| Biobased and Renewable Products Update |
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December 19, 2019 |
Federal
EPA Publishes Final Rule On RFS Standards For 2020
On December 19, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, signed the final rule on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program, setting the renewable fuel percentages for 2020. Titled Renewable Fuel Standard Program: Standards for 2020 and Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2021 and Other Changes, the final rule establishes the annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel that apply to gasoline and diesel transportation fuel produced or imported in 2020. The rule also establishes the applicable volume of biomass-based diesel for 2021. The final volume requirements can be accessed here. Thus far, industry stakeholders seem displeased with the standard calculations to account for volumes of fuels projected to be exempted from the renewable volume obligations (RVOs). The waiver limits biofuel producers were hoping for are not reflected in the final rule. While the final rule has not yet been published in the Federal Register (FR), it will become effective 60 days after the FR publication. Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. will continue to monitor and provide further details once the final rule is published.
Implementation Of U.S. NBFDS To Begin In January 2020
The implementation date of the United States (U.S.) National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) is January 1, 2020. Adopted in February 2019 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Services (AMS), the NBFDS regulations (7 C.F.R. Part 66) directed USDA to establish a national mandatory standard for disclosing foods that are or may be bioengineered (BE). NBFDS requires food manufacturers, importers, and certain retailers to disclose information about whether food offered for sale is BE or uses BE food ingredients. Designed to inform consumers about the food they are purchasing, AMS developed a list of BE foods to identify crops or foods that are available in BE form. In this case, USDA defines BE foods “as those that contain detectable genetic material that has been modified through certain lab techniques and cannot be created through conventional breeding or found in nature.” The list includes any BE crops or foods that are in legal production somewhere in the world and is to be updated by AMS annually. Because new BE crops and foods continue to be developed, even if a food is not listed, regulated entities whose records show that a food they are selling is BE must make the appropriate food disclosure. The NBFDS timeline is as follows:
- Implementation Date: January 1, 2020, for large food manufacturers; January 1, 2021, for small food manufacturers;
- Voluntary Compliance Date: ends
on December 31, 2021;
and
- Mandatory Compliance Date: January 1, 2022.
A decision tool has been made available by USDA to guide regulated entities subject to NBFDS in determining whether compliance with the law is necessary. The tool is to be used for each individual ingredient that may be used in a food. Frequently asked questions (FAQ) are also available.
NAS Will Peer Review EPA’s TSCA Systematic Review Approach
On December 13, 2019, EPA announced that it has contracted the National Academies of Science (NAS) to conduct a peer review of its Application of Systematic Review in TSCA Risk Evaluations. According to EPA, this review will help provide it with important feedback on its approach to selecting and reviewing the scientific studies that are used to inform Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluations. EPA states that “[i]ntegrating systematic review principles into the TSCA risk evaluation process is critical to developing transparent, reproducible and scientifically credible risk evaluations.” EPA will provide NAS with the document published in June 2018, “as well as additional publicly available information” that can inform its review, including previously received public comments on this method. NAS will use their study process to conduct an objective and independent peer review, including convening a public meeting and issuing a final report, by June 2020. EPA notes that it will continue its work on the risk evaluations currently underway using the established systematic review process. EPA will incorporate NAS’s recommendations “as appropriate into our systematic review methods and use the updated process in future risk evaluations as timing allows.”
Events
ACS GC&E Conference
The American Chemical Society (ACS) Green Chemistry & Engineering (GC&E) Conference will take place in Seattle, WA, from June 16 to June 18, 2020. The technical sessions have now been announced for the conference, and the call for abstracts will open on January 6, 2020.
Other News
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PNAS Journal, “Performance-Advantaged Ether Diesel Bioblendstock
Production by a priori
Design” |
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Stock Daily Dish, “Renewable Plastic Precursor Could Grow Cellulosic
Biofuel Industry” |
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Bloomberg Environment, “Biodiesel Tax Credit Would Get Retroactive Renewal
under Deal” |
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Reuters, “White House Says It Is Sticking with 2020 Biofuel Plan,
Despite Farmer Objections” |
Biobased and Renewable
Products Advocacy Group
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Suite 100W
Washington, D.C. 20037
(202) 833-6580
www.braginfo.org