On October 25, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in coordination with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and OPP, will be holding two public meetings to discuss FDA’s Agricultural Biotechnology Education and Outreach Initiative. The meetings will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina on November 7,...
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On October 25, 2017, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee confirmed the nominations of four U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials: Michael Dourson, Ph.D., for Assistant Administrator (AA) of the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP); William Wehrum, Esquire, for AA of the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), Matthew Leopold, Esquire, for General Counsel, and David Ross, Esquire for AA of the Office of Water (OW). Dourson and...
The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) has rescheduled its Committee Business Meeting to vote on nominees to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for October 25, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). The EPA nominees are: Michael Dourson, Ph.D., for Assistant Administrator (AA) of the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP); William Wehrum, Esquire for AA of the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), Matthew Leopold, Esquire, for...
By Kathleen M. Roberts On October 10, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register its final rule establishing exemptions for a tolerance limit to use tall oil fatty acids (TOFA) as an inert ingredient “[i]n pesticide formulations applied to growing crops and raw agricultural commodities after harvest; in pesticides applied in/on animals, and in antimicrobial formulations for food contact surfaces.” Pursuant to Section...
On October 18, 2017, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee postponed a scheduled business meeting to vote on the nominations of four U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials: Michael Dourson, Ph.D., for Assistant Administrator (AA) of the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP); William Wehrum, Esquire for AA of the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), Matthew Leopold, Esquire, for General Counsel, and David Ross, Esquire for AA of the Office...
October 10, 2017
FDA Releases Guidance Addressing FDA and EPA Jurisdiction over Mosquito-Related Products
On October 4, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the availability of final guidance that helps to clarify FDA and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) jurisdiction over the regulation of mosquito-related products intended to function as pesticides, including those produced through the use of biotechnology. The notice was published in the Federal Register on October 5, 2017. 82 Fed. Reg. 46500. Guidance for Industry #236,...
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On October 4, 2017, EPA issued a NODA in the Federal Register to provide supplemental information and an opportunity for further public comment on potential reductions in the 2018 biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel volumes, and/or the 2019 biomass-based diesel volume under the RFS program. The NODA follows the Agency’s July 21, 2017, proposed rulemaking on the volume requirements and provides additional information on...
On September 26, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has launched the Smart Sectors program in the Office of Policy. 82 Fed. Reg. 44783. Based on EPA’s Sector Strategies program, the Smart Sectors program “will re-examine how EPA engages with industry in order to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden, create certainty and predictability, and improve the ability of both EPA and industry to conduct long-term regulatory planning while also...
September 25, 2017
EPA Announces Availability of Two Final Pesticide Registration Notices
On September 22, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice in the Federal Register (82 Fed. Reg. 44406) announcing the availability of two final Pesticide Registration Notices (PRN): These final PRNs reflect consideration of public comments submitted on the draft PRNs. Also available in the dockets are EPA’s responses to comments on the draft PRNs: Response to Comments on PRN 2017-1; and Response to Comments on PRN 2017-2. EPA...
September 22, 2017
Pruitt Responds To Senators’ Request For Details On Icahn’s Advisory Role
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On September 11, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt sent a letter to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in response to the request by Senator Whitehouse and four other Democratic Senators to explain Carl Icahn’s role in shaping the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. According to Pruitt, Icahn did not exercise excessive influence on the U.S. biofuels policy while acting as an advisor of President...
The hearing on the nominations of four U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials by the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) scheduled for September 20, 2017, has been postponed without any specific reasons; a new hearing date has not been provided. Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) will be monitoring the Senate EPW Committee calendar for the new hearing date. More information on the nominees is available in our blog item Senate EPW Committee...
On September 14, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a motion in the two Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals cases regarding review of the EPA Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) framework rule Procedures for Chemical Risk Evaluation under TSCA: Safer Chemicals Healthy Families v. EPA, Case No. 17-72260 (filed August 10, 2017); and Environmental Defense Fund v. EPA, Case No. 17-72501 (filed September 6, 2017), requesting that the cases be transferred to the Fourth...
The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) has announced that it will hold a hearing on the following U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) nominations on Wednesday, September 20, 2017, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (EDT):...
September 8, 2017
EPA Waives RFS Requirements For States Affected By Hurricane Harvey
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On August 31, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that requirements for reformulated gasoline and low volatility gasoline would be waived through September 15, 2017, for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, and the District of Columbia. EPA exercised its emergency fuel waiver authority to help ensure an adequate supply of fuel...
On September 6, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice in the Federal Register extending the period for public comments on the candidates for consideration for the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals from September 5, 2017, to September 17, 2017. Comments can be submitted online in Docket Identification Number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2016-0713. EPA is considering candidates for SACC membership listed in the August 26, 2016, Federal...
On September 1, 2017, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) filed a petition for review in the U.S Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (No. 17-1201) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) framework rule TSCA Inventory Notification (Active-Inactive) Requirements, published on August 11, 2017 (82 Fed. Reg. 37520). This is the third and final challenge by EDF to the framework rules implementing amended TSCA (there are only three...
On August 28, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the first of three feature and functionality updates to the Pesticide Submission Portal (PSP) expected this year. The portal is a web-based application allowing registrants to submit pesticide application packages to EPA electronically. The PSP application is accessed through EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX) Network which requires user registration. This new PSP, version 1.4,...
August 25, 2017
Appellate Court Rules EPA RFS Exemption Criteria Too Strict
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On August 15, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled two to one that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) exceeded its statutory authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA) when it denied Sinclair Oil Corporation’s request for a hardship exemption from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. The statute requires that EPA grant exemptions on a case-by-case basis to small refiners that would suffer a “disproportionate...
August 22, 2017
SAP Meeting on Continuing Development of Alternative High-Throughput Screens to Determine Endocrine Disruption
On August 3, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice announcing revised comment period dates for the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel (FIFRA SAP) meeting regarding the “Continuing Development of Alternative High-Throughput Screens to Determine Endocrine Disruption, Focusing on Androgen Receptor, Steroidogenesis, and Thyroid Pathways.” This SAP meeting will be held...
August 18, 2017
Biofuel Industry Testifies At EPA Hearing On RFS Program
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On August 1, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a public hearing to hear from all segments of the fuel industry on the proposed rule to set the 2018 renewable volume obligations (RVO) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. Among the nearly 150 individuals and organizations scheduled to testify at the hearing were numerous biofuel industry stakeholders who praised EPA for issuing the proposed rule on time and...