All Knowledge & Insights By Date

In May 2026, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a policy paper entitled Anticipatory Governance for Responsible Innovation in Synthetic Biology. The policy paper examines how OECD member countries are adapting governance frameworks to support responsible innovation in synthetic biology. Using the OECD Framework for Anticipatory Governance of Emerging Technologies as an analytical lens, it reviews national strategies, policy instruments, and governance...

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Alternative Fuels and Feedstocks Office (AFFO) will hold its 2027 Peer Review Meeting (PRM) during the week of April 19, 2027, in Arlington, Virginia. The PRM will include a “rigorous and systematic review” of active projects in AFFO’s research, development, and demonstration portfolio. According to AFFO, the reviews will be conducted by technical experts from industry, academia, the DOE National Laboratories, and other federal agencies. The PRM will...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®) are pleased to announce that Breanne J. Kincaid, Ph.D. has joined our firms as Assistant Toxicologist and Regulatory Scientist. Dr. Kincaid's combination of toxicological training, computational expertise, regulatory awareness, and technical communication skills enables her to support clients in preparing, analyzing, and interpreting environmental, toxicity, and public health data to facilitate product approvals, regulatory...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on June 23, 2026, that it seeks information “to develop a durable Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulation for legacy uses and associated disposals of asbestos, non-chrysotile and chrysotile asbestos fiber types, and asbestos-containing talc” (Asbestos Part 2). EPA evaluated these materials in its 2024 risk evaluation. EPA notes that “[e]xposure risk arises whenever asbestos-containing materials are disturbed -- during...

On June 15, 2026, Circular Action Alliance (CAA) submitted its draft program plan (draft plan) to CalRecycle’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) program advisory board, with Chapter 9 of the draft plan revised and posted for public access on June 18, 2026. CAA was required to submit this plan under California’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (SB 54), the state’s EPR law. The draft plan, which outlines how the state will achieve requirements set...

On June 29, 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a final rule revising the technical guidelines for quantifying, reporting, and verifying the carbon intensity (CI) of agricultural commodity crops used in the production of biofuels relative to an estimated national average that were established by a Biden USDA January 2025 interim rule. 91 Fed. Reg. 39334. According to USDA, the January 2025 interim rule established guidelines for the implementation, reporting, verification,...

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Richard E. Engler, Director of Chemistry for B&C and The Acta Group (Acta®), our consulting affiliate, and Ryan N. Schmit, Of Counsel with B&C and Senior Regulatory Consultant with Acta, about the ever-tricky topic of confidential business information (CBI) -- what is it, how to protect it, and steps to take to avoid losing it. As listeners may know, the protection afforded certain information claimed CBI begins to sunset...

During a June 16, 2026, Capitol Hill press conference, U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action (USFRA) released a study entitled Fueling Agriculture: Biofuels as the Catalyst. Prepared by S&P Global Energy, the study notes that biofuel demand is decreasing due to vehicle efficiency gains, changing driving patterns, and increased reliance on electric vehicles. According to the study, at current blend rates of around ten percent, U.S. ethanol demand for on-road transportation fuels could fall...

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) New Approach Methodology (NAM) Use for Regulatory Application (NURA), in partnership with the International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety (ICCS), will present a webinar series aiming to identify practical solutions for ultraviolet (UV)-filter development and testing that improve predictivity while providing animal-free assessments of sunscreens. According to NURA, sunscreen assessment has been complicated by diverse and sometimes...

The Council of the European Union (EU) announced on June 16, 2026, that it has agreed on its position on targeted amendments to health legislation that seek to boost innovation in the EU’s biotechnology sector. The European Commission (EC) drafted a directive that would amend two existing directives to streamline the rules on placing certain genetically modified microorganisms (GMM) on the market and to update the rules on organ processing to reflect certain scientific advances. The proposed...