Blogs

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on February 15, 2023, on “The Future of Low Carbon Transportation Fuels and Considerations for a National Clean Fuels Program.” The Committee heard from the following witnesses: Michael J. Graff, Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), American Air Liquide Holdings Incorporated; Geoff Cooper, President and CEO, Renewable Fuels Association; and Chris Spear, President and...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host a workshop on May 23, 2023, to examine “recyclable” adverting claims as part of its review of the Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (Green Guides). The workshop, “Talking Trash at the FTC: Recyclable Claims and the Green Guides,” is free and open to the public, and pre-registration is not required.   According to the pre-publication version of the...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   According to a January 24, 2023, item published by the U.S. International Trade Administration (ITA), the demand for new bioplastic materials and innovative processing technologies is high, contributing to the European and Italian plastics circular economy policy. According to ITA, European demand for bioplastics (compostable, bio-attributed, and bio-based) grew more than 23 percent annually from 2019 to 2021, increasing from 210,000 to 320,000...

On February 14, 2023, the European Commission (EC) appealed the November 23, 2022, decision of the European General Court that annuls the 2019 harmonized classification and labeling of titanium dioxide as a carcinogenic substance by inhalation in certain powder forms. As reported in our December 6, 2022, memorandum, the court concluded that the EC “made a manifest error in its assessment of the reliability and acceptability of the study on which the classification was based and, second,...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) recently announced the selection of five external collaborations totaling over $3.7 million to conduct research and development (R&D) needed to accelerate the U.S. biomanufacturing sector. Working with scientists at the Agile BioFoundry (ABF) consortium, these industry and academic groups will leverage national laboratory capabilities to address challenges in...

On January 27, 2023, plaintiffs in the Southern District of New York announced their displeasure with the inconvenient fact that Tom’s Wicked Fresh! mouthwash contains measurable concentrations of PFAS. They channeled their displeasure by bringing a class action suit against Colgate-Palmolive Company and Tom’s of Maine, Inc. for fraud and unjust enrichment based on several state consumer protection laws, the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, and common law tort. Plaintiffs assert...

As reported in our October 19, 2021, memorandum, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the PFAS Strategic Roadmap in October 2021, “laying out a whole-of-agency approach” to addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). As part of the Roadmap, EPA committed to engage with communities in each EPA region to understand better their experiences and challenges in addressing PFAS contamination. To help inform EPA’s ongoing work under the Roadmap, EPA...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   As reported in our January 4, 2023, blog item, on January 3, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of a draft document entitled “Biofuels and the Environment: Third Triennial Report to Congress (External Review Draft)” for public comment. 88 Fed. Reg. 72. EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) and Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), in consultation with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture...

The kickoff workshop for Nano4EARTH was held January 24-25, 2023. Nano4EARTH will leverage recent investments in understanding and controlling matter at the nanoscale to develop technologies, industries, and training opportunities that address climate change. On January 26, 2023, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a press release summarizing the workshop. According to OSTP, more than 400 people across sectors, with diverse expertise and...

On February 15, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested nominations for technical experts to serve as Special Government Employees (SGE) on a review panel under the authority of the Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC), a federal advisory committee to the Office of Research and Development (ORD). 88 Fed. Reg. 9880. EPA states that selected experts will review ORD’s draft documents detailing scientific studies supporting the development of transcriptomic-based...