Since 1984, the faces and voices of ELI’s constituents have come together in a gathering of environmental professionals: the annual ELI Award Dinner. By honoring individuals and organizations for demonstrating outstanding commitment to environmental protection, ELI helps set the standards for the environmental profession. The dinner was a signal opportunity for environmental professionals to forge new bonds of cooperation, while supporting the agenda-setting research, education, and...
Category: General
October 19, 2019
Lynn L. Bergeson, “The Growing Influence of Chemical Risk Evaluation on the M&A Market,” Financier Worldwide, October 2019.
In 2018, the global M&A market achieved a transaction volume of $4.1 trillion, the third highest year ever for M&A volumes. Divestitures, spin-offs and split-offs are essential to defining corporate identity, a key shareholder imperative. This brisk pace is expected to continue. Whatever the motivation, M&A activity demands razor-sharp due diligence. The premise of this article is that due diligence often underestimates or, worse, ignores the impact implementation of revisions to the...
On October 17, 2019, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology unanimously approved the Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act (H.R. 2051), a companion bill to legislation introduced in the Senate by Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Susan Collins (R-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). Representative Dan Lipinski (D-IL) introduced the House bill on April 3, 2019. It is co-sponsored by Representative John Moolenaar (R-MI). The bill is intended to...
By Lynn L. Bergeson In response to EPA supplemental proposal outlined above, on October 15, 2019, U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-OK) issued a statement expressing his disappointment with EPA’s RFS mandates. Senator Lankford’s statement reads in part: The RFS has been a problem since day one, and the proposed increase to the mandate only further complicates a broken federal requirement to blend biofuels into gasoline. This proposal continues allowing exemptions for small refineries...
October 18, 2019
EPA Releases Its Supplemental Proposal On RFS
By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 15, 2019, EPA Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, signed a supplemental notice of the proposed rule on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that proposes to establish the cellulosic biofuel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel volumes for 2020 and the biomass-based diesel volume for 2021. Although the rule does not change the volumes for 2020 and 2021 proposed in July 2019, it proposes and seeks comment on adjustments to the way that annual renewable fuel...
October 16, 2019
Lynn L. Bergeson, “SEC Proposes Changes To Reporting Rules,” Chemical Processing, October 16, 2019.
Publicly traded companies must disclose certain legal proceedings and risk factors in registration statements and in annual and quarterly reports. These disclosures significantly help investors in assessing the financial integrity of a publicly traded company; formulating a disclosure precisely is critical to compliance, while at the same time accurately capturing the nature and extent of the potential risks. This article summarizes this Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)...
RCRA Improvement Rules: An Update and Discussion Wednesday, October 16, 2019 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (EDT) Register Today Overview: On November 28, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the final “Generator Improvements Rule” under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). 81 Fed. Reg. 85732. The potential scope of the revised regulatory program is immense -- the changes will affect almost 700,000 facilities. The rule is the most comprehensive overhaul of the...
October 16, 2019
WEBINAR — RCRA Improvements Rule: An Update and Discussion, October 16, 2019, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EDT
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) was pleased to present the complimentary webinar “RCRA Improvements Rule: An Update and Discussion.” Christopher R. Bryant, Senior Regulatory Consultant, B&C, presented.
October 15, 2019
EPA OIG Will Evaluate Implementation of 2009 TSCA PMN Consent Order with DuPont [Chemours]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced on September 23, 2019, that it plans to begin an evaluation of EPA’s implementation of the 2009 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) premanufacture notice (PMN) consent order with DuPont [Chemours]. According to OIG, its objective is to determine what actions EPA took to verify compliance with the requirements of the consent order to prevent release of the chemical GenX into the Cape Fear...
October 11, 2019
EPA OIG Will Audit EPA’s Safer Choice Program
On September 23, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced that it plans to begin fieldwork on EPA’s Safer Choice program. According to OIG, its objectives are to identify and assess the controls that EPA has in place to verify that the Safer Choice program meets its goals and achieves quality standards through its product qualification, renewal, and required audit process. OIG states that Safer Choice “is a voluntary labeling...