The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on June 28, 2019, announcing that the EPA Safer Choice Program is accepting submissions for its 2019 Safer Choice Partner of the Year Awards. 84 Fed. Reg. 31066. The Safer Choice Program partners with businesses and others to help consumers and commercial buyers identify products with safer chemical ingredients, “without sacrificing quality or performance.” Toward this end, according to EPA, the Safer...
July 19, 2019
Bipartisan Patent Bill Introduced To House And Senate That Would Protect Biotechnology Innovation
By Lynn L. Bergeson On July 10, 2019, Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Representatives Steve Stivers (R-OH) and Bill Foster (D-IL) reintroduced the STRONGER (Support Technology & Research for Our Nation’s Growth and Economic Resilience) Patents Act of 2019. This legislation, an improvement on legislation introduced last year under the same name, would reform the inter partes post-grant review process, ensure all fees paid to the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO)...
By Lynn L. Bergeson On July 10, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have developed a model that predicts commercial biocrude outcomes from algae hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) significantly more accurately than previous analyses. “Techno-economic uncertainty quantification of algal-derived biocrude via hydrothermal liquefaction,” funded by DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s...
July 19, 2019
House Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Caucus Co-Hosts Annual Renewable Energy Policy Forum
By Lynn L. Bergeson On July 12, 2019, the House Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Caucus and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute co-hosted the 22nd Annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO and Policy Forum. The forum brought together government agencies, businesses, and trade associations to showcase renewable energy technologies and discus sustainable public policy options. Ruth McCormick, Director, Federal and State Affairs, Business Council for...
By Lynn L. Bergeson On July 8, 2019, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) announced the winners of the Consider Corn Challenge II, a challenge intended to highlight the range of biobased materials that can be produced with field corn feedstock. The three winners included: ExoPolymer, Inc. for a plan to create a new profile of customizable, polysaccharide-based hydrocolloids that are domestically produced by microbial fermentation using corn sugar as a feedstock. These new hydrocolloids...
July 19, 2019
Weekly Roundup of Other Biobased News
U.S. Department of Energy, “Algae Technology Educational Consortium Prepares Students for Careers in Algae Cultivation and Technologies” World Economic Forum, “These Are the Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2019” Somaiya, “Godavari Biorefineries Ltd. Earns USDA Certified Biobased Product Label for Acetic Acid.” Plastics Today, “Sustainable Plastics: How Far and How Fast Can We Go?” Science Daily, “Left out to Dry: A More Efficient Way to...
Earlier this month, David Fischer joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) as a Deputy Assistant Administrator. Prior to joining EPA, Mr. Fischer was most recently a partner of legal and regulatory affairs at IBEX Partners LLC, a public affairs firm. Before his partnership at IBEX, Mr. Fischer held several senior positions at the American Chemistry Council in its Office of General Counsel and Chemical Products and...
New TSCA at 3: Key Implementation IssuesThursday, July 25, 20191:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (EDT)Register Today Overview: This one-hour webinar will build upon the Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.-sponsored “TSCA: Three Years Later” one-day conference, co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health on June 24, 2019. The webinar will drill down on key implementation challenges facing industry and...
July 17, 2019
EFSA Publishes Scientific Opinion on Proposed Amendment to EU Specifications for Titanium Dioxide (E 171)
On July 12, 2019, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published in the EFSA Journal its “Scientific opinion on the proposed amendment of the EU specifications for titanium dioxide (E 171) with respect to the inclusion of additional parameters related to its particle size distribution.” The opinion addresses the assessment of data provided by interested business operators in support of an amendment of the European Union (EU) specifications for titanium dioxide (E 171)...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on July 15, 2019, that it will cease sending notices of deficiency to businesses that submit procedurally flawed confidential business information (CBI) claims under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This is a significant change from the interpretation EPA announced in January 2017, and a company’s failure to appreciate its consequences could prove damaging. Effective August 15, 2019, EPA will provide written notice to...