B&C® Biobased and Sustainable Chemicals Blog

On Thursday, November 7, 2013, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory released the Alternative Fueling Station Locator App for iPhone or iPad that provides up-to-date information to potential consumers on the closest fueling stations that offer various alternative fuels, including biodiesel (B20), compressed and liquefied natural gas, and ethanol (E85), among others. More information, including a link to the App, may be found on DOE's website. This new...

On November 8, 2013, Congressman Bruce Braley (D-IA) sent a letter to President Obama stating that he is "angered and frustrated" that EPA is considering reducing renewable volume obligations (RVO) as part of its current rulemaking process to set the 2014 RVOs under the federal RFS. He further urges President Obama and his Administration to reconsider such reductions and points out that reductions like those contained in a recently leaked draft of the 2014 RFS...

This week, the Associated Press published an article titled "The Secret, Dirty Cost of Obama's Green Power Push," which has drawn strong criticism from U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and several trade groups representing farmers and the ethanol industry, including the National Farmer's Union (NFU), Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, and the Advanced Ethanol Council. In the article, the AP links increased...

On Thursday, November 14, 2013, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Energy and Power, chaired by Representative Ed Whitfield (R-KY), held a hearing to discuss EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas standards for new power plants and draft legislation authored by Chairman Whitfield and Senator Joe Manchin. The hearing included three panels of ten witnesses, including Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and EPA Acting Administrator for Air and Radiation Janet McCabe, to discuss a...

On Wednesday, November 13, 2013, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy testified as the sole witness before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on "Strengthening Transparency and Accountability within the Environmental Protection Agency." While the hearing was held as part of the Committee's annual oversight of EPA, it provided Committee Chair Lamar Smith (R-TX) an opportunity to question McCarthy on several concerns he reportedly had with EPA and appropriate...

On Wednesday, November 13, 2013, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on CSIA, a bill to reform TSCA. CSIA was introduced earlier this year by Senator David Vitter (R-LA) and the late Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). Senator Vitter and Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) are now working to move CSIA forward through the legislative process. A Law360 article recently published by Lynn Bergeson contains a detailed discussion of the significance and provisions...

Attendees at the Society for the Commercial Development of Industrial Biotechnology's (SCD-iBIO) 2nd Annual "Commercializing Global Green" forum in Philadelphia this week participated in a practical, in-depth three-hour workshop presented by the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG™) on the critical policy, legislative, and regulatory issues impacting the commercialization of renewable chemicals. Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner of Bergeson & Campbell,...

On November 4, 2013, it was reported that Johor Biotechnology and Biodiversity Corporation (J-BioTech) recently signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Malaysian Biotechnology Corp Sdn Bhd (BiotechCorp) to develop a biobased industry in Johor....

On October 31, 2013, NatureWorks issued a press release announcing that it "now offers three new Ingeo high performance biopolymer grades designed for injection molding and extrusion applications. They will allow formulations comparable in performance to engineering thermoplastics at a cost lower than any previous high-biobased content polymers on the market." A copy of the press release is available online....

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released an advice memorandum from the agency's Office of Chief Counsel determining that "[b]y electing the § 6426(c) excise tax credit [biodiesel mixture credit] and/or the § 6427(e) excise tax payment instead of the § 40A income tax credit, a blender is not required by § 87 or by § 61 to include in its gross income the amount of the § 6426(c) excise tax credits and/or the §...

In the past week, three significant letters have been sent to conferees charged with preparing in final the next five-year Farm Bill urging them to include an Energy Title that supports biofuel and renewable chemical development and production. On November 1, 2013, 30 bi-partisan Members of Congress sent a letter to the leaders of the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry urging Farm Bill conferees to include and...

On November 1, 2013, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), Growth Energy, and RFA filed a motion to intervene on behalf of EPA in the current lawsuit by Monroe Energy, the American Petroleum Institute (API), and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) challenging EPA's final rule establishing the 2013 RVOs under the federal RFS. The filing was made in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where the case is pending....

On October 30, 2013, Representatives Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Peter Welch (R-VT), and Steve Womack (R-AR) sent a letter signed by 169 Members of Congress to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy urging EPA to use its authority to reduce the 2014 statutory renewable volume obligations (RVO) for all types of biofuels, including conventional corn starch ethanol under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). A copy of the letter is available...

The number of Significant New Use Rules (SNUR) issued by EPA has greatly increased in recent months, causing long and costly delays for companies trying to market biobased chemicals and products. The Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG™) is holding a workshop to help companies avoid these delays by explaining how, when, and to which entity or entities in the value chain the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) applies, and what a renewable chemical...

On October 28, 2013, DuPont announced the start of the second phase of its China Research and Development Center. The Center will focus on the development of biobased materials, among other things. A copy of DuPont's press release on the announcement is available online....

On October 29, 2013, hundreds of parents and children participated in a "stroller brigade" on Capitol Hill during which they lobbied Senate offices to provide greater protections against harmful chemicals during reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The stroller brigade also joined actress Jennifer Beals at a press conference on TSCA reform sponsored by the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families Coalition. Following the July 31, 2013, Senate Environment and Public Works hearing...

On October 30, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia approved the request by Monroe Energy to expedite review of the current RFS litigation challenging EPA's final rule setting the 2013 renewable volume obligations under the federal RFS (the 2013 RFS rule). In October 2013, Monroe, the American Petroleum Institute (API), and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) filed individual cases before the court challenging the 2013 RFS rule. These...

Citing concerns over livestock in their states, Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) have announced plans to introduce legislation to eliminate the corn ethanol volume requirements under the federal RFS. The bill would leave the advanced biofuels requirements in place. Certain stakeholders in the biofuels industry have already come out against the bill. For instance, it is reported that Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen has stressed the importance of...

As stakeholders eagerly await the impending official release of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rule, strong advocacy from all sides continues on the issue in Washington. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been reviewing the proposed rule since August 30, 2013. Recently, a draft of it was leaked (the leaked draft proposal). In the leaked draft proposal, for the first time, EPA would lower the RFS...

On October 30, 2013, the Conference Committee selected to merge the House and Senate versions of the next five-year Farm Bill met to begin formal negotiations. This Farm Bill Conference Committee is comprised of 41 bi-partisan Members of the U.S. House and Senate. Though Farm Bill Conference Committee negotiations are expected to be difficult, pressure is on Members of Congress to pass a final version of the next five-year bill by the end of this...

Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc., a high-growth specialty chemicals company headquartered in Woodridge, Illinois, has announced the authorization of the next stage of its second world-scale biorefinery in Nachez, Mississippi. The Company also has a joint venture biorefinery with Wilmar International Limited located in Gresik, Indonesia. Both commercial scale biorefineries are based on Elevance's proprietary metathesis technology. According to the Company's press release, the Nachez...

Biofuels supporters and opponents remain heavily engaged in RFS policy issues. Last week, we reported on a news report that one advanced biofuels trade association, the Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA), may be working with the American Petroleum Institute (API) on potential legislative language that would provide additional RIN credit for advanced biofuels under the federal RFS program. Since then, ABFA and API have both denied the accuracy of the story. In addition, DuPont announced that...

On October 22, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule modifying the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. The rule is effective December 23, 2013. According to the notice: "EPA is amending the definition of 'heating oil' in the regulations for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program under section 211(o) of the Clean Air Act. This amendment expands the scope of renewable fuels that can be used to show compliance with...

On October 21, 2013, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a press release announcing the availability of $181 million in funding under the Biorefinery Assistance Program (BAP) to support the development of commercial-scale biorefineries or the retrofitting of existing biorefineries to produce advanced biofuels from non-food sources. The BAP was created under the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill) and is administered by USDA Rural Development. It provides...

On October 9, 2013, enzyme producer Novozymes and biofuels producer Beta Renewables announced the opening of a new advanced biofuels facility located in Crescentino, Italy, that will make commercial quantities of cellulosic biofuels. More information on the announcement is available online....

On October 14, 2013, Target announced a new Sustainable Product Standard (SPS). Under the SPS, Target will rate products on ingredient stability, transparency, and overall environmental impact. The ingredient category makes up half of the overall rating. Products will not be given a favorable ingredient score if they include substances listed on a hazard list or if they include "potentially high-hazard generic ingredients." More information on the new SPS is available online....

RFA sponsored a study released this month by the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The study is available online. In the study, NREL analyzed various studies on the effects of E15 use in Model Year 2001 and newer cars and found no meaningful difference in the use of E10 and E15 in those vehicles. This is a significant finding because many in the oil and gas industries, among others, have warned of...

On the first day of its new term on October 15, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would grant review of parts of EPA's greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations. The Court will review part of the June 2012 decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which upheld EPA's GHG program. It will review whether EPA's GHG regulations for motor vehicles should have triggered Prevention of Significant Deterioration permitting...

Leaders of the House of Representatives have named 29 Representatives to the conference committee that will work to consolidate the House and Senate versions of the next five-year Farm Bill into a final piece of legislation that will be passed by both Houses of Congress and signed into law by President Obama. While House and Senate leaders assert their commitment to settling on and passing a final version of the next Farm Bill, getting to...

It is being reported that API and the Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA) are working together on potential legislative language to increase the value of RINs associated with advanced biofuels and to allow them to help make up conventional RINs due to blend wall constraints under the federal RFS. According to news reports, the two groups are working to present this potential language to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee who are working on...

Last week, part of EPA's much anticipated 2014 proposed RFS rule, or at least a draft of the rule, was leaked and widely disseminated. If the text of the leaked proposed rule is representative of the actual proposed rule, the oil and gas industry would likely view it more favorably than would the biofuels industry. In the leaked version of the proposal, EPA would use its authority under the RFS to adjust downward the cellulosic,...

Obligated parties and the organizations that represent them continue efforts to challenge and weaken the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Several lawsuits have been filed recently in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit Court) challenging the final rule issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) setting the 2013 RFS requirements. Monroe Energy, a subsidiary of Delta Airlines, the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), and...

On October 1, 2013, U.S.-based INVISTA and UK-based industrial biotechnology company Ingenza Ltd. announced they are partnering on the development of new technologies to enable bio-derived processes for the production of industrial chemicals. A copy of INVISTA's press release is available online....

On October 7, 2013, A*STAR's Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES) inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) to promote joint research and collaboration in the field of sustainable chemicals — specifically in biomass-to-chemicals research. A copy of A*STAR's press release on the announcement is available online....

On October 2, 2013, Royal DSM announced that it has partnered with Minnesota-based PlastiComp, Inc. to develop biobased Long Fiber Thermoplastic (LFT) composite materials for the automotive and other markets. A copy of DSM's press release is available online....

Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels LLC, a joint venture between BP PLC and DuPont, announced that it has broken ground on a plant to produce isobutanol, a renewable fuel that EPA has determined can qualify for credit under the federal RFS. Butamax is working to retrofit Highwater Ethanol LLC, an existing ethanol plant located in Lamberton, Minnesota. The announcement is significant because Butamax has been in ongoing litigation with the other U.S. isobutanol producer, Gevo. Also, isobutanol...

On Monday, October 7, 2013, the White House announced that Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to President Obama for Energy and Climate Change, will be leaving her post in the coming weeks. Zichal has been advising the President on these issues for the past five years and is considered a friend to the biofuels, renewable chemicals, and biobased products industries. For instance, she has been a strong proponent of maintaining the federal RFS and encouraging investment...

On October 7, 2013, House Committee on Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Henry Waxman (D-CA) sent a letter to American Chemistry Council (ACC) President Calvin Dooley asking him whether ACC is "abandoning its 2009 principles for reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act." The letter is available online. In his letter, Representative Waxman tells Dooley that he has been hopeful that reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) would include many of the principles...

On September 30, 2013, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it had completed its second sale of sugar under the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill) Feedstock Flexibility Program (FFP). Reportedly, USDA purchased the sugar for $65.9 million and sold it immediately for $12.6 million, a $53.3 million loss. Currently, no information is available about the sale on USDA's website because the website is suspended during the government shutdown....

On Tuesday, October 8, 2013, the American Petroleum Institute (API) filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit Court) challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) final rule setting the 2013 renewable volume obligations (RVO) under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). While the petition for review lacks details about the lawsuit as such petitions are for notice purposes only, it is reported that API's main...

California-based renewable chemical company Rennovia, Inc. announced on October 1, 2013, that it has "produced, and shipped to a prospective partner, samples of what it believes to be the world's first 100% bio-based nylon-6,6 polymer, under Rennovia's RENNLON brand, made from Rennovia's renewable monomers, RENNLON adipic acid (AA) and RENNLON hexamethylenediamine (HMD)." The Company estimates this production will cost 20-25 percent less than conventional AA and HMB, and...

On September 26, 2013, cellulosic biofuels company KiOR, Inc. announced that it intends to build a second cellulosic biorefinery near its existing plant in Columbus, Mississippi. This second plant, or "Columbus II," is expected to cost $225 million and the Company intends to build it in 18 months after it raises sufficient capital. This announcement is significant, especially as it comes at a time when federal RFS opponents are strong and have waged a campaign...

On August 28, 2013, California's Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Safer Consumer Products Regulations (Regulations). The Regulations took effect on October 1, 2013. The Regulations are the much anticipated regulatory implementation of California's Green Chemistry Initiative. DTSC's implementing regulations have gone through several iterations, including an initial draft released on June 23, 2010, a revised draft...

On Monday, September 30, 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it intends to award $100 million for cutting edge energy research in areas including biofuels as part of its Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC). In 2009, DOE granted five-year awards ranging from $2 million to $5 million per year to each of 46 EFRCs throughout the country. The current Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is available online. Under the FOA, applicants must submit...

Not only did the U.S. government shut down at midnight on Monday, but so did the nine month extension of the 2008 Farm Bill. With no new five-year Farm Bill, the future is uncertain for rural energy programs supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), including the Biorefinery Assistance Program that promotes the development of biorefineries in the U.S. As we have reported earlier this year, the U.S. Senate passed its version of the...

All legislative and regulatory efforts on the federal RFS are at a standstill until the government re-opens. RFS legislative and regulatory efforts, however, were strong in the days before the government shutdown. Last week, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) sent a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy urging EPA to deny the joint petition by the American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers requesting EPA grant a partial waiver of the 2014 RVOs...

The U.S. government is shut down until the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives approve the same version of legislation to fund it and the President then signs it into law. House Republicans have been trying to tie funding the government with defunding certain parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which went into effect on October 1. The Senate has rejected every funding bill sent to it by the House because each has contained...

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC or Department) Safer Consumer Products Regulations (Regulations) take effect today. Memoranda providing background information on the Regulations are available online. The Regulations and Final Statement of Reasons are available online. The most onerous requirements for "responsible entities" (i.e., manufacturers, importers, assemblers, and retailers) will not be felt until DTSC identifies the first Priority Products, that is,...

This week, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) sent a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) asking for an investigation into claims that speculators are manipulating the RIN market in which RIN credits are bought and sold to help obligated parties meet their annual renewable volume obligations (RVO) under the federal RFS. Senator Stabenow expressed concern with the lack of transparency in the RIN market. Ethanol RIN prices have dramatically risen this year and there...

Last week, federal securities regulators charged Imperial Petroleum, Inc. and its subsidiary, Indiana-based E-Biofuels LLC, with carrying out a fraudulent federal RFS renewable identification number (RIN) and tax credit scheme. It is alleged that from November 2009 to January 2012, this scheme generated 52 million fraudulent RIN credits and $35 million in false tax credits, and cost investors approximately $60 million. More information is available online. This is the fourth major biodiesel RIN...