By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 10, 2020, the Governor of Wyoming, Mark Gordon, delivered his 2020 State of the State Address, which included a request to lawmakers of a $25 million investment to establish the Energy Commercialization Program. The program is designed to provide a coordinated approach to support research on technologies that advance zero or net-negative carbon uses for coal and other fossil fuels. Gordon stated: “Wyoming will always advocate for our industries, whether it...
February 14, 2020
TSCA Stakeholders Beware: Enforcement Is On The Rise
By Lynn L. Bergeson Federal enforcement of chemical product laws is alive and well, despite a broadly held misconception to the contrary. We have seen over the past 18 months or so an uptick in federal enforcement under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) writes to alert stakeholders of this fact. B&C believes that this trend will continue in 2020. Check out its memorandum on...
February 14, 2020
Democrats Propose Legislation To Phase Out Single-Use Plastic Products
By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 11, 2020, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM), U.S. Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and U.S. Representative Katherine Clark (D-MA) introduced a bill that would phase out unnecessary single-use plastic products: Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2020. The legislation would also hold corporations accountable for wasteful products, reform the broken waste and recycling collection system, and reduce wasteful packaging....
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On January 30, 2020, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) submitted comments to USDA in response to its request for information (RFI) on the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP). A new USDA Rural Development project, HBIIP is designed to expand the availability of domestic ethanol and biodiesel by incentivizing the expansion of sales of renewable fuels. USDA’s RFI solicited information on options for fuel ethanol and...
February 7, 2020
FDA/FTC To Host Public Workshop On Biosimilars’ Competitive Market
By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 9, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in collaboration with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), will host a public workshop titled “FDA/FTC Workshop on a Competitive Marketplace for Biosimilars.” The focus of the workshop will be on FDA and FTC’s collaborative efforts to support appropriate adoption of biosimilars, deter anticompetitive behaviors in the biologic marketplace, and discourage false or misleading statements about...
February 7, 2020
DOE EERE Looks To Fill Vacant Positions
By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 4, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced that it is searching for professionals to fill vacant general engineer and physical scientist positions. Resumes can be submitted directly to EERE’s hiring staff with information on the position of interest and EERE office (Solar, Geothermal, Vehicles, and Buildings, among others). Should EERE be interested in a particular resume, DOE’s Human...
By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) published a notice requesting comments and feedback on its draft instructions on testing methods under the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (Standard). According to the Standard, which became effective in 2019, with a mandatory compliance date of January 1, 2022, foods that do not contain bioengineered (BE) material do not require label disclosure. USDA’s...
February 7, 2020
EPA Issues Final Rule On RFS Program Standards For 2020 And Biomass-Based Diesel Volume For 2021
By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 6, 2020, EPA issued its final rule setting 2020 renewable fuel percentage standards under its Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program. The final rule established the annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel that apply to gasoline and diesel transportation fuel produced or imported in 2020. The volume requirements set are below the statutory volume targets. In addition to the 2020 annual...
February 3, 2020
EPA Pollution Prevention Grant Program Requests Applications
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Pollution Prevention (P2) Grant Program has announced the availability of funds to provide technical assistance (e.g., information, training, tools) to businesses to encourage the development and implementation of source reduction practices. EPA states that source reduction practices can help businesses save money by reducing resource use, expenditures, waste, and liability costs, while at the same time reducing their environmental...
January 31, 2020
Biofuel Supply Chain Stakeholders Create Strategy For Liquid Fuels
By Lynn L. Bergeson On January 22, 2020, three trade associations announced the launch of a strategy to tackle the transition into 100 percent biofuels for heating oil in English and Irish homes. A United Kingdom (UK) based trade association, the Oil Firing Technical Association (OFTEC) has partnered with the Tank Storage Association (TSA) and the UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association (UKIFDA) to launch a future vision for liquid fuels, titled “Supply Chain Strategy for Liquid...