September 22, 2023

DOE Announces $18.6 Million to Support Production of Low-Carbon Biofuels and Bioproducts

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced on September 12, 2023, that it awarded $18.6 million in funding for eight university and industry projects to develop biomass feedstocks to produce affordable biofuels and bioproducts that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to BETO, the projects “will create good-paying jobs, support rural economies, and encourage participation of underserved communities, all while putting the United States on a...
September 18, 2023

EPA Calls for Nominations for 2024 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 8, 2023, that it is now accepting nominations for the 2024 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards from companies or institutions that have developed a new green chemistry process or product that helps protect human health and the environment. EPA states that its “efforts to speed the adoption of this revolutionary and diverse discipline have led to significant environmental benefits, innovation, and a strengthened economy.” The...
August 29, 2023

NSTC’s Sustainable Chemistry Strategy Team Releases Sustainable Chemistry Report

On August 3, 2023, the Joint Subcommittee on Environment, Innovation, and Public Health Sustainable Chemistry Strategy Team (Sustainable Chemistry ST) of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) published a report entitled Sustainable Chemistry Report: Framing the Federal Landscape. As reported in our January 19, 2021, memorandum, the fiscal year (FY) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) included the text of the bipartisan Sustainable Chemistry Research and...
August 25, 2023

EPA Will Hold Virtual Training on High Throughput Toxicokinetics Modeling in November 2023

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a two-day training on its high throughput toxicokinetic (HTTK) R package as part of its New Approach Methods (NAM) Training Program: According to EPA, toxicokinetics (TK) provides a bridge between toxicity and exposure assessment by predicting tissue concentrations due to exposure. EPA notes that traditional TK methods can be resource intensive and require chemical-specific data. EPA states that its freely available HTTK R...
August 23, 2023

CRS Updates Report on USDA’s SECURE Rule to Regulate Agricultural Biotechnology

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) published an updated report on August 4, 2023, on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Sustainable, Ecological, Consistent, Uniform, Responsible, Efficient (SECURE) rule. The revisions note that USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) five-year Strategic Plan for fiscal years (FY) 2023-2027 states that “one of its objectives is to ensure the safe development of agricultural biotechnology products using a...
August 17, 2023

ICIS Innovation Awards Recognize Sustainability in Chemical Industry

The Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS) search for the very best in innovation in the chemical industry. The ICIS Innovation Awards are intended to recognize and reward companies paving the way in product, process, and digital innovations that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability. The awards were open to any company in the chemical industry that successfully executed innovative projects that solve problems and provide solutions for companies, their customers, and society, as...
August 10, 2023

EPA Announces New Webinar Series on the Use of NAMs to Reduce Animal Testing

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a webinar series in collaboration with the PETA Science Consortium International (PSCI), Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS), and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR). According to EPA, the quarterly series will focus on the use of new approach methodologies (NAM), or alternative methods to reduce vertebrate animal testing, for risk assessment within EPA and CDPR. The first webinar in the series will take place...
August 9, 2023

EPA Sets Final Renewable Fuels Standards for 2023, 2024, and 2025

On July 12, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule establishing the applicable volumes and percentage standards for 2023 through 2025 for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel (BBD), advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel. 88 Fed. Reg. 44468. The final rule also establishes the second supplemental standard addressing the judicial remand of the 2016 standard-setting rulemaking. Finally, according to EPA, the rule makes several regulatory changes to...
August 8, 2023

EPA Will Accept Comment on Potential Expansion of Safer Choice and DfE Programs, Announces August 29, 2023, Webinar

On July 25, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an opportunity for public input on the potential expansion of the Safer Choice and Design for the Environment (DfE) programs’ certification to new product categories. EPA notes in its July 27, 2023, Federal Register notice that Safer Choice “helps consumers, businesses, and purchasers find products that perform and contain ingredients that are safer for human health and the environment.” 88...
August 7, 2023

EPA Announces First Product Categories for Expansion of Ecolabel Recommendations for Federal Purchasing

On August 1, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the first five product and service categories chosen for the expansion of its Recommendations of Specifications, Standards, and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing (Recommendations). EPA notes that this action supports the broader effort announced last year to expand the Recommendations by assessing additional standards and ecolabels. EPA states that later in 2023, it anticipates announcing the...
August 4, 2023

BETO Announces Release of New Feedstock-Conversion Interface Consortium Case Studies and Technical Reports

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On July 27, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced that its Feedstock-Conversion Interface Consortium (FCIC) recently published eight new technical reports and case studies. According to BETO, the publications examine the environmental and economic impacts of a variety of feedstock characteristics and processing techniques: Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emission Impacts of Forest Residue...
August 3, 2023

OECD Publishes Consensus Document on Environmental Considerations for the Release of Transgenic Plan

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On July 27, 2023, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published a new document in its Series on Harmonization of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology, Safety Assessment of Transgenic Organisms in the Environment, Volume 10: OECD Consensus Document on Environmental Considerations for the Release of Transgenic Plants. The document addresses environmental risk/safety assessment at a broader level than previous consensus...
August 2, 2023

EPA Extends Comment Period on Proposed Updates to TSCA New Chemicals Regulations; Comments Due August

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton On July 19, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extended the comment period on proposed amendments to the new chemicals procedural regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 88 Fed. Reg. 46125. According to EPA, the amendments are “intended to align the regulatory text with the amendments to TSCA’s new chemicals review provisions contained in the [2016] Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st...
August 1, 2023

BETO Will Host Bioenergy Cybersecurity Workshop on September 11, 2023

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced on July 17, 2023, that it will host a Bioenergy Cybersecurity Workshop, a virtual event organized by Sandia National Laboratories on September 11, 2023, to identify cybersecurity risks in biofuel and bioproduct manufacturing, and develop an approach to address these risks. According to BETO, the workshop will raise awareness of the importance of cybersecurity in...
July 31, 2023

APHIS 2022 Impact Report Includes Summary of Biotechnology Activities

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On July 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced the release of its 2022 impact report. The 2022 impact report lists the following biotechnology activities: Fully implemented USDA’s revised biotechnology regulations, which allow APHIS to focus oversight on products that may pose a risk and reduce regulatory burden for developers of organisms that are unlikely to...
July 26, 2023

Bipartisan Legislation Would Strengthen USDA’s BioPreferred Program

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On July 24, 2023, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) introduced the Biomanufacturing and Jobs Act to strengthen the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) BioPreferred program. According to Klobuchar’s July 24, 2023, press release, the bill would: Strengthen markets for farmers while also supporting well-paying manufacturing jobs; Allow the Secretary of Agriculture to set...
July 11, 2023

USDA Reviews Soybean, Tomato, and Potato Plants Modified Using Genetic Engineering

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced on June 27, 2023, that it recently reviewed soybean, tomato, and potato plants modified using genetic engineering. APHIS reviewed the plants to determine whether they presented an increased plant pest risk compared to similar cultivated soybean, tomato, and potato plants: InnerPlant modified two soybean plants and one tomato plant to...
July 10, 2023

BETO 2023 Project Peer Review Presentations Available Now

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) hosted its 2023 Project Peer Review on April 3-7, 2023. During the event, more than 280 projects in BETO’s research, development, and demonstration portfolios presented their progress and accomplishments to the public and were reviewed by more than 50 external subject-matter experts from industry, academia, and federal agencies. The 2023 Project Peer Review...
July 7, 2023

EPA Will Hold Webinar on Final CBI Rule

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a webinar on July 18, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. (EDT) on its recent final procedural rule for submitting confidential business information (CBI) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The final rule increases transparency, modernizes the reporting and review procedures for CBI, and aligns with the 2016 amendments to TSCA. The rule will become effective on August 7,...
July 6, 2023

EuropaBio Offers Recommendations on Biomanufacturing

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On June 30, 2023, EuropaBio announced that it “set[] in stone the first European recommendations on biomanufacturing with the publication of its Biomanufacturing Policy Summit 2023 report.” On March 15, 2023, EuropaBio hosted its inaugural Biomanufacturing Policy Summit in Brussels, “marking the first major milestone from its newly established Biomanufacturing Platform.” The Summit captured priorities of 80 industry leaders,...