B&C® Biobased and Sustainable Chemicals Blog

On February 25, 2014, EPA sent its final rule to "Establish a Voluntary Quality Assurance Program for Verifying the Validity of Renewable Identification Numbers Under the RFS2 Program" to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for final review. EPA is expected to take action to release the final rule as soon as OMB completes its review. As proposed, the rule would be retroactive to January 2013. It is the result of efforts to...

On March 3, 2014, EPA released its final rule on "Control of Air Pollution from Motor Vehicles: Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards" (the "Tier 3 rule"). A copy of the 1069-page Tier 3 rule is available online. A copy of EPA's five-page fact sheet on "EPA Sets Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards" is available online. The Tier 3 rule is designed to reduce air pollution from passenger cars and...

On March 4, 2014, President Obama released his fiscal year (FY) 2015 Budget request, which includes aggressive proposed funding to carry out the Administration's Climate Action Plan designed to reduce harmful greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the impacts of climate change. The President's FY 2015 Budget includes funding for several programs and initiatives to help facilitate the continued development and production of biofuels and biobased products. Consistent with the newly enacted...

On February 27, 2014, House Energy and Commerce Environment and the Economy Subcommittee Chair John Shimkus (R-IL) released a discussion draft of the "Chemicals in Commerce Act" (CICA), legislation designed to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA). The release of CICA is significant for several reasons. While the House Subcommittee has held five hearings since last year on various sections of TSCA, CICA would be the first major House bill introduced this...

On February, 19, 2014, it was announced that BioAmber Sarnia, Inc. (BioAmber Sarnia) has received a $10 million loan from the Government of Canada to help the company build the largest commercial plant that will produce biobased succinic acid. Funding is being provided under the Canadian Government's AgriInnovation Program, which is an initiative designed to accelerate the pace of innovation by supporting research and development activities in agri-innovations. The BioAmber Sarnia project is...

On February 20, 2014, Lux Research released a new report, "Cultivating Capacity for Bio-Based Materials and Chemicals Through 2017." According to the report, the U.S. is on track to become the leader in global biobased materials and chemicals by 2017, with production expected to double between now and then. First generation feedstocks are expected to remain the main source of biobased feedstocks by 2017....

Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) are leading a new Senate Task Force on Climate Change designed to combat stated plans by some in the Republican leadership to weaken President Obama's expected upcoming Executive actions to address climate change. While legislative action on climate change remains unlikely this year, Members of the Senate Task Force are doing what they can to highlight the issue. To this end, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) is organizing...

U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp (R-MI) and U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) are expected to take different approaches to tax reform this year. Camp has stated publicly his intent to focus solely on comprehensive tax reform, which he and his staff have been working on for over a year. He is expected to release a discussion draft of comprehensive tax reform legislation in the coming months. Meanwhile, newly...

On February 20, 2014, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) proposed rule on "Alternative Fuel Vehicle Badging, Fuel Compartment Labels and Consumer Information on Alternative Fuel Usage" was published in the Federal Register. Comments are due to NHTSA by April 21, 2014. A copy of the proposed rule is available online. The proposed rule would require badges, labels, and owner's manual information for new passenger cars, low speed vehicles (LSV), and...

The Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Christopher Grundler, made public comments recently stating that he expects EPA to issue the final rule setting the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes by midnight on June 20, 2014. The final rule is much anticipated among industry stakeholders. The biofuels industry generally has urged EPA to revisit the proposed reductions to the advanced and corn ethanol 2014 RFS volumes,...