All Knowledge & Insights By Date

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   As reported in our January 4, 2023, blog item, on January 3, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of a draft document entitled “Biofuels and the Environment: Third Triennial Report to Congress (External Review Draft)” for public comment. 88 Fed. Reg. 72. EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) and Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), in consultation with the U.S. Departments...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 1, 2022, a 15-day public comment period on two additional peer review candidates for the external peer review of the Biofuels and the Environment: Third Triennial Report to Congress (RtC3). 87 Fed. Reg. 46958. EPA previously requested comment on an initial pool of 20 candidates announced in a May 9, 2022, Federal Register notice. EPA states that after considering public...

On January 21, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new effort under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to streamline the review of new chemicals that could be used to displace current, higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting transportation fuels. The Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention’s (OCSPP) New Chemicals Division (NCD) has implemented a “robust, consistent, and efficient process to assess the risk and apply mitigation measures, as...

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   On January 21, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new effort under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to streamline the review of new chemicals that could be used to displace current, higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting transportation fuels. The Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention’s (OCSPP) New Chemicals Division (NCD) has implemented a “robust, consistent, and efficient process to...

By  Lynn L. Bergeson    On May 25, 2021, U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced the bipartisan Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Integrity Act of 2021. Aiming to provide more certainty to rural America, this legislation would require that small refineries petition for RFS hardship exemptions by June 1 of each year. According to Senator Fischer, the RFS Integrity Act of 2021 would ensure that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) properly...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 18, 2020, U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL) and Jim Hagedorn (R-MN) introduced a bipartisan, bicameral legislation that aims to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and encourage low-carbon fuel production. Titled “The Streamlining Advanced Biofuels Registration Act,” this bill would eliminate existing barriers for biofuels plants to increase production of cellulosic biomass into renewable fuels. Representative Bustos criticized the lack of...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 8, 2020, the European Commission (EC), under the European Union (EU) State aid rules, approved the prolongation of tax exemptions for biofuels in Sweden. Having exemptions for liquid biofuels from energy and carbon emissions taxation since 2002, Sweden’s scheme aims to increase biofuels use while reducing the fossil fuels use in transport. With EC’s decision, the tax exemption has now been prolonged by one year from January 1, 2021, until...

By Lynn L. Bergeson  On September 18, 2020, ELI will host a webinar titled “Advanced Biofuels: Fuel for the Future?” from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. (EDT). The webinar, as implied by its title, will focus on the practical and policy challenges and opportunities facing advanced biofuels and the impacts of the coronavirus on biofuel production and research. Panelists may include: Lauren Helen Leyden, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, L.L.P. (invited); Lynn McKay,...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 13, 2019, the European Commission (EC) published a fact sheet on the sustainability for biofuels specified.  EC adopted a delegated act that sets out the criteria for determining high low indirect land-use change (ILUC) risk feedstock for biofuels and the criteria for certifying ILUC-risk biofuels, bioliquids, and biomass fuels.  ILUC-risk fuels consist of fuels produced from food and feed crops that significantly expand globally into land with high carbon...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced the development of spatial models, from a BETO-funded project, to determine how forest management can produce biofuels, restore at-risk salmonids, and reduce the risk of wildfires. Conducted by scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and the U.S. Forest Service...