B&C® Biobased and Sustainable Chemicals Blog

On July 31, 2013, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) held a hearing on "Strengthening Public Health Protections by Addressing Toxic Chemical Threats." The exceptionally long hearing included three panels of 19 witnesses and focused on potential reform to the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA). The detailed report of the hearing issued by Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. is available online. The hearing largely focused...

The House Energy & Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and Power held its much anticipated two-day hearing on the RFS, with 16 witnesses from both sides testifying. The following is the full list of witnesses: Panel I • Mr. Jack N. Gerard, President and CEO, American Petroleum Institute • Mr. Charles T. Drevna, President, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers • Mr. Bob Dinneen, President and CEO, Renewable Fuels Association • Mr. Michael McAdams,...

On July 23, 2013, DOE published a notice announcing an open meeting of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee, which is available online. The meeting will take place August 14, 2013, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and August 15, 2013, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It will be held at the American Geophysical Union, 2000 Florida Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20009. For more information, contact Elliott Levine, Designated Federal Officer, Office of Energy...

On July 18, 2013, the Senate voted 59-40 to approve the nomination of Gina McCarthy to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Six Republicans voted for the nomination, including Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN); Kelly Ayotte (R-NH); Susan Collins (R-ME); Bob Corker (R-TN); and Jeff Flake (R-AZ). McCarthy was sworn in to her new position as EPA Administrator on July 19, 2013. McCarthy's confirmation came after four months of debate, with several Republicans, including members...

Activity on the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is in full swing on Capitol Hill. Last week, the House Energy & Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and Power issued its fifth and final white paper on the RFS seeking input from stakeholders on "implementation issues" with the policy. The white paper is available online. The white paper follows the Subcommittee's hearing last month at which government witnesses testified on the effectiveness and implementation...

On July 12, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued its decision in Center for Biological Diversity v. EPA. In a 2-1 decision, the court vacated the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) rule (the Deferral Rule) exempting bioenergy and other biogenic sources of greenhouse gas emissions from new greenhouse gas permitting requirements under EPA's Tailoring Rule for a period of three years. This deferral was meant to allow EPA time...