B&C® Biobased and Sustainable Chemicals Blog

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 16, 2020, DOE EERE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office and Bioenergy Technologies Office used a joint funding opportunity announcement (FOA) of up to $25 million for plastics recycling R&D. As part of the Department’s Plastics Innovation Challenge, this FOA has been titled “BOTTLE: Bio-Optimized Technologies to Keep Thermoplastics Out of Landfills and the Environment.” The BOTTLE FOA will support the development of new plastics capable of...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 16, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced the cancellation of the March 24 and March 25, 2020, Biomass Research and Development (R&D) Technical Advisory Committee.

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 17, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of a final rule amending the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule. According to EPA, the amendments are intended to reduce the burden for certain CDR reporters, improve the quality of CDR data collected, and align reporting requirements with the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act’s (Lautenberg Act) amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)....

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 6, 2020, EPA announced via the Federal Register its final rule on requirements for regulated entities to substantiate certain confidential business information (CBI) made under TSCA. The substantiation requirements describe the applicable procedures and provide instructions for regulated entities, providing the review criteria and related procedures that EPA will use to complete the reviews within the five-year time frame set in TSCA. The final rule will be effective...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 6, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that up to $20 million in funding is available for workforce development at universities in emerging energy fields. Aiming to prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers, DOE’s investment will fund a land grant university to pursue interdisciplinary research through the support of expansions of existing joint graduate education programs with DOE National Laboratories. This effort will be led by...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 3, 2020, EPA announced that a supplemental notice of the proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) titled “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” will be published in the Federal Register in the near future. While the notice would only modify EPA internal procedures, industry stakeholders are asked to comment on the proposed rule during a 30-day period after the date of publication in the Federal Register. The supplemental notice proposes the following...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 10, 2020, EPA announced that it issued a final rule to add two strains of microorganisms to the list of microorganisms eligible for an exemption from certain reporting requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA states that manufacturers of new intergeneric Trichoderma reesei (strain QM6a) and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (subspecies amyloliquefaciens) may now be eligible to undergo a streamlined review process under TSCA’s new chemicals...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 5, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is seeking grant applications through the Source Reduction Assistance Grant Program from states, federally recognized tribes, universities, local governments, and other groups to support innovative solutions for source reduction or pollution prevention (P2) through research, education, training, or certain other methods. EPA notes that as it highlights chemical safety during the month of March,...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 11, 2020, the availability of the latest Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory.  EPA states that this biannual update to the public TSCA Inventory is part of its regular posting of non-confidential TSCA Inventory data.  According to EPA, this update adds 81 new chemicals, and the Inventory as a whole now contains 86,405 chemicals of which 41,484 are active in U.S commerce.  Other updates to the TSCA...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On February 26, 2020, the city of Helsinki announced the opening of applications for the Helsinki Energy Challenge (HEC), which aims to address challenges associated with urban heating produced with coal. According to its press release, Helsinki is one of the leading cities in the transition toward a sustainable future. Its aim is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035. Currently, however, Helsinki needs solutions to meet its heat demand. Given...

By Lynn L. Bergeson The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) is offering the first Renewable Chemicals Production (RCP) Tax Credit in the United States. What does this mean? It means that the program provides an opportunity for industry stakeholders to advance Iowa’s economy through a focus on biomass as a feedstock for the production of renewable chemicals. As an attempt to incentivize the production of 30 high-value chemicals derived from biomass feedstocks, IEDA developed the RCP...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On March 5, 2020, FDA opened a public docket for comments on its enhancement of the Purple Book, which is otherwise known as FDA’s “Database of FDA-Licensed Biological Products.” As reported in B&C’s biobased products blog on February 28, 2020, FDA is working to expand the Purple Book by transitioning from its current table list format to a searchable online database for all approved biosimilar products and their...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 4, 2020, USDA announced that it is now accepting comments on its technical guidelines and science-based methods to quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) sources and sinks from the agriculture and forest sectors at the entity-scale. USDA intends to update the technical guidelines based on newly available data and methodologies within the next three years. Interested parties must submit comments on or prior to April 20, 2020.

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On March 4, 2020, FDA announced that it has issued in final a guidance for industry titled “The ‘Deemed to be a License’ Provision of the BPCI Act: Questions and Answers,” which addresses FDA’s “transition” provision of the BPCI Act. Established in 2009, the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCI Act) deemed applications for an approved biological product under Section 505 of the Federal...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On March 4, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in collaboration with EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), launched a new initiative called “Feed Your Mind” to help consumers better understand genetically engineered (GE) foods. Consisting of science-based information, the initiative’s features include a wide range of resources designed to teach consumers, health care professionals, and students...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 2, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced open meetings of the Biomass Research and Development (R&D) Technical Advisory Committee. Occurring on March 24, 2020, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EDT) and March 25, 2020, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (EDT), both meetings will take place in Arlington, VA. The purpose of the meetings is to develop advice and guidance that promotes R&D leading to the...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 25, 2020, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that nominations are now open for the 2020 National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI) to recognize those who have worked to advance U.S. competitiveness and quality of life and who have strengthened the workforce through technological innovations. The award is presented annually by the President of the United States to leading technological honorees. Applications will be accepted until April...