 340,000 jobs in 2016. Additionally, the report states that the ethanol industry provided significant contributions in terms of displacing imported crude...
On February 27, 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced the publication of the Biorefinery Optimization Workshop Summary Report. The report provides an overview of the discussion on industry challenges and opportunities that took place during the October 2016 Biorefinery Optimization Workshop in Chicago, Illinois. The workshop, which comprised a combination of presentations and breakout sessions, focused on feedstock and...
March 9, 2017
EPA Extends Comment Period On Safer Choice Logo Redesign
On March 6, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in the Federal Register that an information collection request (ICR) had been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regarding consultations on the Safer Choice logo redesign. Following the launch of the new Safer Choice logo, EPA plans to conduct consumer surveys to gauge consumer recognition of the new logo and to determine whether the new logo and educational activities are changing purchasing...
On March 6, 2017, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), via the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), issued Memorandum: Spring 2017 Data Call for the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, a memorandum for regulatory policy officers at executive departments and agencies and managing and executive directors of certain agencies and commissions, with the subject: Spring 2017 Data Call for the Unified Agenda of Federal...
March 7, 2017
EPA Denies TSCA Section 21 Petition on Fluoride Chemicals in Drinking Water; Provides Response to Petition
On February 27, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in a Federal Register notice that it was denying a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 21 petition that requested regulatory action under Section 6 to “prohibit the purposeful addition of fluoridation chemicals to U.S. water supplies,” and that it was making available its response to the petition. 82 Fed. Reg. 11878. The petition was received by EPA on November 23, 2016, and EPA had...