By: Sydney Sybydlo
This is a list of select proposed EHS regulatory changes in Canada, the United States, and the European Union. Nimonik monitors EHS legislation, regulations and standards in over 30 countries and 400 jurisdictions. If you would like to track EHS legislation in specific regions, jurisdictions or countries, we are happy to help. Please send us a request for more information here and we will get in touch shortly.
Canada
- Federal – Regulations Amending the Explosives Regulations, 2013
- Federal – Bill C-49 – An Act to amend the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act and to make consequential amendments to other Act
- Alberta – Bulletin 2023-26: Invitation for Feedback on Revisions to Directive 020
- Manitoba – Adoption of the 2020 national model codes published by the National Research Council, including the 2020 editions of the National Building Code, National Plumbing Code, National Fire Code, as well as the National Energy Code for Buildings
- Ontario – Carbon Black Industry Standard
- Yukon – Proposed Animal Protection and Control Act regulations
United States
- HALT Fentanyl Act
- Marine Casualty Reporting on the Outer Continental Shelf
- Perchloroethylene (PCE); Regulation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
- National Wildlife Refuge System; 2023–2024 Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations
- National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines and New Source Performance Standards: Internal Combustion Engines; Electronic Reporting
- Hazardous Materials: FAST Act Requirements for Real-Time Train Consist Information
- Risk Management and Financial Assurance for OCS Lease and Grant Obligations
European Union
- No newsworthy proposals this month.
Canada – Federal
Regulations Amending the Explosives Regulations, 2013
Published Date: 27 May 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry
The Government of Canada has announced its intention to update rules governing the explosives sector “to enhance safety and improve efficiency by ensuring requirements are aligned with safety and security risks, reducing the unnecessary administrative burden, aligning with best practices of national and international partners, and clarifying the intent of regulatory requirements.”
The changes would be made by amending the Explosives Regulations, 2013.
Additional information is available here.
Bill C-49 – An Act to amend the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act and to make consequential amendments to other Act
Published Date: 30 May 2023
Industry Sector: Oil & Gas Industry, Utilities & Communications Industry
The Government of Canada has announced its intention to update rules governing resource extraction projects in the Atlantic Ocean. According to the government, changes would notably:
- establish that the Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Boards are “the regulating bodies for offshore renewable energy projects,” and update the boards’ names to reflect the change;
- “establish a land tenure regime for the issuance of submerged land licences to carry out offshore renewable energy projects, as well as the revenues regime associated with those licences and projects;”
- “expand the application of the safety and environmental protection regime and its enforcement powers to include offshore renewable energy projects;”
- “provide that the Governor in Council may make regulations to prohibit the commencement or continuation of petroleum resource or renewable energy activities, or the issuance of interests, in respect of any portion of the offshore area that is located in an area that has been or may be identified as an area for environmental or wildlife conservation or protection;”
- “establish the regulatory and liability regime for abandoned facilities relating to petroleum-related works or activities or offshore renewable energy projects;”
- “expand the application of the occupational health and safety regime to offshore renewable energy projects;”
- “allow new methods to demonstrate the existence of significant hydrocarbon accumulations in a geological feature and limit the duration of future significant discovery licences to 25 years;” and
- “establish a new transboundary hydrocarbon management regime to regulate fields or pools that straddle domestic and international administrative boundaries, enabling the implementation of the Canada-France transboundary fields agreement”.
These changes would be enacted by amending the Canada–Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act.
Additional information is available here.
Alberta
Bulletin 2023-26: Invitation for Feedback on Revisions to Directive 020
Published Date: 13 June 2023
Industry Sector: Oil & Gas Industry
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is seeking public feedback on proposed changes to rules concerning “the abandonment of cased-hole wells penetrating an oil sands zone.”
According to the AER, the changes “will allow for routine abandonment of wells that penetrate an oil sands zone […] if the subject well meets the criteria and requirements for low thermal potential.”
Interested parties may submit comments via email or the public comment form until 12 July 2023.
Additional information is available here.
Manitoba
Adoption of the 2020 national model codes published by the National Research Council, including the 2020 editions of the National Building Code, National Plumbing Code, National Fire Code, as well as the National Energy Code for Buildings
Published Date: 5 June 2023
Industry Sector: Genera Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
The Government of Manitoba has announced its intention to adopt “the 2020 national model codes published by the National Research Council, including the 2020 editions of the National Building Code, National Plumbing Code, National Fire Code, as well as the National Energy Code for Buildings,” with certain amendments that would apply within Manitoba.
The changes would be made by enacting new regulations that replace the Manitoba Building Code, the Manitoba Energy Code for Buildings, the Manitoba Fire Code, the Manitoba Plumbing Code, and by amending the Designated Buildings Regulation and the Fire Safety Inspections (2014) Regulation.
Interested parties may submit comments on the proposed codes until 26 June 2023.
Additional information on the national model codes is available here and additional information on this proposal is available here.
Ontario
Carbon Black Industry Standard
Published Date: 23 June 2023
Industry Sector: Chemical Industry
The Government of Ontario has announced its intention to introduce technical standards to regulate emissions from the carbon black sector.
According to the government, the change would require facilities “if registered, to install air pollution control technology and demonstrate compliance with the technical standard” starting July 1, 2028. The proposed standard options are:
“Option A: By July 1, 2028, facilities must install and continuously operate an air pollution control system(s) that is capable of achieving a 95% reduction in the emissions of [sulphur dioxide (SO2)]. Under this option, registered facilities will initially operate under interim in-stack limits and then final in-stack limits by mid-2030 that will correspond to a 95% reduction in SO2 emissions.
“Option B: By July 1, 2028, facilities must install and continuously operate an air pollution control system(s) that meets the below interim in-stack limits of:
- “160 parts per million SO2, dry basis (ppmvd) and 0% oxygen (O2), calculated on a 7-day rolling average; and
- “130 ppmvd and 0% O2, calculate on an annual rolling average.
and, then by January 1, 2030, meets the following final in-stack limits of:
- “120 ppmvd and 0% O2, calculated on a 7-day rolling average; and
- “80 ppmvd and 0% O2, calculated on an annual rolling average.”
The standards would also “specify a short term SO2 in-stack concentration action level for the occurrence of elevated 1-hour in-stack concentrations that may lead to levels exceeding 120 ppb SO2 off-property,” among other requirements concerning the management of SO2 emissions and related monitoring plans.
Additional information is available here.
Yukon
Proposed Animal Protection and Control Act regulations
Published Date: 9 June 2023
Industry Sector: Animal Production & Aquaculture Industry, Other Industry
The Government of Yukon has announced its intention to establish rules concerning the protection and control of animals. The rules being considered may include those related to permitting processes for animal-related operations, and standards of care of animals such as dogs, horses, and other livestock.
The rules would be promulgated as regulations under the recently-enacted Animal Protection and Control Act.
Interested parties may submit comments until 7 August 2023.
Additional information is available here, here, and here.
United States
HALT Fentanyl Act
Published Date: 30 May 2023
Industry Sector: Chemicals Industry, Healthcare Industry
The Government of the United States has announced its intention to “permanently [place] fentanyl-related substances as a class into schedule I [drugs, substances, or chemicals that have a high potential for abuse and have no currently accepted medical value] of the Controlled Substances Act”.
It would establish “a new, alternative registration process for schedule I research,” and update other “registration requirements for conducting research with controlled substances”.
The changes would be made by amending 21 USC 13 Drug Abuse Prevention And Control.
Additional information is available here.
Marine Casualty Reporting on the Outer Continental Shelf
Published Date: 14 June 2023
Industry Sector: Oil & Gas Industry, Water Transportation Industry
The United States Coast Guard has announced its intention to update reporting criteria “for certain casualties that occur on foreign floating outer continental shelf (OCS) facilities (FOFs), mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs), and vessels engaged in OCS activities.”
According to the Coast Guard, the changes would “harmonize the casualty-reporting regimes that apply to foreign and U.S. FOFs, MODUs, and vessels engaged in OCS activities [and] account for change in technology on the OCS, since the casualty-reporting regulations were originally published”. The property damage dollar threshold that triggers a casualty report would also be increased from $25,000 to $75,000.
Interested parties may submit comments until 12 September 2023.
Additional information is available here.
Perchloroethylene (PCE); Regulation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
Published Date: 16 June 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced its intention to “address the unreasonable risk of injury to human health presented by perchloroethylene (PCE)”.
The change would “prohibit most industrial and commercial uses of PCE; the manufacture (including import), processing, and distribution in commerce of PCE for the prohibited industrial and commercial uses; the manufacture (including import), processing, and distribution in commerce of PCE for all consumer use; and, the manufacture (including import), processing, distribution in commerce, and use of PCE in dry cleaning and related spot cleaning through a 10-year phaseout.” Workplaces that are granted conditional use of PCE would be required to implement a “PCE workplace chemical protection program that includes requirements to meet an inhalation exposure concentration limit and prevent direct dermal contact.”
According to the EPA, “PCE is a widely used solvent in a variety of occupational and consumer applications including fluorinated compound production, petroleum manufacturing, dry cleaning, and aerosol degreasing” and it is associated with neurotoxicity, “central nervous system depression, kidney and liver effects, immune system toxicity, developmental toxicity, and cancer.”
Interested parties may submit comments until 15 August 2023.
Additional information is available here.
National Wildlife Refuge System; 2023–2024 Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations
Published Date: 23 June 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has announced its intention to update hunting rules for upcoming hunting seasons. According to the Service, hunting opportunities would be expanded “on three National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs)” and would update “existing station-specific regulations in order to reduce the regulatory burden on the public, increase access for hunters and anglers on Service lands and waters, and comply with a Presidential mandate for plain language standards.”
Various NWRs are also proposing “a non-lead requirement” for ammunition and tackle, as recent evidence “indicates that [they] have negative impacts on both wildlife and human health.”
Interested parties may submit comments until 22 August 2023.
Additional information is available here.
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines and New Source Performance Standards: Internal Combustion Engines; Electronic Reporting
Published Date: 26 June 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Building Management & Maintenance
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced its intention to add electronic reporting provisions to “the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE), the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for Stationary Compression Ignition (CI) Internal Combustion Engines, and the NSPS for Stationary Spark Ignition (SI) Internal Combustion Engines”.
The EPA is also seeking information “on the provisions specifying that emergency engines can operate for up to 50 hours per year to mitigate local transmission and/or distribution limitations to avert potential voltage collapse or line overloads that could lead to the interruption of power supply in a local area or region.”
Interested parties may submit comments until 25 August 2023.
Additional information is available here.
Hazardous Materials: FAST Act Requirements for Real-Time Train Consist Information
Published Date: 27 June 2023
Industry Sector: Rail Transportation Industry
The United States Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has announced its intention to update hazardous materials reporting requirements for the rail industry.
According to PHMSA, the changes would “require all railroads to generate in electronic form, maintain, and provide to first responders, emergency response officials, and law enforcement personnel, certain information regarding hazardous materials in rail transportation to enhance emergency response and investigative efforts.”
Interested parties may submit comments until 28 August 2023.
Additional information is available here.
Risk Management and Financial Assurance for OCS Lease and Grant Obligations
Published Date: 29 June 2023
Industry Sector: Mining & Minerals Industry, Oil & Gas Industry
The United States Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) have announced their intention to update financial assurance requirements for various leases and grants on the Outer Continental Shelf.
According to BOEM, the “criteria for determining whether oil, gas, and sulfur lessees, right-of-use and easement (RUE) grant holders, and pipeline right-of-way (ROW) grant holders may be required to provide bonds or other financial assurance above the current regulatorily prescribed base bonds”. Existing “restrictive provisions for third-party guarantees and decommissioning accounts” would be replaced with “new criteria under which a bond or third-party guarantee that was provided as supplemental financial assurance may be canceled.”
The changes would also “clarify bonding requirements for RUEs serving Federal leases.”
Interested parties may submit comments until 28 August 2023.
Additional information is available here.
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