Government Roundup

New coal- and natural-gas-fired electric power plants would be required to meet new carbon dioxide emission limits under an EPA proposal published on Jan. 8 in the Federal Register. The proposal is similar to one discussed by the agency in September 2013, which has already received 2.5 million comments, EPA notes.

A coalition of U.S. solar panel manufacturers led by SolarWorld, an international company with headquarters in Oregon, has filed unfair trade practices charges against solar panel manufacturers in China and Taiwan with the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Commerce Department. The charges allege that the foreign manufacturers avoided dumping penalties that were assessed more than a year ago.

The Common Rule, a 1991 federal policy to protect human research subjects, may not be appropriate for the behavioral and social sciences, concludes a report by the National Research Council. The report recommends updates to the policy to reflect potential psychological or informational risks to human subjects.

Cheerios, the oat-based cereal, will no longer contain genetically modified ingredients, says its producer General Mills. Although the cereal has never contained genetically modified oats, it previously contained genetically modified cornstarch and sugarcane.

Carbon capture and sequestration is expected to be encouraged through a Jan. 3 rule from EPA. The regulation exempts carbon dioxide collected from industrial sources and injected underground for storage from federal hazardous waste regulations.