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Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) was pleased to present the complimentary webinar “RCRA Improvements Rule:  An Update and Discussion.” Christopher R. Bryant, Senior Regulatory Consultant, B&C, presented....

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced on September 23, 2019, that it plans to begin an evaluation of EPA’s implementation of the 2009 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) premanufacture notice (PMN) consent order with DuPont [Chemours].  According to OIG, its objective is to determine what actions EPA took to verify compliance with the requirements of the consent order to prevent release of the chemical GenX into the Cape Fear...

On October 11, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) for 31 chemical substances, including multiwalled carbon nanotubes (generic), that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN).  84 Fed. Reg. 54816.  EPA notes that eight of the chemical substances are subject to orders under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) issued by EPA.  The effective date of the TSCA Section 5(e) order for multiwalled...

On September 23, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced that it plans to begin fieldwork on EPA’s Safer Choice program.  According to OIG, its objectives are to identify and assess the controls that EPA has in place to verify that the Safer Choice program meets its goals and achieves quality standards through its product qualification, renewal, and required audit process.  OIG states that Safer Choice “is a voluntary labeling...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 4, 2019, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary, Sonny Perdue, announced President Trump’s negotiated agreement on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).  Under the agreement, EPA and USDA will undertake the following actions: In a forthcoming supplemental notice building off the recently proposed 2020 Renewable Volume Standards and the Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 3, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that a technical guidance for industry titled “Bioanalytical Methods Templates” is now available.  The technical specifications guidance provides ready-to-use templates for sponsors to submit summaries of bioanalytical methods used in clinical pharmacology studies that require pharmacokinetic concentration evaluation.  The templates provided are applicable to bioanalytical...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 2, 2019, the government of Quebec, Canada, published in its Official Gazette a notice of a draft regulation setting standards for the integration of renewable fuels into gasoline and diesel fuel.  Under the draft regulation, the standards will apply on July 1, 2021, and will then increase. As of July 1, 2025, the integration of a minimum volume of ethanol of 15 percent into gasoline and a minimum volume...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On October 2, 2019, the Green Party of Canada commented, via a press release, on its Green Climate Action Plan called “Mission:  Possible.” Aiming to exceed the U.S. Green New Deal, under this plan, the Green Party outlines a 20-step action plan to achieve the goal of zero emissions by 2050.  Part of the strategy outlined emphasizes the idea that heavy-duty industrial machinery will need to...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Ligia Duarte Botelho, M.A. On October 2, 2019, the Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, announced that applications are now open for all 15 seats on the Governor’s Biofuels Council.  Established in September 2019 by Governor Walz, the Governor’s Biofuels Council advises the Governor and cabinet on how best to support Minnesota’s biofuels industry. Council members will include representatives of agriculture, biofuels, and transportation industries and...

On October 7, 2019, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) published a Nanopinion by Lise Bitsch, Governing Nanotechnologies through Societal Engagement (GoNano), entitled “Strengthening societal engagement with nanotechnologies.”  Bitsch presents several arguments for why actors in the research and innovation world of nanotechnologies and other key enabling technologies should care about societal engagement.  Bitsch also explains what societal engagement is...