On July 11, 2016, the NanoSafety Cluster (NSC) published the 2016 edition of the Compendium of Projects in the European NanoSafety Cluster. According to NSC, the focus of investment and research “has moved increasingly towards predictive and high throughput approaches to nanosafety, including safety-by-design, bioinformatics, as well as the utilisation of nano-characterisation and safety datasets to support regulation and nanoproduct commercialisation.” The 2016 Compendium contains...
July 15, 2016
Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report Quotes Lynn L. Bergeson On New TSCA Chemical Provisions
On July 15, 2016, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report quoted Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner of Bergeson & Campbell (B&C®), in the article “Give EPA Detailed New Chemical Notices, Attorneys Advise.” Pre-manufacture notifications, or PMNs, that makers must submit before they can produce or import a new chemical, and significant new use notifications, which companies must submit before they can make or use certain chemicals in new ways, “need to be much...
July 15, 2016
Lynn L. Bergeson Quoted In Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report Article On The Need To Submit Thoughtful PMNs to EPA
On July 15, 2016, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report quoted Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner of Bergeson & Campbell P.C. (B&C®), in the article, “Give EPA Detailed New Chemical Notices, Attorneys Advise.” Pre-manufacture notifications, or PMNs, that makers must submit before they can produce or import a new chemical, and significant new use notifications, which companies must submit before they can make or use certain chemicals in new ways, “need to be...
On June 24, 2016, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed Senate Bill 657 modifying provisions related to motor vehicles. Under this new law, liability insurance carried by gas stations will expand coverage to include the release of blended fuels from incompatible storage tanks. The inclusion of blended fuels under the required insurance policy will remove one more barrier towards increasing the number of blender pumps within the state. The bill was originally introduced on January 6, 2016, and will...
On July 6, 2016, Hawaii Governor David Ige signed SB 2652 Related to Taxation -- Locally Produced Renewable Energy. This bill establishes a five-year renewable fuels production tax credit. The tax credit will take effect in 2017 and will provide 20 cents per gallon of ethanol (or 76,000 British thermal units (Btu) of renewable fuel) with a cap of $3 million. The tax credit is open to companies producing at least 15 billion Btu of fuel from renewable feedstocks per year. Acceptable fuels include,...
July 15, 2016
Senate Passes GMO Bill Creating A National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard With Federal Pree
On July 7, 2016, the Senate passed a bill, An Act to Reauthorize and Amend the National Sea Grant College Program Act, and for Other Purposes (S. 764), through agreement to the House's amendment to S. 764, with further amendment. While the bill is being referred to as a genetically modified organism (GMO) labeling bill, there is no actual requirement to print GMO ingredients on labels. Instead, companies would be required to print information on the packaging (through text, a symbol such as...
On July 1, 2016, Inside EPA published "Committee Jurisdiction Issues Blocked Green Chemistry From TSCA Reform," an article discussing the passage of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) law and the lack of language from previous versions boosting federal support of green chemistry. The majority of the bill was reviewed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, but the green chemistry provision would have needed to be reviewed by the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee,...
On July 14, 2016, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report included quotes from the B&C® and Chemical Watch webinar “The New TSCA Series Webinar 2: Impacts on New Chemical Programs.” Chemical manufacturers and processors will need to give exposure and toxicity data to the EPA for it to evaluate the risks of new and existing chemicals as required by the recently amended Toxic Substances Control Act, said Charles Auer, who directed the EPA Office of Pollution...
On June 29, 2016, the European Commission (EC) provided a notice to the European Parliament regarding its response to a 2014 petition calling for a European Union (EU)-wide ban on microplastics and nanoparticles. The petition summary states: “Nanoparticles are so small that they penetrate cells effortlessly and can damage them, causing cancer. Because the precautionary principle applies in the EU, the petitioner urges a ban on these small particles as soon as possible.” In its...
An Environmental Law Institute Seminar and Webinar, Complimentary for members, $50 for non-members. On June 22, 2016 President Obama signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, amending the Toxic Substances Control Act for the first time since its passage in 1976. While environmental organizations, public health advocates, the regulated community, and EPA have all supported updating the law since at least 2009, political challenges seemed destined to prevent...