All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On February 23, 2017, the Sierra Club filed a notice of intent to sue EPA for failure to conduct the required environmental impact analysis on the RFS program.  The notice states that EPA failed to assess and report to Congress on the environmental and resource conservation impacts of the RFS program and failed to complete the required anti-backsliding study to determine whether the renewable fuel volumes adversely impacted air quality.  According to the notice, EPA has issued only one...

On February 21, 2017, President Trump sent a letter to the attendees of the National Ethanol Conference to reiterate his commitment to ethanol and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).  The letter states that Trump and his Administration value the importance of renewable fuels to the nation’s energy strategy and economy.  In the letter, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to working with the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and others to reform regulations that impede growth, increase...

On February 17, 2017, several Republican Senators sent a letter to Scott Pruitt, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, to confirm their willingness to work with Pruitt to grow the nation’s economy and support American jobs and to request that Pruitt address EPA’s volatility regulation of ethanol fuel blends.  In the letter, the Senators describe the one pound per square inch (psi) waiver that allows gasoline blends containing ten percent ethanol (E10) to...

In January 2017, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)/Technical Specification (TS) 80004-9:2017, “Nanotechnologies — Vocabulary — Part 9:  Nano-enabled electrotechnical products and systems.”  IEC/TS 80004-9:2017 specifies terms and definitions for electrotechnical products and systems reliant on nanomaterials for their essential functionalities.  ISO states that it is intended to facilitate...

TSCA/FIFRA/NTP Lynn L. Bergeson, Charles M. Auer, and Carla Hutton, “Practitioner Insights: A Review and Analysis of TSCA Reform Provisions Pertinent to Manufacturers and Processors of Nanoscale Materials,” Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report, January 26, 2017: On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, Pub. L. No. 114-182, and in so doing significantly revised the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the...

According to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) website, several Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) guidance documents concerning nanomaterials have moved to the next step in the consultation process.  The draft recommendations for nanomaterials applicable to the guidance on quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) and grouping of chemicals was sent to the Competent Authorities for REACH and Classification, Labeling, and...

According to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) website, the draft Guidance on information requirements and Chemical Safety Assessment:  Appendix R7-1 Recommendations for nanomaterials applicable to Chapter R7a Endpoint specific guidance and Appendix R7-2 Recommendations for nanomaterials applicable to Chapter R7c Endpoint specific guidance has been sent to the Competent Authorities for Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and...

On February 23, 2017, Karin Baron, MSPH, Senior Regulatory Consultant with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®), presented “South Korean and China Regulations and Other Asian Market Regulations & Opportunities” at Exporting Chemicals and Hazardous Materials: Major Global Markets Regulatory Compliance. Ms. Baron’s presentation covered chemical control legislation approaches and hazard communications in China, South Korea,...

In the February 28, 2017, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report, James V. Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant with Bergeson & Campbell P.C. (B&C®) was quoted in the article “As Budget Cuts Loom, Industry Seeks to Save Some EPA Programs.” Staff already has grappled with smaller conference travel budgets, cuts in discretionary expenses, and less contractor support to assist with reducing environmental and health risks, said Jim Aidala, former EPA assistant...

On February 16, 2017, a coalition of Iowa farmers, renewable fuel producers, and retailers urged Scott Pruitt, just prior to his being confirmed as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, to protect the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by rejecting the petition to change the program’s point of obligation.  The coalition, which includes the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA), the Iowa Corn Growers Association (ICGA), Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores of...

On February 14, 2017, the Government of Alberta announced the recipients of C$40 million in grant funding under the Bioenergy Producer Program (BPP).  Four biofuel companies, including Permolex Ltd., Archer Daniels Midland Agri-Industries, Invigor Bioenergy, and Enerkem Alberta Biofuels, were among the successful BPP applicants to receive a grant for the first program period.  Each grant was awarded based on the amount of bioenergy the company committed to produce between April 1,...

On February 13, 2017, seven democratic Senators sent a letter to White House Counsel Don McGahn requesting details on Carl Icahn’s role in the Trump Administration and the extent of his influence over the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program.  On December 21, 2016, it was announced that Mr. Icahn would serve the Trump Administration as a special advisor for overhauling federal regulations.  The Senators’ letter highlights concerns over Icahn’s public statements...

On February 14, 2017, in the House of Representatives, Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) introduced H.R. 1029, the “Pesticide Registration Enhancement Act of 2017,” which reauthorizes the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA).  H.R. 1029 was immediately referred to the Agriculture Committee and to the Energy and Commerce Committee; it was passed by the Agriculture Committee on February 16, 2017.  Per Agriculture Committee Chair Michael Conaway’s opening statement at the Business...

On February 21, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice delaying the effective date from March 20, 2017, to March 21, 2017, of the notice issued on January 19, 2017. 82 Fed. Reg. 11218. The February 21 notice appears to correct a miscalculation of the 60-day freeze period required under the Regulatory Freeze Pending Review memorandum issued on January 20, 2017, to the notice EPA issued on January 19, 2017, titled Statutory Requirements for Substantiation of...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally concluded January 12, 2017, a ten-year effort to issue a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a) rule establishing reporting and recordkeeping requirements for certain discrete forms of chemical substances manufactured or processed at nanoscale. This column summarizes the rule. Reports are due to the EPA no later than May 12, 2018. The final rule is effective May 12, 2017.

On February 7, 2017, the Renewable Fuels Association, Growth Energy, and the U.S. Grains Council sent a joint letter to President Donald Trump to request the Administration’s assistance in addressing China’s recent implementation of protectionist trade barriers, which are shutting out U.S. exports of ethanol and distillers dried grains.  The letter states that China’s actions have significantly injured U.S. ethanol producers and farmers, and undermined the substantial...

In response to the many requests we've received, B&C Senior Regulatory Consultants Michael S. Wenk, M.S. and Karin F. Baron, MSPH presented a follow-up to our November 2016 webinar Current Opportunities and Challenges with Chemical Substance Regulation in Mexico and Central and South America, and examined the chemical substance regulations of several additional countries in the region, whose regulatory environments are generally not well-known or...

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published a Federal Register notice on February 10, 2017, inviting comment on a proposed information collection plan, "Survey of Engineered Nanomaterial Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Practices." The goal of the project is to assess the relevance and impact of NIOSH's contribution to guidelines and risk mitigation practices for safe handling of engineered nanomaterials in the workplace. The intended use of the data is to...