A webinar presented by Americal Law Institute. All environment, energy, and natural resources lawyers need to understand how the recent Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) amendments will affect not just chemical production and usage, but product liability, commercial transactions, and supply chain relationships as well. In just one hour, participants learned the legal and policy implications they needed to know about this significant legislation. Our distinguished panel of Fellows from the...
Category: General
May 23, 2017
ORC HSE Western Occupational Safety & Health Meeting, May 23, 2017, Newport Beach, California
Lisa R. Burchi presented "TSCA Reform and Its Implications for the Western States".
On June 1, 2017, in concert with industry partners, SEMI will host an information-sharing webcast concerning the new regulatory requirements for nanoscale materials under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Jim Alwood, Program Manager in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Chemical Control Division, will provide a summary and answer questions about the new TSCA Section 8(a) record-keeping and reporting requirements for nanoscale materials. The final...
On February 24, 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 13777, Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda. The EO offers opportunities for stakeholders to improve regulations. This article summarizes efforts to implement this EO, and identifies opportunities stakeholders may wish to pursue to eliminate or amend regulatory initiatives they feel have outlived their utility or were ill-conceived from the get-go.
The U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) has announced that it will be hosting regional small business roundtables “to hear firsthand from small businesses facing regulatory burdens [on] … which federal agency regulations should be considered for reform or elimination,” and “which regulations are problematic for your business,” as a result of the recent Executive Orders 13771 and 13777 on regulatory reform. The first two roundtables in this series...
May 19, 2017
Weekly Roundup of Other Biobased News
Platts, “White House Reviews US EPA's Proposed 2018-19 Biofuel Blending Volumes” U.S. Department of Energy, “Map Out Your Career in the Bioeconomy with BETO’s New Bioenergy Career Map!” Iowa Farm Bureau, “Perdue Pledges Support for Trade and Biofuels during Iowa Visit” Lancaster University, “New Breakthrough Makes it Easier to Turn Old Coffee Waste into Cleaner Biofuels”
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On May 12, 2017, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) published in the Federal Register its preliminary determinations regarding the antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia. ITC confirmed that there is a reasonable indication that an industry in the U.S. is materially injured by imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia, which are alleged to be sold in the U.S. at less...
By Kathleen M. Roberts On May 9, 2017, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with seven additional Democratic Senators, sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) requesting an investigation into the activities of Carl Icahn for potential insider trading, market manipulation, and other securities and commodities law violations in the renewable fuel credit market. ...
Registration is now open for a May 24, 2017, webinar on “An Introduction to Voluntary Standards and Their Role in Enhancing the Quality of Scientific Research.” According to the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO), the safe development and commercialization of nanotechnology depends on the availability of internationally agreed upon standards. Such standards enable the use of consistent terminology, measurement protocols, and well-characterized reference...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on May 16, 2017, announcing the availability of and requesting public comment on a draft guidance document entitled “Guidance on EPA’s Section 8(a) Information Gathering Rule on Nanomaterials in Commerce.” 82 Fed. Reg. 22452. The promised guidance provides answers to questions EPA has received from manufacturers (includes importers) and processors of certain chemical substances when...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on May 16, 2017, announcing the availability of and requesting public comment on a draft guidance document entitled “Guidance on EPA’s Section 8(a) Information Gathering Rule on Nanomaterials in Commerce.” 82 Fed. Reg. 22452. The promised guidance provides answers to questions EPA has received from manufacturers (includes importers) and processors of certain chemical substances when they are...
May 16, 2017
ECHA Creates Web Page for Nanomaterials Expert Group
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has created a web page for the Nanomaterials Expert Group (NMEP), which was created in October 2012. NMEP aims to seek common ground among experts on scientific and technical issues regarding the implementation of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation, the Classification, Labeling, and Packaging (CLP) regulation, and the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) for nanomaterials. ECHA...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to publish a Federal Register notice on May 16, 2017, announcing the availability of and requesting public comment on a draft guidance document entitled “Guidance on EPA’s Section 8(a) Information Gathering Rule on Nanomaterials in Commerce.” EPA states in the pre-publication notice that the guidance provides answers to questions EPA has received from manufacturers (includes importers) and processors...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published on May 12, 2017, a Federal Register notice delaying the effective date of the January 12, 2017, rule concerning Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a) reporting requirements from May 12, 2017, to August 14, 2017. EPA notes that Section 553(b)(1)(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) allows EPA to take action without providing an opportunity for notice or comment when it for good cause finds...
By Kathleen M. Roberts On May 1, 2017, DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) published a notice in the Federal Register regarding its intent to extend its use of the EERE Environmental Questionnaire, with changes, for three years. The questionnaire allows EERE to collect project-specific information from federal financial assistance awardees to evaluate the potential environmental impact of projects that it is considering for funding, pursuant to the...
May 12, 2017
EIA Publishes February Biodiesel Production Report
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On April 28, 2017, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its monthly biodiesel production report for February 2017. According to the report, U.S. biodiesel production increased by one million gallons between January and February of this year but production is 11 million gallons less than February 2016. Production came from 95 biodiesel plants with capacity of 2.3 billion gallons per year. The report also states that 37 million...
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On May 5, 2017, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced to the Senate Finance Committee legislation focused on reducing carbon pollution over the next decade by incentivizing clean energy and promoting new technologies in the private sector. The Clean Energy for America Act, which was co-sponsored by 21 Democratic Senators, provides a simplified set of long-term, performance-based energy tax incentives to promote clean energy production and storage. The...
May 11, 2017
NanoImpact Publishes Special Issue Based on Eighth International Congress of Nanotoxicology
NanoImpact has published a special issue based on work presented at the Eighth International Congress of Nanotoxicology, which was held June 2-4, 2016, in Boston, Massachusetts. The theme was “A Decade of Nanotoxicology: Impact on Human Health and the Environment.” The Editorial by the associate guest editors, Dhimiter Bello and David T. Leong, states that the special issue brings together a collection of 12 original research papers and three review...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to publish on May 12, 2017, a Federal Register notice delaying the effective date of the January 12, 2017, rule concerning Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a) reporting requirements from May 12, 2017, to August 14, 2017. EPA notes that Section 553(b)(1)(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) allows EPA to take action without providing an opportunity for notice or comment when it for...
On May 9, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register a notice stating that it was reopening the comment period regarding whether revision to the current size standards for small manufacturers and processors, which are used in connection with reporting regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a), is warranted. 82 Fed. Reg. 21542. EPA is opening the comment period for another 15 days, until May 24,...