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Senator Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), has scheduled a hearing on the Nomination of Lee Zeldin to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Thursday, January 16, at 10:00 a.m. The hearing will be held in room 406 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building and will be viewable by webcast as well. It will be interesting to hear what Mr. Zeldin shares about his priorities as EPA Administrator and how the Trump...

On January 6, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the extension of the review period for confidential business information (CBI) claims for specific identities of all active chemical substances listed on the confidential portion of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory submitted to EPA under TSCA. 90 Fed. Reg. 645. As reported in our February 7, 2024, blog item, EPA previously extended the review period by one year, to February 19, 2025. According to EPA,...

Much speculation is growing about what to expect from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2025 under the Trump administration. Donald Trump’s presidential campaign focused on downsizing the federal government, especially the EPA. The first Trump administration tried hard to cut the agency’s workforce and funding while working to decrease regulations it viewed as burdensome.  The new administration will likely follow a similar path, taking significant steps to roll back...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule on December 12, 2024, that would partially waive the 2024 cellulosic biofuel volume requirement and revise the associated percentage standard under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program due to a shortfall in cellulosic biofuel production. 89 Fed. Reg. 100442. As a result of this proposed change, EPA proposes to extend the RFS compliance reporting deadline for the 2024 compliance year. According to the proposed rule, EPA...

On December 20, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied the Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) petition and granted the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers’ (AFPM) petition for review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule updating the requirements concerning the assertion and treatment of confidential business information (CBI) claims under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)....

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on December 20, 2024, that the United States prevailed in its dispute under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) challenging certain Mexican biotechnology measures concerning genetically engineered (GE) corn. Under a February 2023 presidential decree, Mexico banned immediately the use of GE corn in dough and tortillas and instructed government agencies to eliminate gradually the use of GE corn for other food uses and in animal...

The opening hours of the 119th Congress provided an interesting look at the two bodies of Congress, the United States House of Representatives (House) and the United States Senate (Senate), and offered a glimpse of what to expect from the leaders of those bodies during the next two years. While Republicans control the House and the Senate, their slim majorities will present challenges in legislating during the 119th Congress. In the House, it will take only a handful of Republican defections to...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), its global consulting affiliate The Acta Group (Acta®), and consortia management affiliate B&C® Consortia Management, L.L.C. (BCCM) are pleased to share with you our 2025 Forecast. For all the reasons you might imagine, our seasoned team was especially challenged this year in speculating on what to expect in 2025 regarding global industrial, agricultural, and biocidal chemical regulatory and policy initiatives. Given the European Parliamentary...

The National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology announced on December 18, 2024, that the fiscal year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act includes “a suite of recommendations designed to galvanize action on biotechnology” for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). According to the Commission, the bill includes new authorities and requirements -- derived from its May 2024 proposals -- that will position DOD and the intelligence community (IC) to maximize the benefits of...

On December 27, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released for comment a proposed plan to track the adoption of bilingual labeling of pesticide products. 90 Fed. Reg. 99. The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (PRIA 5) amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to require Spanish language translation of the health and safety sections of end-use pesticide product labels on a rolling schedule that begins in December 2025 and ends in...