Memoranda

The European Commission (EC) began a public consultation on September 14, 2020, on the Inception Impact Assessment (Assessment) for a directive on the “Sustainable Products Initiative” (Initiative). According to the EC, this Initiative, which will revise the Ecodesign Directive and propose additional legislative measures as appropriate, intends to make products placed on the European Union (EU) market more sustainable. The EC states that consumers, the environment, and the climate...

Federal U.S. Senators Vote Against Deputy Secretary Of Energy Nominee On August 4, 2020, U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) voted against Mark Menezes, who is nominated to become Deputy Secretary of Energy. In a statement, both Senators said that “[g]iven the uncertainty with the ‘gap year’ small refinery waivers, the wasted time and resources to score the waivers again, the lack of transparency in the entire process, and most importantly, the toll this has...

Federal DOE Announces RFI On Improving Battery Critical Materials Supply Chains On June 29, 2020, the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) published a request for information (RFI) on challenges and opportunities in the up- and mid-stream critical materials battery supply chains. As demand for critical materials such as lithium and cobalt for the manufacturing of batteries continues to grow, DOE is seeking ways to reduce...

On May 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued the much-anticipated final Sustainable, Ecological, Consistent, Uniform, Responsible, Efficient (SECURE) rule. 85 Fed. Reg. 29790. The rule is intended to update and modernize USDA’s biotechnology regulations under the Plant Protection Act. The final rule amends the regulations regarding the movement (importation, interstate movement, and environmental release) of...

On July 25, 2019, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology held a hearing on “Benign by Design:  Innovations in Sustainable Chemistry.”  Subcommittee Chair Haley Stevens (D-MI) opened the hearing, stating that she looked forward to a discussion about the market drivers for sustainability in the chemical industry, the integration of sustainability in chemistry education, and the role of the federal government in supporting research and...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of Procurement and Property Management published a final rule on July 5, 2019, that will amend the Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal Procurement (Guidelines) to add 30 sections designating the product categories within which biobased products would be afforded procurement preference by federal agencies and their contractors. 84 Fed. Reg. 32015. These 30 product categories contain finished products that are...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a proposed rule on June 6, 2019, on the movement of certain genetically engineered (GE) organisms. 84 Fed. Reg. 26514. The proposed rule would revise the regulations regarding the movement, including the importation, interstate movement, and environmental release of certain GE organisms in response to advances in genetic engineering and APHIS’ understanding of the plant pest risk...

On March 25, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally weighed-in on the murky and often misunderstood topic of label claims for plant regulators and plant biostimulants in posting its Draft Guidance for Plant Regulator Label Claims, Including Plant Biostimulants in Docket # EPA-HQ-OPP-2018-0258.  EPA issued the notice of availability in the Federal Register on March 27, 2019.  84 Fed. Reg. 11538.  EPA states that the draft...

Click here for a PDF brochure of the memorandum Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and its consulting affiliate The Acta Group (Acta®) are pleased to offer you our Forecast 2019. In this richly detailed document, the legal, scientific, and regulatory professionals of B&C and Acta distill key trends in U.S. and global chemical law and provide our best informed judgment as to the shape of key developments we are likely to see in the New Year. Our unique business platform and growing...

On July 20, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report on its audit of EPA’s implementation of the OIG recommendations for the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards (PGCCA) Program.  The PGCCA Program is sponsored by the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) to promote the environmental and economic benefits of developing and using green chemistry by recognizing industry...