On March 19, 2015, the White House published an Executive Order signed by President Obama that would further a preference for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) BioPreferred products. Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade sets new greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets for federal agencies to reach by 2025 and increases renewable energy use and building efficiency, while reducing fleet emissions in the federal government. The new targets would reduce total GHG emissions by...
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February 20, 2015
DOE’s Biomass Research And Development Technical Advisory Committee Schedules Meeting
On February 17, 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published in the Federal Register a Notice of Open Meeting for the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee (the Committee). The Committee plans to meet on March 5, 2015, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and March 6, 2015, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, D.C. The agenda includes updates on the Biomass Research and Development Initiative,...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its fiscal year 2016 budget request on February 2, 2015. The proposed budget is $156 billion total, with $6 billion going directly to loans that will encourage cleaner fossil fuel use and support renewable energy in rural America. The $6 billion allocation is an increase of $1 billion that would be allocated towards loans from the 2015 fiscal year. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated that the proposed budget...
December 17, 2014
Status Report to Congress on Endangered Species Act Implementation in Pesticide Regulation
On December 15, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) wrote a report to Congress on the status of Endangered Species Act (ESA) implementation in pesticide regulation. EPA, USDA, FWS, and NMFS seek to refine their approach to pesticide consultations in an effort to protect endangered and threatened species. The report was required by...
On June 20, 2014, the White House issued a “Presidential Memorandum — Creating a Federal Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators.” The strategy is directed to all federal agencies and is designed to “expand Federal efforts and take new steps to reverse pollinator losses and help restore populations to healthy levels.” The text of the memorandum lists a number of goals and comments on pollinator health, and has a focus on setting...
October 31, 2014
President Obama Announces $300 Million Investment In Emerging Manufacturing Technologie
On October 27, 2014, President Obama announced new plans to strengthen the manufacturing sector. One of the listed plans involved the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Agriculture, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) coming together to invest in advanced materials, advanced sensors, and digital manufacturing. These three areas were determined to be critical to U.S. competitiveness and include biobased materials in the advanced materials category. Over $300 million is...
On October 27, 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed to amend the regulations for the Voluntary Labeling Program for Biobased Products under USDA's BioPreferred Program. As explained in the Federal Register notice, the proposed amendments are needed to address certain legislative requirements in the 2014 Farm Bill that cannot be implemented without further guidance. Specifically, the proposed amendments allow for USDA promotion of biobased products regardless of date of...
October 10, 2014
Biobased Mulch Added To USDA National Organic Program
USDA has amended the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances maintained by the National Organic Program (NOC) to allow biodegradable biobased mulch film to be used in organic production with restrictive annotations. To be used in organic production, the mulch must be produced in accordance with NOC's rules for organic production. This rule becomes effective on October 30, 2014. More information about the amendment is available online....
October 10, 2014
$91 Million Loan Guarantee To Louisiana Biofuel Plant
On October 3, 2014, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced that USDA reached an agreement with Silicon Valley Bank to provide a $91 million Biorefinery Assistance Program loan guarantee to Cool Planet for a biofuel plant in Rapides Parish, Louisiana. The money will help finance construction of the Cool Planet advanced biofuel plant. The USDA press release is available online. More information is available here and here. ...
October 10, 2014
“Why Biobased?” Report Released by USDA
On October 7, 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released "Why Biobased?," a report that comprehensively synthesizes findings from the existing government, academia, and non-governmental organizations on bioeconomy opportunities. The report is a precursor for another study to be issued in the near future by the USDA BioPreferred program on the economic impacts of the biobased products industry. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated "[t]his new report presents the...