B&C® Biobased and Sustainable Chemicals Blog

This week, I sat down with Eric Byer, President and CEO of the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD). Eric, like many of us these days, is working hard and under extraordinary circumstances ensuring that his member companies are able to continue to distribute much needed chemical products, including sanitizers and other cleaning products, in response to the pandemic.  Our conversation focused on these uniquely “in the moment” issues and a broad range of federal,...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published on April 10, 2020, the quarterly update of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) confidential business information (CBI) review statistics.  The data summarize the number of CBI cases under review and results of completed reviews through March 1, 2020.  In addition, a spreadsheet showing the details of completed TSCA CBI determinations through March 1, 2020, is available.  EPA states that making this information publicly available...

By Lynn L. Bergeson EPA announced on April 2, 2020, that it sent a letter to all members of Congress to correct the record on its temporary policy regarding enforcement of environmental legal obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. EPA states that “[a]s should be apparent to anyone who reads the policy, allegations that EPA ‘will cease all enforcement actions during the coronavirus pandemic’ and that the temporary policy ‘absolves polluters of all responsibility’...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 3, 2020, EPA announced the availability of a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) to the Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science proposed rule. EPA notes that the SNPRM “is not a new rulemaking; rather, it provides clarifications on certain terms and aspects of the 2018 proposed rule.” The SNPRM: Proposes that the scope of the rulemaking applies to influential scientific information, as well as significant regulatory decisions;...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On April 9, 2020, EPA issued a final rule amending the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) regulations by extending the 2020 report submission deadline to November 30, 2020. The extension applies to the 2020 submission period only. As many are aware, CDR regulations require manufacturers (including importers) of certain chemical substances to report data on the manufacturing, processing, and use of the...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On April 6, 2020, 15 United States Senators submitted a bipartisan letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary, Sonny Perdue, requesting the use of its authority to assist the biofuels industry’s economic circumstances brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlighting the negative impacts of the pandemic on farmers and producers who will bear the impact of the decrease in consumption, in the letter, the Senators...

By Lynn L. Bergeson EPA announced on March 26, 2020, a temporary policy regarding enforcement of environmental legal obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. EPA states that its temporary enforcement discretion policy applies to civil violations during the COVID-19 outbreak. The policy addresses different categories of noncompliance differently. For example, according to EPA, it “does not expect to seek penalties for noncompliance with routine monitoring and reporting obligations that are...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On March 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced its intention to replace eXCHANGE for a new system for funding opportunity announcements (FOA) and application submissions. Starting in Fiscal Year 2021, parties interested in responding to EERE’s opportunities will use the EERE Program Information Center (EPIC). As DOE EERE transitions into EPIC, it is currently...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requested written stakeholder input on objectives and opportunities leading to research goals and informed product goals to facilitate transformative breakthroughs that enable U.S. agriculture to meet its goal of increasing agricultural production by 40 percent by 2050....

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On April 1, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is now accepting nominations of scientific experts to be considered for appointment to its Science Advisory Board (SAB) and four SAB standing committees. EPA is seeking candidates from a wide range of disciplines including analytical chemistry, forestry, modeling, toxicology, and benefit-cost analysis, among many others. The four SAB standing committees seeking...