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The European Commission (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) has published a Science for Policy report entitled NANoREG framework for the safety assessment of nanomaterials.  The report was developed within the NANoREG project, “A common European approach to the regulatory testing of nanomaterials.”  The NANoREG framework represents the project’s proposal for a common understanding in the field of environmental health and safety (EHS) assessment of nanomaterials under the...

The May 1, 2017, issue of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) TechDirect includes an item on the availability of the Taking Nanotechnological Remediation Processes from Lab Scale to End User Applications for the Restoration of a Clean Environment (NanoRem) Toolbox.

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On April 24, 2017, Bob Dineen, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) sent a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt requesting that the 2018 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) rulemaking remain on schedule and maintain the conventional renewable fuel requirement at the statutory level of 15 billion gallons.  According to the letter, regulatory certainty and sufficient lead time for planning are required to allow...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On April 26, 2017, a bipartisan bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate to reform the biodiesel tax credit and extend the new policy for three years.  The American Renewable Fuel and Job Creation Act of 2017, which was sponsored by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and 14 other senators, transfers the $1 gallon tax credit from the blenders to the producers of biofuels to ensure that it incentivizes domestic production.  The...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On April 24, 2017, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys representing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the renewable fuels and petroleum industries presented oral arguments before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit regarding the petition to review the renewable volume obligations (RVO) for 2014-2016.  The petition, which was filed on January 8, 2016, by seven biofuel and agricultural groups, challenged...

NanoMONITOR announced on May 3, 2017, the launch of a survey intended to refine the design of the real-time information and monitoring system to support the risk assessment of nanomaterials under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation.  NanoMONITOR states that the ten-minute survey will help it: Elicit stakeholders’ requirements on the NanoMONITOR web platform; Elicit stakeholders’ requirements on the NanoMONITOR station...

The NanoBusiness Commercialization Association (NanoBCA) will hold its 16th annual conference on June 15, 2017, in Washington, D.C.  Speakers will include Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Director, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., as well as: Jim Phillips, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), NanoMech Corporation; Doyle Edwards, Director, Government Programs, Brewer Science; Matthew Putman, Ph.D., CEO, Nanotronics Imaging; Mark Shaw, CEO, UltraTech International, Inc.; Dmitri Aronov,...

The amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has ushered in new developments in testing strategies.  In March 2017, Andre E. Nel, Ph.D. (Division of NanoMedicine, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California (UCLA); California NanoSystems Institute, UCLA (CNSI)) and Timothy F. Malloy (CNSI; UCLA School of Law; UCLA Center on Environmental and Occupational Health) published Policy reforms to update chemical safety...

Facing a government shutdown, late on April 30, 2017, lawmakers reached agreement on a spending bill that funds the federal government through September 2017, which is the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2017.  President Trump’s budget blueprint sought to slash EPA’s coffers by some 31 percent (and more if certain programs were eliminated from the base).  The deal reached by lawmakers, however, would essentially fund EPA at its current levels and retain current staff...

On May 2, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would convene a public meeting to clarify and discuss the process of negotiated rulemaking on changes to Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) requirements for inorganic byproducts.  The meeting will be held on May 9, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EDT) and on May 10, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (EDT), in Washington, D.C. at the Capital Hilton, 1001 16th Street, N.W, in the General Session Room (South...

On May 1, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice in the Federal Register stating it was reopening and extending the comment period for two proposed rules:  (1) to prohibit the use of trichloroethylene (TCE) in vapor degreasing; to require manufacturers (including importers), processors, and distributors, except for retailers, of TCE for any use to provide downstream notification of these prohibitions throughout the supply chain; and to require limited...

Lynn L. Bergeson, Environmental Quality Management, Winter 2016: On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. The text of the law is available at http://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2576/text. The law substantially amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and in so doing, fundamentally alters the domestic management of industrial chemicals, the lifeblood of many manufacturing processes....

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On April 12, 2017, the nova-Institute announced the publication of its commentary on the European Commission’s proposal for a revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED).  The proposal, which is referred to as RED II, aims to raise renewable energy usage in Europe to 27 percent by 2030 and to require fuel suppliers to include a minimum share of advanced biofuels in their offering, which will increase steadily between 2021 and 2030.  In its commentary,...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On April 13, 2017, the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) released a statement regarding the passage of a bill, HSB 187, by the Iowa House Appropriations Committee that would cut the value of the Iowa biofuels tax credits and complicate the mechanism for receiving the credit.  According to the bill, the value of the tax credits would be determined based on annual sales, and the amount of the credits would be capped on an annual, statewide basis.  The...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On April 19, 2017, DOE announced an open teleconference of the State Energy Advisory Board (STEAB) in the Federal Register.  STEAB advises DOE and EERE on the operation of its energy efficiency programs, renewable energy programs, and grant programs for research and deployment in energy efficiency and renewable energy fields.  The tentative agenda includes: STEAB Task Force updates and objectives for fiscal year (FY)...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On April 21, 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the 38 small businesses that will collaborate with researchers from eight national laboratories under the Small Business Vouchers (SBV) pilot, which aims to foster a strong partnership between the labs and clean tech small businesses.  The 38 businesses represent the third round of SBV, which brings the total number of partnerships under the program to 114.  SBV provides small businesses...

On June 13-14, 2017, a “Nanosensor Manufacturing Workshop:  Finding Better Paths to Products” will be held at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia.  The Workshop supports the goals of the National Nanotechnology Initiative’s (NNI) Nanotechnology Signature Initiative, “Nanotechnology for Sensors and Sensors for Nanotechnology.”  According to NNI, the Workshop will identify key elements needed to achieve production-scale manufacturing of nanotechnology-enabled...

On April 14, 2017, Lynn L. Bergeson’s article “TSCA Reform: Key Provisions and Implications,” was published in Volume 26, Issue 2, of Environmental Quality Management.  On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act which substantially amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and, in so doing, fundamentally altered the domestic management of industrial chemicals -- the lifeblood of many manufacturing...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it will be hosting several events to gather input on regulatory actions that could be repealed, replaced or modified as part of EPA’s regulatory reform efforts under Executive Order (EO) 13777.  The Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) will host a public meeting on the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) on May 3, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. (EDT), and on May 4, 2017, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00...