The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is hosting the fully virtual 2024 Chemical Security Seminars on July 11 and 18, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. (EDT). The sessions will cover a range of topics related to the security of dangerous chemicals. The preliminary agenda includes: State of Chemical Security (Kelly Murray, Associate Director, CISA Chemical Security); Transnational Threats Impacting Chemical Security (Robert...
Category: General
July 5, 2024
USDA Publishes RFI on the Production of Biofuel Feedstocks Using Climate-Smart Practices
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) seeks public input on procedures for the quantification, reporting, and verification of the effect of climate-smart farming practices on the greenhouse gas (GHG) net emissions estimates associated with the production of domestic (i.e., grown in the United States) agricultural commodities used as biofuel feedstocks. 89 Fed. Reg. 53585. According to USDA’ s June 27, 2024, notice, agricultural management practices that mitigate GHG emissions and/or...
June 21, 2024
EPA’s Proposed NMP Risk Management Rule Includes Requirements to Protect Workers and Consumers
On June 14, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule under Section 6(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that would protect workers and consumers from exposure to N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP). 89 Fed. Reg. 51134. To address the identified unreasonable risk, EPA proposes to: prohibit the manufacture (including import), processing, distribution in commerce, and use of NMP in several occupational conditions of use (COU); require worker protections through...
On May 31, 2024, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2024-49 for the Clean Fuel Production Credit. The Inflation Reduction Act allows a credit for the production of clean transportation fuels beginning on January 1, 2025. For purposes of the Clean Fuel Production Credit, transportation fuel is divided into two broad categories of fuel: sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and non-SAF transportation fuel. According to the IRS, the...
May 30, 2024
BETO Releases Report Summarizing Findings of RFI on Building Supply Chains to Meet SAF Grand Challenge Goals
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced on May 23, 2024, that it released a Summary Report from a September 2023 Request for Information (RFI) on building supply chains to meet Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Grand Challenge goals. The RFI requested input from industry, academia, national laboratories, government agencies, and other stakeholders to identify opportunities for developing effective supply chains capable of meeting the SAF Grand...
May 24, 2024
DOE Announces Additional Projects to Help Industry Address Bioenergy and Bioproduct Challenges
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced on May 22, 2024, that it awarded $2.18 million in funding to four additional projects as part of the Feedstock-Conversion Interface Consortium (FCIC) 2023 Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) call. BETO states that the FCIC, funded and led by BETO, is a consortium of researchers at nine national laboratories dedicated to reducing the technical risks of biorefinery scale-up. BETO notes that...
On April 16, 2024, Governor Janet Mills (D) signed LD 1537, amending An Act To Stop Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Pollution. On May 20, 2024, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) updated its “PFAS in Products” web page to reflect the amendments, which include eliminating the general notification requirement that was scheduled to take effect January 1, 2025. The legislation also creates new sales prohibitions for products with intentionally added per- and...
Assent presents Evolve 2024, a two-day conference covering the biggest sustainability and compliance challenges and providing educational workshops, entertaining experiences, enlightening speakers, and much more. Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, B&C, will present during "The Realities of Risk: A Unique Perspective of the Journey to Deep Supply Chain Sustainability" on October 10, 2024.
Chemical Watch presents "TSCA Fundamentals" a course taught by Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., providing in-depth training on the very latest TSCA regulatory and policy developments, their impact and how to anticipate their requirements, comply with the law and remain commercially competitive. Implementation of the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is very much a work in progress, and the US EPA’s regulatory actions require continuous monitoring. Staying on top of these changes is...