By: Sydney Sybydlo
Here are a few noteworthy global EHS regulatory changes in July 2024. We cover EHS legislation and standards for over 30 countries and 400 jurisdictions. If you would like to track legislative changes for specific regions, countries, or jurisdictions, we are happy to help. Please send us a request for more information here, and we will contact you shortly. Note that descriptions with an asterisk (*) were generated with artificial intelligence.
- Canada – Federal
- Canada – Alberta
- Canada – British Columbia
- Canada – New Brunswick
- Canada – Nova Scotia
- United States – Illinois
- United States – North Carolina
- United States – Washington
- European Union
- Austria
- Brazil
- Germany
- Mexico – Guanajuato
Canada – Federal
New Principal Document – Marine Safety Management System Regulations
First Effective Date: 3 July 2024
Industry Sector: Water Transportation
This document applies to ship managers and authorized representatives of various classes of Canadian vessels. It outlines requirements for developing, implementing, and maintaining safety management systems for shore-based and on-board vessel operations. Key requirements include obtaining compliance documents, conducting audits, and following specified procedures.*
It replaces the Safety Management Regulations.
New Principal Document – Interim Order Prohibiting the Carrying of Certain Oils on Board Vessels in Arctic Waters
First Effective Date: 1 July 2024
Industry Sector: Water Transportation
This document applies to Canadian vessels in Arctic waters and foreign vessels in Canadian Arctic waters, with some exceptions. It prohibits carrying certain oils on board vessels in these waters, except in emergencies or when the oil is cargo or residue from previous voyages.*
New Principal Document – Notice with respect to certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
First Effective Date: 27 July 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
This document requires persons (who manufacture, import, or use certain quantities of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)) to report to the government specified information concerning the uses, quantities, and technical data of those PFAS by January 29, 2025.
Canada – Alberta
Amended Document – Extended Producer Responsibility Regulation
Amending Document – Extended Producer Responsibility Amendment Regulation
First Effective Date: 20 June 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry, Other
The change to the document exempts certain producers that use waste “in construction as a direct replacement for gravel aggregate” and certain producers “[that supply] less than 200 tonnes annually of a specific newspaper or magazine” from regulation.
Canada – British Columbia
Amended Document – Occupational Health and Safety Regulation
Amending Document – Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 2024-07-09 Amendments
First Effective Date: 3 February 2025
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
The change to the document revises emergency planning rules, notably by:
- introducing requirements for worker participation in developing response plans and providing information to workers;
- updating the list of information that must be included in any hazardous substance inventories;
- updating the list of risk factors that must be considered in an emergency response plan;
- requiring emergency response plans to be based on workplace inventory and risk assessments and include emergency procedures, roles of involved parties, and training programs, and requires that these plans be regularly reviewed and maintained;
- requiring written procedures for hazardous substance exposures and for safe work when handling hazardous substances following spills or releases; and
- requiring that workers “are provided with training on known and reasonably foreseeable emergency and the hazards to which they may be exposed in an emergency”.
Amended Document – Zero-Emission Vehicles Regulation
Amending Document – Zero-Emission Vehicles Regulation 2024-07-09 Amendments
First Effective Date: 8 July 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry
The change to the document notably:
- provides that persons who provide incomplete or inaccurate information related to an initiative agreement are subject to administrative penalties;
- updates the list of relevant definitions for the document, including by designating Class A, B, and C zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs);
- establishes procedures for determining ZEVs’ ranges;
- prescribes the reportable motor vehicle class and applicable requirements for the class;
- specifies the categories of vehicles that are designated as ZEV Classes A, B, and C, based on battery electric vehicles (BEVs), extended range electric vehicles (EREVs), fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV), and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and their ranges;
- replaces references to “total sales volume” with “average supply volume” in relation to classes of suppliers;
- updates the prescribed compliance ratios for model years 2026 and beyond for vehicles with no specified ZEV class and for ZEV Class A;
- updates the information that must be included in an application for the issuance of consumer sales credits;
- establishes specific rules for the issuance of credits prior to and on or after October 1, 2026;
- updates the calculation method for the purchase price of certain credits;
- adds to the list of prescribed information to include in a model year report and sets out the information to include in forecast reports; and
- updates automatic penalty amounts for model years 2026 and beyond.
Canada – New Brunswick
New Principal Document – Designated Materials Regulation (Clean Environment Act)
First Effective Date: 15 July 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry
This document applies to producers, retailers, and suppliers of designated materials in New Brunswick. It outlines requirements for registering with the stewardship board, submitting stewardship plans, paying fees, and implementing recycling programs for designated materials like tires, electronics, packaging, and batteries. It also establishes inspection and enforcement procedures.*
It replaces the previous Designated Materials Regulation. The new document covers a wider range of designated materials (notably, by adding batteries and lamps) and expands producer responsibilities for designated materials. It also provides that producers may designate producer responsibility organizations (PROs) to meet their obligations and requires submitting stewardship plans with producer registration applications.
Canada – Nova Scotia
Amended Document – Workplace Health and Safety Regulations
Amending Document – Workplace Health and Safety Regulations–amendment
First Effective Date: 18 June 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
The change to the document adds rules concerning Workplace Hazardous Materials Information Systems (WHMIS), such as rules concerning the identification of hazardous materials, notifying employees about exposures to hazardous products, employee education and training for hazardous materials management, labelling of products, and safety data sheets. It also adds rules concerning the disclosure of trade secrets, confidential business information and related exemptions, and the disclosure of information in medical emergencies and toxicological data.
United States – Illinois
Amended Document – ILCS Act 415-5 Environmental Protection Act
Amending Document – Safety and Aid for the Environment in Carbon Capture and Sequestration Act
First Effective Date: 18 July 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry
The change to the document notably concerns activities related to carbon capture and sequestration. It specifically prohibits: (1) the injection of carbon dioxide streams produced by carbon capture projects into Class II or certain Class VI wells; (2) the sale or transport of concentrated carbon dioxide streams produced by carbon dioxide capture projects for use in enhanced oil or gas recovery; and (3) the operation of carbon sequestration activities “in a manner that causes, threatens, or allows the release of carbon dioxide so as to tend to cause water pollution in [Illinois].
It establishes requirements that apply to owners and operators of carbon capture and sequestration projects and include requirements for obtaining permits, monitoring air and soil, developing emergency response plans, maintaining financial assurance and insurance, and paying fees. It also establishes funds for environmental protection and addresses liability issues related to carbon sequestration activities.
United States – North Carolina
Amended Document – NCGS Article 143-21 Water and Air Resources
Amending Document – An Act to Advance Building Resiliency and Utility Efficiency in North Carolina by Authorizing a Statewide Program to Utilize Assessments to Repay Nonpublic Financing of Commercial Building Improvements That Will Promote Economic Development, Reduce Utility Bill Costs, and Harden Commercial Buildings Against Storm and Flood Damage and to Amend Article 8 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes to Modify the Requirements to Be Certified as a Minority Business or Historically Underutilized Business
First Effective Date: 1 July 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry, Building Management & Maintenance
The change to this document removes rules permitting the discharge of highly treated domestic wastewater to surface waters of the state.
United States – Washington
New Principal Document – WAC Chapter 173-187 Financial Responsibility
First Effective Date: 15 July 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
This document, according to the government, “ensures that vessel and facility owners and operators have adequate financial resources to pay cleanup and damage costs arising from an oil spill.”
It notably defines the entities subject to financial responsibility requirements, establishes required levels of financial responsibility for oil handling facilities and pipelines, specifies the procedures and timelines for obtaining or renewing a certificate of financial responsibility, establishes requirements for acceptable evidence of financial responsibility, including self-insurance, outlines the process for ensuring timely updates to changes in financial status, defines the processes governing the suspension, revocation, and reissuance of certificates of financial responsibility considering potential liabilities incurred by a covered entity after an oil spill or other incident, and provides various rules concerning financial responsibility for small tank barges and oil spill response barges.
European Union
New Principal Document – Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products, amending Directive (EU) 2020/1828 and Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 and repealing Directive 2009/125/EC (Text with EEA relevance)
First Effective Date: 18 July 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
This document establishes a framework for setting ecodesign requirements that products must comply with to be placed on the EU market. It introduces requirements for manufacturers and economic operators related to product sustainability, including durability, repairability, recycled content, and digital product passports to improve traceability.*
It replaces Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-related products. The change, according to the European Commission, is to make the ecodesign approach applicable to the broadest possible range of products to contribute to achieving the Union’s climate, energy, and environmental objectives. Notably, the changes:
- “provide for the setting of ecodesign requirements for all physical goods placed on the market or put into service, including components, such as tyres, and intermediate products”;
- “address practices associated with premature obsolescence”;
- introduce new requirements concerning the environmental footprint and carbon footprint;
- clarify the control of product market access based on the updated free movement criteria;
- require the inclusion of performance requirements, information requirements, or both, to ecodesign requirements;
- improve access to second-hand products to promote sustainable production and consumption;
- take into account the chemical safety in the context of product sustainability;
- provide provisions with regard to the establishment, roll-out, and accessibility of the digital product passport;
- require the linking of the digital product passport with unique product identifiers to ensure the traceability of products across the supply chain;
- clarify that “[e]conomic operators should be responsible for the compliance of products with the ecodesign requirements, in relation to their respective roles in the supply chain, so as to ensure the free movement of those products on the internal market and to improve their sustainability”;
- establish detailed requirements for product conformity;
- clarify the requirements for manufacturers on conducting the conformity assessment; and
- introduce new obligations for distributors, dealers, fulfilment service providers, providers of online marketplaces and online search engines, supply chain actors, as well as information, monitoring and reporting obligations for economic operators.
New Principal Document – Directive (EU) 2024/1760 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on corporate sustainability due diligence and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 and Regulation (EU) 2023/2859 (Text with EEA relevance)
First Effective Date: 25 July 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
This document applies to large companies and sets out requirements for them to conduct human rights and environmental due diligence throughout their operations and supply chains. Key requirements include identifying and addressing adverse impacts, adopting climate change mitigation plans, establishing grievance mechanisms, and reporting on due diligence efforts. It also establishes civil liability rules for companies that fail to comply.*
First Effective Date: 4 August 2024
Industry Sector: Oil & Gas Industry, Utilities & Communication
This document applies to natural gas and hydrogen undertakings in the EU. It establishes common rules for the decarbonisation of natural gas and hydrogen markets, including unbundling requirements for transmission system operators, third-party access to infrastructure, consumer protection measures, and provisions to facilitate the integration of renewable and low-carbon gases.*
New Principal Document – Regulation (EU) 2024/1787 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on the reduction of methane emissions in the energy sector and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/942 (Text with EEA relevance)
First Effective Date: 4 August 2024
Industry Sector: Mining & Minerals Industry, Oil & Gas Industry, Utilities & Communication
This document applies to operators, undertakings, mine operators, and importers of crude oil, natural gas, and coal in the European Union. It establishes requirements for measuring, reporting, verifying, and reducing methane emissions in the energy sector, including through leak detection and repair surveys, restrictions on venting and flaring, and transparency measures.*
Amended Document – Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial and livestock rearing emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control)
Amending Document – Directive (EU) 2024/1785 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 April 2024 amending Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) and Council Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste (Text with EEA relevance)
First Effective Date: 4 August 2024
Industry Sector: Public Administration & Institutions
The changes to the document, according to the European Commission, notably:
- broaden its scope to include rules designed to improve resource efficiency and promote the circular economy and decarbonisation;
- update certain existing definitions, such as “pollution” and “installation”, and introduce new definitions in relation to “environmental performance limit value” and “environmental performance levels associated with the best available techniques”;
- update principals for the management of installation operations to promote the production of renewable energy, the efficient use and re-use of material resources and water, and the implementation of environmental management systems (EMS);
- take into account more factors in the context of permit conditions, such as environmental performance limit values, and suitable monitoring requirements for the consumption and reuse of resources;
- establish rules for operators to prepare and implement an EMS for each installation falling within the specified scope;
- establish provisions for assessing compliance under normal operating conditions with emission limit values;
- update rules in relation to environmental quality standards, with a focus on “reducing the specific contribution of the installation to the pollution occurring in the relevant area”;
- provide rules for the establishment and operation of an innovation centre for industrial transformation and emissions;
- require operators to develop indicative transformation plans for their activities, specifying how they will transform the installation and “contribute to the emergence of a sustainable, clean, circular, resource-efficient and climate-neutral economy”;
- provide for exemptions for combustion plants that are part of a small isolated system from compliance with the specified emission limit values during the transition period; and
- expand the scope of regulated activities to certain specific pig rearing, poultry rearing, and mixed pig and poultry rearing installations, and set out the relevant obligations for operators, such as the monitoring of emissions and associated environmental performance levels and manure management.
Austria
New Principal Document – EAG Investment Grants Ordinance-Gas
First Effective Date: 18 June 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry, Building Management & Maintenance
This document outlines the implementation and administration of investment subsidies for the construction or conversion of plants for the production or processing of renewable gas, as per the Renewable Energy Expansion Act. It applies to companies undertaking such projects and specifies that projects exceeding €30 million per company require a separate notification procedure due to EU state aid regulations.*
New Principal Document – Hydrogen Promotion Act
First Effective Date: 5 July 2024
Industry Sector: Utilities & Communications
This document applies to producers of non-biogenic renewable hydrogen in Austria. It establishes a funding program to support the construction and operation of facilities that convert electricity into non-biogenic renewable hydrogen. The program offers fixed premiums through competitive auctions from 2024 to 2026, with a total budget of up to 820 million euros.*
Brazil
Amended Document – Law Nº 6.938 of August 31, 1981, on National Environmental Policy
Amending Document – Law No. 14.932, of July 23, 2024 – Adds § 5 to art. 29 of Law No. 12,651 of May 25, 2012 (Forest Code), to authorize the presentation of the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) for purposes of determining the taxable area of rural property; and repeals § 1 of art. 17-O of Law No. 6,938 of August 31, 1981, to remove the mandatory nature of the use of the Environmental Declaratory Act (ADA) for the purpose of reducing the amount to be paid in the Tax on Rural Territorial Property (ITR).
First Effective Date: 24 July 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
The change to this document eliminates the compulsory application of the Environmental Declaration Act (ADA) for landowners seeking to reduce their Rural Property Tax (ITR). Instead, it authorizes the use of the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) as the basis for determining the taxable area of rural properties.
Germany
Amended Document – Upstream Emission Reduction Ordinance
Amending Document – Ordinance amending the Ordinance on Implementing the Biofuel Quota Regulations and the Upstream Emission Reduction Ordinance (UERVuaÄndV k.a.abbr.)
First Effective Date: 8 June 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry
The changes to this document notably:
- remove upstream emission reduction (UER) mechanisms for Kyoto project activities;
- establish new conditions under which UER can be credited from 2025 onwards;
- specify that the credit period for 2025 ends on September 1, 2025 at the latest;
- provide that the Federal Environment Agency (FEA) shall publish detailed requirements for upstream emission reduction parameters and values for greenhouse gas potentials used as a basis for calculation by the end of October 1, each year;
- specify requirements for UER applications submitted by multiple persons;
- remove the deadline for the FEA to grant approval for the issuance of UER certificates within a two-month period;
- require project promoters to declare that UER certificates will not be sold or used under other systems, or credited by another member state;
- establish that debit accounts created in the UER register by other member states of the European Union will be closed at the end of October 31, 2024;
- allow authorized representatives for account management activities to have residence anywhere within the EU;
- specify information to be included in the application for appointing an authorized representative to be submitted to the FEA;
- require that the tasks of the validation and verification bodies be conducted by two different bodies, and that at least two employees must be present at the inspection location, with at least one employee needing to be replaced if there are several on-site inspections;
- clarify that the one-year period when the FEA checks verification reports only starts after all verification reports have been submitted and the project sponsor declares that they will not submit any more verification reports;
- require verification and validation bodies to submit revised reports if ordered by the FEA, conducted by at least two employees who did not participate in the original verification report; and
- add detailed requirements for project approval and for preventing the crediting of UER certificates more than once (double-counting) to its Annex, to be included in the project documentation and verified by the validation body.
Amended Document – Federal Immission Control Act
Amending Document – Law to improve climate protection in emissions control, to accelerate approval procedures under emissions control law and to implement EU law (KlImSchVG k.a.Abk.)
First Effective Date: 9 July 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry, Building Management & Maintenance
The changes to this document notably:
- exempt waste heat from the restrictions on imposing requirements that go beyond the obligations established by the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Act;
- prohibit early construction authorizations for permits of facilities on existing sites and modification permits;
- exempt wind turbine projects from preliminary environmental impact assessments when issuing preliminary decisions;
- allow authorities to request electronic documents and require paper submissions if necessary from applicants for approval;
- require applicants to make available their documents for inspection on the authority’s website and allow applicants to object if security interests are compromised;
- allow for objections between the applicant and authorities to be discussed via online consultation or telephone/video conference, and sets a minimum period of 1 week for comments after a consultation, to be determined in advance by the objecting party;
- broaden the definition of repowering to include change regardless of size differences, performance increases, or changes in the number of systems;
- extend the construction deadline for a completely replaced wind turbine system from 24 to 48 months and increase the allowable distance between the old and new system from twice to five times the total height of the new system;
- allow the approval authority to extend the construction deadline if there is a reasonable purpose;
- set guidelines for when only certain assessments are required if the design of an approved wind turbine is altered, considering factors such as location, total height, and rotor size;
- require the project developer of a new turbine to submit a declaration from the operator of the existing turbine if they are not the same, and prohibits parallel operation of an existing plant and the new plant replacing it; and
- require third-parties to submit their justification for objecting to an onshore wind turbine installation within one month of lodging the objection.
Mexico – Guanajuato
Amended Document – Law of Mobility of the State of Guanajuato and its Municipalities
Amending Document – Legislative Decree 310 whereby several articles of the Mobility Law of the State of Guanajuato and its Municipalities are amended, added and repealed. The fourth paragraph of Article 298 of the Territorial Code for the State and Municipalities of Guanajuato is amended. Sections III and IV of Article 127-2 are amended; and Sections V and VI are added to Article 127-2 and Article 127-3 of the Law of the Public Security System of the State of Guanajuato.
First Effective Date: 8 June 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
The changes to this document make extensive reforms in relation to mobility and road safety. They notably:
- address the establishment of mechanisms and criteria for linking mobility and road safety with various related disciplines, such as urban development, environment, climate change, and sustainable development;
- clarify the rules with respect to sustainable mobility and the functions of relevant authorities;
- ensure the inclusiveness and accessibility of the public transportation system in Guanajuato, with a focus on marginalized or vulnerable groups;
- introduce certain new definitions, such as the definition of “operator” and “private transportation service”;
- specify the objectives of the mobility and road safety programs, such as those in relation to air quality and climate change;
- introduce provisions for the prioritization of actions and resources regarding mobility and road safety;
- establish a Sustainable and Safe Mobility Fund to support sustainable urban mobility programs and projects;
- specify the first aid training requirements for personnel involved in road safety, traffic management, and transportation inspection;
- establish rules for the operation and functioning of the Citizen Observatories;
- form a State Council for Mobility and Road Safety;
- update the rights and obligations of persons regarding mobility;
- update the obligations of drivers and operators, such as a new requirement to carry a valid driver’s license or permit appropriate for the type of vehicles being driven; and
- establish requirements for mobility infrastructure and road safety.
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