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On July 13, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the winners of the 20th Annual Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards (PGCCA) and honored them at a ceremony at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. The PGCCAs were created in partnership with the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute® and other members of the chemical community to promote the environmental and economic benefits of green chemistry. The six different categories for...

With little fanfare, on July 2, 2015, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Council on Environmental Quality issued a memorandum directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to update the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology. Last updated in 1992 and first rolled out...

The European Commission (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) announced on July 10, 2015, the publication of its third report in its review of the EC recommendation on the definition of a nanomaterial.  The report is the last in a series of three, and provides scientific support to the EC in its review of the definition used to identify materials for which special provisions might apply (e.g., for ingredient labeling or safety assessment).  According to JRC, as the definition...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has issued the following publications in its Series on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials:  No. 55 — Harmonized Tiered Approach to Measure and Assess the Potential Exposure to Airborne Emissions of Engineered Nano-Objects and their Agglomerates and Aggregates at Workplaces:  The primary goal of this publication is to describe a reliable formal methodology for conducting consistent exposure related...

The release of the first Tier 1 assessments in the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 30, 2015, is a significant benchmark in the program since the original List 1 test orders were initially issued in October 2009. Fifteen of the original 67 List 1 chemicals were subsequently cancelled or discontinued by the respective pesticide registrants. The intended purpose of the Tier 1 screening was to identify potential...

With the 20th Annual Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards (PGCCA) ceremony drawing near, the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group's (BRAG®) Biobased News and Policy Report decided to go back and revisit some early winners to see what has become of the award-winning product or technology. We will be running a new story each week as we approach this year's awards ceremony, occurring July 13, 2015, at 4:00 p.m. (EDT), at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington,...

On July 7, 2015, the American Chemical Society (ACS) will hold a webinar to address the White House’s recently announced Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand Challenges for the Next Decade.  The webinar will feature ACS Nano Editor-in-Chief Paul Weiss and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Lloyd Whitman.  The webinar is free, and registration is open to the general public.

On June 24, 2015, the Master Limited Partnership Parity Act (S. 1656) was reintroduced in the House and the Senate. The legislation would provide investors in renewable energy projects with tax breaks that are currently available to investors in fossil fuel-based energy projects. A master limited partnership is taxed as a partnership, but ownership interests are traded like corporate stock, thus avoiding the double taxation that can occur with traditional corporate structures when both profits...

TSCA/FIFRA/IRIS/NTP/TRI EPA Seeks Comment On Series 810 Test Guidelines: On June 17, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability for comment of several Series 810, non-binding, draft test guidelines developed by the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). 80 Fed. Reg. 34638. The test guidelines provide guidance on conducting testing by the public and companies that are subject to EPA data submission requirements under OCSPP's major...

Imagine receiving a certified letter from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcing that it plans to conduct an audit of your company’s facility in two weeks. The audit will focus on your company’s compliance obligations as a chemical manufacturer under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Would you be prepared or are you unsure of what TSCA is and whether it applies to you? This article explains how TSCA applies to biobased chemicals and how nomenclature and chemical...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended the comment period on its April 6, 2015, proposed rule concerning reporting and recordkeeping requirements for certain chemical substances when they are manufactured or processed at the nanoscale.  Comments will now be due August 5, 2015.  EPA will publish a Federal Register notice announcing the extension during the week of June 29, 2015.  EPA proposes to require persons that manufacture or process these chemical substances to...

On June 19, 2015, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia granted a motion for default judgment by the Non-Dietary Exposure Task Force (Task Force) and confirmed an arbitration award against an Indian pesticide manufacturer, Tagros Chemicals India, Ltd. (Tagros) (Non-Dietary Exposure Task Force v. Tagros Chems. India Ltd., 2015 BL 195490, D.D.C., 1:15-cv-00132, 6/19/15).  The Task Force sued Tagros after Tagros refused to sign a $500,000 settlement agreement negotiated...

? Uganda Media Centre, "Cabinet pproves The Biofuels Bill, 2014" ? National Marine Manufacturers Association, "Recreational Boating Industry Turning to Biobutanol as Alternative Biofuel" ? University of Manchester, "Mould Unlocks New Route to Biofuels" ? KiwiNet, "KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards 2015 Winners Announced" ? Phys.org, "Straw-Insulated Houses Beat Petroleum-Based Alternatives"

With the 20th Annual Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards (PGCCA) ceremony drawing near, the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group's (BRAG®) Biobased News and Policy Report decided to go back and revisit some early winners to see what has become of the award-winning product or technology. We will be running a new story each week as we approach this year's awards ceremony, occurring July 13, 2015, at 4:00 p.m. (EDT), at the National Academies of Sciences in...

On June 17, 2015, the Australian government made a bipartisan agreement to tax Australian-produced biodiesel and ethanol. Cleaner fuel grants for renewable and biobased diesel fuels will end by July 1, 2015, as will the Ethanol production grant. An excise rate on biodiesel will be phased in starting in 2015-2016 at zero percent, and will increase annually, eventually reaching 50 percent of the diesel excise rate in 2030-2031. The Biofuels Association of Australia approved of the agreement,...

On June 18, 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $55 million in funding for projects to accelerate biomass development and develop generator technologies under the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The funding will be divided between two of ARPA-E's programs, GENerators for Small Electrical and Thermal Systems (GENSETS) and Transportation Energy Resources from Renewable Agriculture (TERRA). GENSETS will receive $25 million to support 12 projects to improve...

? BizJournals, "Biofuel Company Nature's Methane Has Ambitious Goals For Kentucky" ? Business Wire, "Verdezyne Signs Agreement With Major European Chemicals Distributor Will & Co"