Top Ten Global EHS Updates–July 2017
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Australia
1. Australia amends Water Act
The Australian Water Act was most recently amended on May 23, 2017, to incorporate changes to Sub-clause 5(2) of Schedule 1, as stipulated by the Water Amendment (Murray-Darling Basin Agreement) Regulations 2017.
Additional information can be found here.
Canada
2. New regulatory regime proposed for the upstream oil and gas sector
Denmark
5. Denmark Consults on Law Amending the Law on the Arrangement of Certain Products
Denmark has opened a consultation on a law amending the law on the arrangement of certain products where certain products are corrected in the current law for two new EU regulations, including the regulations for personal protective equipment such as safety boots, helmets, and gloves. Comments must be submitted by August 14, 2017.
Additional information can be found here.
Germany
6. German Waste Disposal Ordinance Takes Effect
On June 1, 2017, Germany’s latest Waste Disposal Ordinance went into effect. The ordinance regulates requirements for waste disposal companies and operates under section 56(2) of the Closed Substance Cycle and Waste Management Act. Under the Ordinance, companies supervise and certify their waste disposal with oversight from technical monitoring and waste disposal organizations. Specifically, the Ordinance imposes requirements for waste disposal companies, persons employed in the disposal department, and experts, among other actors. Those who are tasked with certain responsibilities under the Ordinance must also meet its requirements for monitoring, reporting, and certification. Activities of waste disposal are part of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.
Sweden
7. Swedish Authorities Strengthen Fight Against PFAS
Thirty-Seven Swedish government agencies and research institutions have signed letters of intent to increase their cooperation in fighting issues relating to highly fluorinated substances (PFAS). The signing of the intent letters signifies each organization’s commitment to reduce PFAS risks and raise awareness of such risks, specifically through risk assessments, regulatory development, environmental monitoring, research, technical development, and supervision.
Many commonly utilized products contain PFAS, such as fire foam, textiles, food packaging, detergents, and cosmetics. These substances have the potential to contaminate waterways and compromise public drinking systems, particularly because they are water soluble and highly mobile in soil. Signatories of the PFAS letter of intent include the Public Health Agency, the Surgeon General, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Swedish Geotechnical Institute, and the Chemicals Agency.
Additional information can be found here.
United States
8. Privacy Act exemptions requested by government agency
The Department of Homeland Security would like to exempt more of their system of records from the Privacy Act. A system of records is a group of any identifying records under the control of a government agency and the Privacy Act controls that agency’s access and use of this information.
More information is available here.
9. Fees established for eligible water infrastructure project loans
The Environmental Protection Agency has established fees related to the provision of loans to eligible water infrastructure projects.
This is effective June 28, 2017. More information is available here.
10. Energy conservation standards released for refrigeration systems
The Department of Energy has released a list of energy conservation standards for walk-in cooler and freezer refrigeration systems.
The effective date of this release is September 8, 2017. Compliance with the standards is required on and after July 10, 2020. More information is available here.