Blogs

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 29, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a pre-publication version of a proposed anti-backsliding determination that no additional measures are necessary pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 211(v) to mitigate the adverse air quality impacts of renewable fuel volumes required under CAA Section 211(o). The proposed determination will be published in the Federal Register for a 30-day comment period. CAA Section 211 requires EPA to take two...

The Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) will hold a webinar on July 7, 2020, on “Introducing the NanoHarmony project.”  Funded through Horizon 2020, NanoHarmony began on April 1, 2020.  NanoHarmony brings together 14 expert partners from ten European countries and will work alongside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to support the development of test guidelines and guidance documents for...

On June 1, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) announced that it issued a compliance advisory on products claiming to kill SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. EPA states that the advisory was issued because it has received tips and complaints concerning potentially false or misleading claims, including efficacy claims, associated with pesticides and devices.  EPA says it is actively...

On May 29, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released updated data collected during the 2016 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) period.  EPA notes that the updated 2016 CDR data now include information that was previously classified as confidential business information (CBI), such as aggregate production volumes and site-specific production volumes.  EPA published an initial release of the 2016 CDR data in May 2017.  The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety...

On May 28, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report entitled EPA Toxic Substances Control Act Consent Orders Need Better Coordination.  OIG conducted the evaluation to determine what actions EPA took to verify compliance with the requirements of the 2009 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Premanufacture Notice Consent Order with DuPont (responsibilities transferred to The Chemours Company in 2015) to prevent the release of...

On May 28, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report entitled EPA Toxic Substances Control Act Consent Orders Need Better Coordination.  OIG conducted the evaluation to determine what actions EPA took to verify compliance with the requirements of the 2009 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Premanufacture Notice Consent Order with DuPont (responsibilities transferred to The Chemours Company in 2015) to prevent the release of...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 21, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced the availability of approximately $21.3 million in funding for 106 Phase I small business innovation projects. The funds, announced by U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette, are part of DOE’s $53 million available for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) research and development projects. The...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 22, 2020, EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) announced the opening of a 15-day comment period on its proposal to register a new active ingredient and biopesticide product. The biopesticide product, PHC-91398, would contain Ea peptide 91398, the new active ingredient that was derived from naturally occurring bacterium and induces natural plant defenses. The plant’s reaction to the peptide “activates a hypersensitive response in treated plants,...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 28, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the issuance of the final rule amending the definition of small manufacturer, including a new definition for small government in accordance with the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Effective June 29, 2020, these amendments affect certain reporting and recordkeeping requirements in the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule under TSCA.

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 21, 2020, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced a bill directing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary to establish a renewable feedstock reimbursement program. Aiming to support biofuel producers that have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, this bill can be cited as the Renewable Fuel Feedstock Reimbursement Act of 2020. Under the reimbursement program, biofuel producers will be reimbursed for their...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on May 28, 2020, extending the comment and reporting period on the preliminary lists of manufacturers (including importers) subject to fees associated with EPA-initiated risk evaluations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  85 Fed. Reg. 32036.  The new due date is June 15, 2020.  EPA states that it is extending the comment period in response to stakeholder feedback and to...

On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a press release announcing a final agreement with Swix Sport USA (Swix) resolving Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) violations associated with the importation of noncompliant ski wax products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).  According to the press release, Swix agrees to pay a fine and develop a $1 million educational program to raise awareness in ski communities about PFAS chemicals in...

On May 26, 2020, the European Union (EU) NanoSafety Cluster announced the publication of the final report of the (nano) TiO2 safety communication Task Force.  The goal of the task force was to provide scientific input to the ongoing classification of titanium dioxide (TiO2).  The Task Force ran from January 2018 to January 2019, collecting information regarding the classification of TiO2 and information on TiO2 hazard potential from available...

The European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) announced on May 20, 2020, that a recent study has analyzed existing research on whether nanomaterials used in consumer products and at workplaces are absorbed through the skin.  The study was commissioned by EUON and carried out by the RPA consortium of Triskelion and the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).  According to EUON, the study found that the lack of standardized,...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published its 2020 Annual Plan for Chemical Risk Evaluations under TSCA (Annual Plan).  Section 26(n) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires EPA to publish an annual plan at the beginning of each calendar year that identifies the chemical substances for which EPA expects to initiate or complete risk evaluations that year and the resources necessary for their completion, describes the status of each risk evaluation that has...

From the current impacts of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) on science policies to challenges faced by industry, Lautenberg Implementation continues to evolve even four years after becoming law. B&C, The Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and the George Washington University (GWU) Milken Institute School of Public Health are pleased to present “TSCA Reform -- Four Years Later,” a complimentary virtual seminar bringing together government and industry officials to reflect...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 14, 2020, the American Cleaning Institute (ACI), a BRAG member, announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved eight cleaning product ingredients submitted by ACI for inclusion in EPA’s Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL). EPA’s Safer Choice Program focuses on assisting consumers, businesses, and purchasers to find products that perform and contain ingredients that are safer for human health and the environment. SCIL is a list of...

By Lynn L. Bergeson The U.S. Air Force (USAF) Research Laboratory is sponsoring a $1 million challenge for synthetic biology solutions to reduce the cost and improve the quality for aerospace thermosets. This scientific challenge is focused on the use of biotechnology to create products or product precursors required by USAF. Interested parties must submit white papers on the viability of the approach to bio-synthesize two molecules A and B needed for aerospace thermosets. This is the first of...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 15, 2020, U.S. Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced the Bioeconomy Research and Development Act of 2020, creating a federal research initiative to ensure continued United States leadership in engineering biology. The National Engineering Biology Research and Development Initiative would focus on the advancement of societal well-being, national security, sustainability, and economic productivity and...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On May 18, 2020, USDA issued its final rule for the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program (9003 Program), which incorporates the statutory definition changes as required in the Agricultural Act of 2018 (Farm Bill) and adopts the interim rule published on June 14, 2015. The 9003 Program replaces the Biorefinery Assistance Program (BAP), which guaranteed loans to fund the development, construction, and retrofitting of...