On July 20, 2017, the Trump Administration released its 2017 Unified Regulatory Agenda. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Agency Rule List included many items under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), including six in the final rule stage, ten in the proposed rule stage, and one in the prerule stage. The six items in the final rule stage are: RIN 2070-AK20: Procedures for Evaluating Existing Chemical Risks Under the Toxic Substances Control...
Category: General
July 28, 2017
Lynn L. Bergeson, “The Montreal Protocol is Amended and Strengthened,” Environmental Quality Management, Spring 2017.
Climate change watchers know that October, 15, 2016, was a historic day for international climate action. On that day, nearly 200 countries reached an agreement to phase down use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) at the 28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Kigali, Rwanda. The meeting to discuss the Amendment took place from July 15-23, 2016. This seemingly impossible alignment of international interests reflects years of effort. This column summarizes this historic event and its...
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On July 19, 2017, SkyNRG, along with Carbon War Room (CWR) and the Port of Seattle, announced their recommendations for long-term funding mechanisms to supply all airlines at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) with sustainable aviation biofuels. Their report, titled “Innovative Funding For Sustainable Aviation Fuel At U.S. Airports: Explored At Seattle-Tacoma International,” reviews a broad array of airport funding sources, the...
July 28, 2017
EPA Publishes Proposed 2018 RFS Requirements
By Kathleen M. Roberts On July 18, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register its proposed rule on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program: Standards for 2018 and Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2019. The rulemaking proposes the annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel for motor vehicle gasoline and diesel produced or imported in 2018, as well as biomass-based diesel in 2019, as...
July 27, 2017
Lynn L. Bergeson, “EC Publishes Final Report of Nanocomput Project,” Nanotechnology Now, July 27, 2017.
In July 2017, the European Commission's (EC) Joint Research Center (JRC) published a report entitled Evaluation of the availability and applicability of computational approaches in the safety assessment of nanomaterials: Final report of the Nanocomput project.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made available on May 16, 2017, and requested comment on a draft guidance document, “Guidance on EPA’s Section 8(a) Information Gathering Rule on Nanomaterials in Commerce.” This column discusses the draft guidance.
Since July 20, 2017, when the Trump Administration published its Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, the entry for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) item (RIN 2070-AJ54) concerning the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a) reporting rule for nanoscale materials has been revised at least twice. As reported in our July 20, 2017, blog item, the Unified Agenda item stated that the final rule effective date is “To Be Determined” (TBD). On July...
On July 20, 2017, the Trump Administration published its Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The Agenda includes a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) item (RIN 2070-AJ54) concerning the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a) reporting rule for nanoscale materials.
Waters of the United States has been a “fluid” concept for years. It defines the jurisdictional limits of the authority of the United States under the Clean Water Act (CWA). President Trump’s Feb. 28, 2017, Executive Order (EO) directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to rescind and replace the Clean Water Rule (CWR) is the latest development to resolve the question of which surface waters and wetlands may be federally regulated...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued on Jan. 12, 2017, a final rule under Section 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) establishing reporting and recordkeeping requirements for certain discrete forms of chemical substances that are manufactured or processed at the nanoscale. This column summarizes the rule.