By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 28, 2018, the U.S. Senate passed S.3042 — Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Bill) with a vote of 86-11. This bill includes mandatory funding for Energy Title programs, including the Biomass Research and Development Initiative; the Biobased Markets Program; the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical and Product Manufacturing Assistance Program; the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels; the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP); and the Biomass Crop...
On June 19, 2018, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies) published a press release announcing the availability of a final report entitled Biodefense in the Age of Synthetic Biology. According to the National Academies, the final report concludes that “[s]ynthetic biology expands the possibilities for creating new weapons — including making existing bacteria and viruses more harmful — while decreasing the time required to...
June 29, 2018
APHIS Seeks Public Comments On Draft EA And PPRA Regarding Petition To Deregulate A Canola Variety G
By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 26, 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced it was seeking public comment on a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and a preliminary Plant Pest Risk Assessment (PPRA) prepared in response to a petition from Nuseed Americas Inc. (Nuseed) to deregulate a canola variety genetically engineered to convert oleic acid to docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). 83 Fed. Reg. 29742. APHIS will...
June 29, 2018
BETO Announces Octane Workshop Series To Review Current Research On The Role Of Octane
By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 20, 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced that the Fuels Institute and the national laboratories that comprise the DOE Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines initiative would be co-hosting a series of collaborative, single-day stakeholder meetings entitled the Octane Workshop Series across multiple locations from July 9-12, 2018, to “review current research on the role of octane and other fuel...
June 29, 2018
FDA Withdraws Draft Guidance On Evaluation Of Analytical Similarity Between A Proposed Biosimilar Pr
By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 21, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it was withdrawing the draft guidance, “Statistical Approaches to Evaluate Analytical Similarity,” issued in September 2017. The announcement states that the draft guidance, if issued in final as written, “was intended to provide advice for sponsors developing biosimilar products regarding the evaluation of analytical similarity between a proposed biosimilar product and the...
June 29, 2018
EPA Releases Proposed Rule Setting 2019 RFS Requirements
By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 26, 2018, Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), signed a proposed rule that includes 2019 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel, as well as 2020 renewable volume obligations (RVO) for biomass-based diesel. These blend levels increase requirements from 2018 but are still lower than the statutory levels set by...
June 22, 2018
Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Presents “New TSCA And Green Chemistry Innovation” At ACS’s GC&E Conferenc
On June 18, 2018, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®), presented “New TSCA and Green Chemistry Innovation” at the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference in Portland, Oregon. This presentation covered specific changes to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the impact of those changes for new chemicals, including innovative “green”...
By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 14, 2018, the European Union (EU) reached a deal on the Renewable Energy Directive (REDII),which sets new targets for renewables. REDII represents stricter targets than those discussed in Brussels in 2014, upping the percentage of the EU’s energy that must come from renewable sources to 32 percent of total energy consumption by 2030. The agreement also states that at least 14 percent of transportation fuel must come from renewable...
By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 18, 2018, DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO)-funded Algae Technology Educational Consortium (ATEC) announced its first graduates from the algal certificate program at Santa Fe Community College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. DOE states that these first ATEC graduates “received their Associate Applied Science Degree in Controlled Environment Agriculture with a certificate in Algae Cultivation” on May 12, 2018. The program was conceptualized...
June 22, 2018
DOE Announces Funding For 31 Projects To Help Advance Fundamental Science For Bioenergy
By Lynn L. Bergeson On June 18, 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced it would be releasing $40 million in funding for “31 projects to advance research in the development of microbes as practical platforms for the production of biofuels and other bioproducts from renewable resources.” Projects were chosen by competitive peer review under two separate DOE Funding Opportunity Announcements, one for Systems Biology of Bioenergy-Relevant Microbes and another for...