On October 18, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New Chemicals Program held a webinar on EPA’s process for assessing the potential risks of new chemicals under Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the types of data EPA considers in this assessment. Specifically, the webinar covered examples of data (quantitative and qualitative) that are not likely to be accepted for engineering assessment, considerations EPA makes when evaluating data, and...
October 24, 2022
APHIS Issues RSR Responses under Revised Biotechnology Regulations for Modified Corn and Potato Plan
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 October 21, 2022, that it recently reviewed a corn plant and a potato plant that were modified using genetic engineering to determine whether they present an increased pest risk as compared to unmodified plants. APHIS has posted its Regulatory Status Review (RSR) responses on its website, as required under 7 C.F.R....
October 20, 2022
EMSA Publishes Update on Potential of Biofuels in Shipping
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton On October 6, 2022, the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) announced the availability of a report entitled Update on Potential of Biofuels in Shipping, updating a previous study developed by EMSA on biofuels and examining the full range of biofuels from the perspective of current production capacity, storage and distribution infrastructure, and power-generation technologies. According to EMSA, the report also features techno-economic analyses...
October 14, 2022
NIFA Will Hold RFA Technical Assistance Webinar on Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research Grants
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Biotechnology Risk Assessment Research Grants (BRAG) program supports the generation of new information that will assist federal regulatory agencies in making science-based decisions about the environmental effects of introducing genetically engineered organisms. In an October 27, 2022, technical assistance webinar, staff will provide an overview of the program, which is jointly administered by...
October 13, 2022
EP Approves Legislation to Increase Renewables Use
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The European Parliament (EP) voted on September 14, 2022, to increase the share of renewables in the European Union’s (EU) final energy consumption to 45 percent by 2030, under the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), a target also backed by the European Commission (EC) under its “RepowerEU” package. According to the EP’s September 14, 2022, press release, the legislation also defines subtargets for sectors...
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New Chemicals Program will host a webinar on October 18, 2022, on EPA’s process for assessing the potential risks of new chemicals under Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the types of data EPA considers in this assessment. The webinar will cover examples of quantitative and qualitative data unlikely to be accepted for engineering assessment, considerations...
October 12, 2022
Webinar Recording Available for “Environmental, Social, and Governance Issues: A Business Imperative
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.’s (B&C®) October 11, 2022, webinar “Environmental, Social, and Governance Issues: A Business Imperative” is now available for on-demand viewing at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/4666338769766648838. During this one-hour webinar, experts from FTI Consulting, Christine DiBartolo, Senior Managing Director, Head of Americas Corporate Reputation, and Ken Ditzel, Senior Managing Director, explore the hows and whys of...
October 11, 2022
APHIS Issues RSR Responses under Revised Biotechnology Regulations
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton On September 7, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced that it reviewed a new tomato from Norfolk Plant Sciences. The tomato was modified to alter its color and enhance its nutritional quality. APHIS found the plant is unlikely to pose an increased plant pest risk compared to other cultivated tomatoes and is not subject to regulation under...
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS) will hold its annual Stakeholder Meeting on December 8, 2022. BRS will offer in-person, at the USDA Center at Riverside, 4700 River Road, Riverdale, Maryland 20737, and virtual options for attendance. Attendees will hear updates about BRS’s implementation of the revised biotechnology regulations,...
October 5, 2022
Federal Agencies Announce Investments and Resources to Advance National Biotechnology and Biomanufac
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton As reported in our September 13, 2022, blog item, on September 12, 2022, President Joseph Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) creating a National Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Initiative “that will ensure we can make in the United States all that we invent in the United States.” The White House hosted a Summit on Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing on September 14, 2022. According to the White House fact...