B&C® Biobased and Sustainable Chemicals Blog

On December 29, 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the final rule for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). REAP is intended to help mainly businesses, as well as some state, local, and tribal governments develop solar, wind, and biomass projects. This new rule will change the requirements for those applying for funding from the grant and loan guarantees for renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements in rural areas. There is now a three-tiered application...

The Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) is pleased to share the Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) announcement that Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., will be joining B&C as a Senior Policy Advisor. Dr. Engler's experience as a senior staff scientist in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), and as leader of EPA's Green Chemistry Program, will be extremely helpful for BRAG members as they continue to navigate the...

As a follow-up to last week's item concerning Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) sponsorship of the December 7, 2014, Women in Industrial Biotechnology Networking Reception, we are pleased to share the video of Dr. Debbie Yaver's remarks when she was awarded the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership in Industrial Biotechnology on December 9, 2014. Congratulations to Dr. Yaver for...

On December 16, 2014, the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) released a report on "Options for Reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard." A copy of BPC's press release on the report, with links to the report and its summary, is also available online. BPC explains that the report results from three meetings of diverse stakeholders throughout 2014. It outlines an inventory of 40 potential regulatory or legislative reforms to the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). BPC in the report concludes that...

The United Kingdom (UK) Department for Transport (DfT) announced the launch of a £25 million competition for funding to build advanced biofuel plants. The funding will eventually lead to the construction of up to three demonstration level advanced biofuel plants in the UK. In order to qualify for funding, the biofuels being produced need to have at least 60 percent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuels and be made from waste materials. Potential bidders have until...

On December 16, 2014, the Senate followed the House of Representatives and passed tax extender legislation that is expected to be signed by the President. The final package that passed would retroactively extend incentives that expired on December 31, 2013, through the end of 2014. It does not extend the incentives through the end of 2015, as Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) and other leaders would have liked. The final tax extender package includes important incentives for the...

On December 12, 2014, the Senate passed a House amendment to the Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (NDAA FY15). The final version of the NDAA FY15 places restrictions on how the military is able to acquire biofuels by prohibiting funding from being used for bulk purchase of drop-in biofuels where the fully burdened cost of the biofuels is not cost competitive with the fully burdened cost of available traditional fuels. The bill defines...

? Geneco, "UK's first ever bus to run on human and food waste launched" ? PR Web, "UPC, Myriant and Sojitz Jointly Develop Bio-succinic Acid Based Plasticizers" ? VTT Technical Institute of Finland, "VTT developing an environmentally friendly alternative for polystyrene" ? The Advertiser, "BP to close biofuel plant in Jennings" ? Packaging Digest, "Will there be a run on bio-based packaging materials soon?" ? Power Engineering, "Rivertop Renewables Begins Construction of Commercial Plant" ? NPR,...

The attorneys, scientists, and regulatory professionals of B&C and The Acta Group (Acta®) are proud to have authored Global Chemical Control Handbook: A Guide to Chemical Management Programs, recently released by the American Bar Association. Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner of B&C and President of Acta, provided the guiding vision for this comprehensive desk reference book as editor and co-author. Reflecting on the work of her colleagues, and others, on this book, Ms. Bergeson...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) were honored to sponsor the Women in Industrial Biotechnology Networking Reception, which took place on December 7, 2014, at the 2014 BIO Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy in San Diego, California. The awardee this year of the BIO Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership in Industrial Biotechnology was Dr. Debbie Yaver. During the reception, attendees dialogued on...

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) supports researchers and companies working on large-scale multidisciplinary research projects in areas of importance to Canadians. As part of this program, NSERC is providing the University of Toronto with $5 million to help launch the Industrial Biocatalysis Network, which will research novel uses of enzymes to produce chemicals, plastics, and other products. This program will be run in collaboration with Concordia...

EPA's OCSPP is announcing the first Safer Product Labeling Program (SPLP) Partner of the Year Awards. The Awards will recognize the leadership contributions of stakeholders in making safer chemicals and safer products available to consumers and purchasers. The application period for the 2015 Awards is now open, and applications are due to EPA by January 30, 2015. Those interested in applying may choose to submit under one or more of the following categories: product manufacturers; purchasers and...

EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) plans to expand its Design for the Environment (DfE) Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL), and invites chemical manufacturers to provide information on their safer chemicals to EPA for review and listing on the SCIL. EPA plans to expand the categories and functional classes of the SCIL. Interested companies can review EPA's "Steps to SCIL Listing" to learn more about the process.  

On Wednesday, December 10, 2014, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Health Care and Entitlements held a hearing on "Examining EPA's Management of the Renewable Fuel Standard Program." The sole witness was Janet McCabe, Acting Administrator for Air and Radiation at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A copy of Ms. McCabe's written testimony is available online. Subcommittee Members on both sides of the aisle sharply criticized EPA...

On December 1, 2014, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5771, the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, more commonly referred to as the tax extender bill. This bill extends through 2014 the dollar-per-gallon biodiesel tax credit, as well as the biofuel production tax credit for cellulosic and algae-based biofuels and the special allowance for second generation biofuel plant property. While the Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance is reportedly still working to pass a tax extender...

On December 4, 2014, the S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced it will provide up to $7 million for two bioenergy projects that aim to reduce the cost of delivering biomass feedstocks to biorefineries. The College of Environmental Science and Forestry at the State University of New York administers one of the projects and focuses on reducing the cost of woody crops while improving harvest and preprocessing operations to meet biorefinery specifications. The second project, out of the University...

On November 21, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that a final Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) for 2014 will not be issued by the end of the year. The compliance deadline for the 2013 RFS will be renewed until the new rule is issued, sometime in 2015. The 2014 RFS was due to be finalized by November 30, 2013. When the rule is released in 2015, it will set standards through 2016 with the intention of making up for long delays in the RFS rulemaking. Biobased and...

On December 2, 2014, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced over $9 million in grants to support advanced biofuel production and the bioeconomy. More than $5 million in grants awarded to 220 producers nationwide are provided through USDA's Advanced Biofuel Payment Program, which was established in the 2008 Farm Bill. Other awards were from USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the Biodiesel Fuel Education Program, the Sun Grant Program, and the Critical Agricultural...

On November 7, 2014, R&D Magazine announced its 52nd R&D 100 Awards, which are widely recognized as the "Oscars of Invention." Major technological breakthroughs made over the past year were honored and included work from industry, academia, and governmental research. This year, six awards went to projects that were funded by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The EERE-funded projects that won R&D 100 Awards are from...

Nominations for the 2015 Presidential Green Chemistry Awards are now being accepted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Nominations for the awards are due December 31, 2014, and the final awardees are expected to be announced in July 2015. The Awards cover six categories: academic; small business; greener synthetic pathways; greener reaction conditions; designing greener chemicals; and climate change. EPA allows companies to re-submit past nomination packets as long as the...