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On May 22, 2015, the California State Assembly passed the Plastic Microbeads Nuisance Prevention Law, a bill designed to ban the use of microbeads in beauty products and prevent the environment harm that occurs when they inevitably end up in waterways. California is not the first state to restrict microbeads as Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, and Colorado have also done so and several other states are in the process of creating bans. The big difference with this legislation is that California is...

On June 1, 2015, the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) voted to pass the new Low iLUC Risk Biomass Criteria and Compliance Indicators standard. The standard was approved as an optional module for those undergoing RSB certification, and will be used to show that biomass is produced with low indirect land use change (iLUC), resulting in little impact on food production and biodiversity. It is important to demonstrate how iLUC in order to prove that a biobased alternative to a...

B&C has no involvement in or knowledge of the award selection process. This year's Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge winners will be announced at the 20th Annual Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards Ceremony, July 13, 2015, at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. The Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge, administered through a partnership between EPA and the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute® (ACS GCI), promotes the environmental and...

On May 21, 2015, Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced the Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2015 (S. 1447). The legislation is intended to help coordinate and expand the many different programs that have been enacted across the federal government to promote and assist the development of sustainable chemistry that reduces risks to human health and benefits the environment. The bill would create a federal Interagency Work Group (IWG), lead by the...

Part 3 of Biofuels Digest's "Thought Leadership" series highlighting some of the ways the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) applies to biobased products was published May 18, 2015. Summaries of the first two "TSCA and the Bioeconomy" articles, written by Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) Senior Policy Advisor and former head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Green Chemistry program, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., were summarized...

On May 8, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a direct final rule for 25 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN), including several biobased chemical substances. The rulemaking under Section 5, known as a significant new use rule or SNUR, requires persons who intend to manufacture (including import) or process any of these 25 chemical substances for an activity that is designated in the SNUR as a significant new use to notify EPA at least...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D.   On May 8, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated through a direct final rule significant new use rules (SNUR) for 25 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN).  The SNURs require persons who intend to manufacture (including import) or process any of these 25 chemical substances for an activity that is designated in the SNUR as a significant new use to notify EPA at least 90 days...

By Lynn L. Bergeson   The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) and the Green Chemistry & Commerce Council (GC3) recently released a report that evaluates the potential business and economic value of “safer chemistry.”  The report, Making the Business & Economic Case for Safer Chemistry, concludes that market growth, capital flows, and market demand show upward trajectories during the past five years.  Large corporations, specifically including Dow,...

On May 8, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated through a direct final rule significant new use rules (SNUR) for 25 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN).  The SNURs require persons who intend to manufacture (including import) or process any of these 25 chemical substances for an activity that is designated in the SNUR as a significant new use to notify EPA at least 90 days before commencing that activity.  The required...

? PR Newswire, "Cargill Acquires OPX Biotechnologies' Fermentation Technology" ? Bio-Based Industries: Public-Private Partnership, "Bio-Based Industries Workshop Selected For Open Days" ? Plastics Today, "Bayer MaterialScience Introduces Biobased PU for Fashion and Footwear" ? DesignNews, "Chemical Industry, Environmentalists Unite on Toxic Substances Control Act Legislation" ? Times-Call Business, "Cargill Acquires Boulder-based OPX...

Biofuels Digest is running a "Thought Leadership" series of articles highlighting some of the ways the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) applies to biobased products. The articles, written by Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) Senior Policy Advisor and former head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Green Chemistry program, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., cover key points throughout the manufacturing and commercialization process at which...

? White House, "Report to Congress on Implementation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002; and the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008" ? Biome Bioplastics, "Biome Bioplastics Leads £3m Sustainable Chemicals Development Programme" ? NetComposites, "Bayer MaterialScience Wins "Bio-based Material of the Year 2015" Innovation Award" ? USDA Blog, "Smart Federal Partnerships Build...

Iowa Senate bill SF 350: the Renewable Chemical Production Tax Credit Program was introduced in March 2015, and is awaiting review in the Ways & Means Committee. If passed, the legislation will allow producers of renewable chemicals in Iowa to claim a five cent per pound tax credit, with a maximum credit of $1 million for businesses operating in Iowa for five years or less, and a maximum credit of $500,000 for businesses operating in Iowa for more than five years. Chemicals must have at...

The Oil Price Information Network (OPIS) spoke with BRAG's Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Senior Policy Advisor with B&C, regarding the application of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to oils made from algae feedstocks and other non-traditional bio-materials. The resulting article, "TSCA Nomenclature May Be Barrier for Advanced Biofuels," from the OPIS Ethanol & Biodiesel Newsletter is excerpted below, and reprinted in full at the link with permission from OPIS. TSCA...

? 3LB Media, "Arla Food Eko Brand Organic Milk Now in Tetra Rex® Bio-Based" ? Washington State University, "Researchers Use Plant Oils for Novel Bio-Based Plastics" ? The Hill, "Clinton Meets with Ethanol Representatives" ? The Hill, "Former Obama Advisor Suggests Changes to Ethanol Mandate" ? Business Wire, "NexSteppe Demonstrates Dedicated Biomass Crops at Commercial Scale" ? Phys.Org, "Tobacco Plants May Boost Biofuel and Biorefining...

? Kuraray, "Kuraray Expands into Bio-Based Barrier Materials Notice Concerning the Acquisition of Australia-Based Plantic Technologies Limited" ? Biotechnology for Biofuels, "A Microbial Platform for Renewable Propane Synthesis Based on a Fermentative Butanol Pathway" ? Environmental and Energy Study Institute, "Agricultural, Environmental Groups Find Common Ground in Minnesota" ? Bloomberg BNA, "Governors Say Biofuels Group Listed Them as Members Without...

Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) member Elevance Renewable Sciences, Inc. (Elevance) was named a 2015 New Energy Pioneer award winner by Bloomberg New Energy Finance on April 13, 2015. Elevance CEO K'Lynne Johnson accepted the award on behalf of the company. Bloomberg New Energy Finance recognized Elevance and nine other companies as revolutionizing the energy sector in potential scale, innovation, and momentum. Elevance's recent introductions include the...

The Oil Price Information Network (OPIS) spoke with Richard E. Engler, Ph.D. , Senior Policy Advisor for Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., regarding the application of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to oils made from algae feedstocks and other non-traditional bio-materials.  The resulting article in the OPIS Ethanol & Biodiesel Newsletter is reprinted below, with permission from OPIS. TSCA Nomenclature May Be Barrier for Advanced Biofuels Any...

The April 7, 2015, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report story "Innovation Outpacing Regulatory Systems; Modernized TSCA, New Data Said to Help," reported on "21st Century Understanding of Chemicals," a congressional briefing hosted by the American Chemical Society (ACS) Science & the Congress Project.  Lynn L. Bergeson’s comments at the congressional briefing were quoted.   The Environmental Protection Agency has taken eight times longer to approve new nanoengineered...

Syngenta, "Third Iowa Ethanol Plant to Use Syngenta Enogen® Corn" Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership, "Transport Energy Task Force" Institute of Food Research, "New Project to Develop Biofuels From Paper Waste" Mitsubishi Chemical, "MCC Develops World's First Bio-Based High-Performance Polycarbonatediol Starting Full-Scale Market Development and Sales" Cell Press, "Red Macroalgae as a Sustainable Resource for Bio-Based Products" The University of Texas at Austin, "Engineers Develop New Yeast Strain...