On April 23, 2019, Bloomberg Environment featured comments by Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), and Kathleen M. Roberts, Vice President of B&C® Consortia Management, L.L.C. (BCCM), in the article “EPA Proposal May Not Streamline Chemical Reporting After All.” Attorneys and other industry consultants told Bloomberg Environment the agency’s proposal would be a mixed bag in terms of saved time. […] Companies would...
On April 18, 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a Federal Register notice announcing that it is extending the comment period for its February 26, 2019, proposed rule that would put into effect a final monograph for nonprescription, over-the-counter (OTC) sunscreen drug products. The proposed rule describes the conditions under which FDA proposes that OTC sunscreen monograph products are generally recognized as safe and effective (GRASE) and not...
On April 19, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) announced that it will hold a public meeting of the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) on May 8, 2019, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and May 9, 2019, from 9 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (EDT) in the first-floor conference center at One Potomac Yard South, 2777 South Crystal Drive in Arlington, Virginia. 84 Fed. Reg. 16486. The Federal Register notice states that the agenda is not yet...
In the recent past, two important states—California and New York—have launched extensive and precedent‐setting ingredient disclosure laws regarding cleaning products with the clear goal of prompting the deselection of certain chemical substances and forcing product reformulation. Industry prefers to refer to this trend as “ingredient communication,” a goal we can all agree is desirable. By whatever name, these state measures will have a significant impact on ingredient disclosure...
April 19, 2019
USDA APHIS Reopens Public Comment Period On The dEIS And PRA
By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 12, 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced the reopening of the public review and comment period for the draft Environmental Impact Statement (dEIS) and the preliminary Pest Risk Assessment (PRA). These two documents have been prepared in response to a permit application from a company requesting the environmental release of genetically engineered (GE) Citrus tristeza virus (CTV). The...
April 19, 2019
DOE Announces Solar Decathlon Design Challenge Winners
By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 16, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced the winners of DOE’s Solar Decathlon® Design Challenge, which was held at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO, from April 12-14, 2019. The Challenge consisted of ten contests in which student teams designed highly efficient and innovative buildings powered by renewable energy. The winners are teams that best...
April 19, 2019
Warren Writes Article Declaring Her Plan For Public Lands
By Lynn L. Bergeson On April 15, 2019, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote an article for Medium Politics, titled “My plan for public lands.” In the article, Warren highlights the importance and value of U.S. public lands and the need to make them part of the climate solution rather than the issue. Emphasizing her position on corporate profits and how they should not be prioritized over local communities’ health and safety, Warren states that on her first day in office...
April 19, 2019
Weekly Roundup of Other Biobased News
Reuters, “U.S. EPA Revives Provision That May Name Refiners Applying for Biofuel Waivers” Washington Examiner, “2020 Democrats Embrace Green New Deal at Their Peril in Iowa, Land of Ethanol” Reuters, “U.S. EPA May Grant Fewer Biofuel Waivers Due to Low Credit Prices: Wheeler” The Chemical Engineer, “BP Joins Effort to Make Paraxylene from Biological Sources” The Western Producer, “Canola-based Plastic May Hit Market Soon” The Hindu,...
April 18, 2019
France Bans Titanium Dioxide Food Additive Beginning in 2020
On April 17, 2019, the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition issued a press release announcing that France will prohibit foods containing food additive E171 (titanium dioxide) from being placed on the market beginning January 1, 2020. The press release cites the April 15, 2019, opinion from the Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail (ANSES). The expert group established by ANSES conducted a literature review on the...
On April 17, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a final significant new use rule (SNUR) for asbestos using the definition in Title II, Section 202 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which defines asbestos as the “asbestiform varieties of six fiber types -- chrysotile (serpentine), crocidolite (riebeckite), amosite (cummingtonite-grunerite), anthophyllite, tremolite or actinolite.” EPA states that it is promulgating the SNUR “to ensure...