The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a webinar on October 13, 2022, on its web-based Interspecies Correlation Estimation (Web-ICE) tool. According to EPA, protecting the diversity of species from the adverse effects of chemicals is a significant environmental challenge. EPA acknowledges that information on the effects of chemicals on species is either very limited or lacking entirely, making management and mitigation of environmental contaminants difficult. EPA developed...
September 27, 2022
CRS Publishes Primer on the Bioeconomy
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a CRS report, updated on September 19, 2022, entitled The Bioeconomy: A Primer. The report provides an overview of the bioeconomy, details the efforts of the United States and other selected nations pertaining to the bioeconomy, and offers policy considerations for strengthening the role of the United States in the global bioeconomy. The report does not examine the policies and programs of...
September 23, 2022
ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources 30th Fall Conference, September 21-23, 2022, Nashville, TN
The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (SEER) 30th Fall Conference looked at rapidly emerging developments in environmental, energy, and resources law, including the novel approaches taken to bring solutions to climate change, sustainability, clean air, clean water, chemical management, environmental justice, and other transformative issues. Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®),...
September 23, 2022
Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Targets PFAS Cleanup,” Chemical Processing, September 23, 2022.
Cleanup costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) are about to get a lot more expensive. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 6, 2022, that it will propose to designate perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), two of the most widely used per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), as hazardous substances under CERCLA. The rulemaking would also require entities immediately to report...
September 21, 2022
EU Programs Conducting Survey on Risk Governance for Nanotechnology
Gov4Nano, NANORIGO, and RiskGONE, three projects funded by the European Union (EU), are working together “to develop and establish a robust public policy framework for the use of nanomaterials based on scientific evidence supporting a clear understanding of risks, their assessment and management within wider societal considerations.” The projects are conducting a survey to understand better how the needs of different stakeholders can be addressed through the outputs of the...
September 21, 2022
EPA Will Hold Webinar on Accessing and Using TRI Pollution Prevention Data
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a webinar on September 24, 2021, for stakeholders to learn how to access and use the pollution prevention (P2) information collected by the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program about projects implemented by companies to eliminate or reduce the creation of chemical waste. According to EPA, community members, local government representatives, facility personnel, and others can access this information through multiple online resources...
As reported in our July 18, 2022, blog item, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received a petition on June 16, 2022, under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) from Daniel M. Galpern on behalf of Donn J. Viviani, John Birks, Richard Heede, Lise Van Susteren, James E. Hansen, Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions, and Climate Protection and Restoration Initiative. The petition requests EPA “to phase out the anthropogenic manufacture, processing, distribution,...
September 19, 2022
Lynn L. Bergeson and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D. Quoted by Bloomberg Law in Article “Lanxess Agrees to Drop Case Over EPA’s Chemical Test Order”
On September 19, 2022, Bloomberg Law quoted Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, B&C, regarding a federal court's dismissal of Lanxess AG‘s petition asking to challenge an EPA order after the agency clarified that Lanxess and certain other chemical manufacturers wouldn’t be required to test chemicals they formerly made. Lynn Bergeson, managing partner of Bergeson & Campbell PC, which...
September 19, 2022
BETO Announces Webinar for Stakeholders to Learn to Accelerate the Biomanufacturing Process
By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and the Agile BioFoundry (ABF) will hold a webinar on September 22, 2022, highlighting technologies used by the ABF to accelerate biomanufacturing. According to BETO, the ABF consortium collaborates with industry and academia to develop technologies that enable commercially relevant biomanufacturing of sustainable bioproducts. During the webinar, attendees will hear from ABF...
September 16, 2022
Environmental Regulation in Practice 2022: New Challenges and Priorities, September 16, 2022, New York, NY and via webinar
As Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards and Environmental Justice (EJ) concepts further extend the reach of federal review and enforcement over corporate policies, attorneys from a wider range of practice areas must become versed in areas of the law that were traditionally considered unique to “environmental law” practice. This Practising Law Institute program, Environmental Regulation in Practice 2022, analyzed current regulations including proposed amendments and...