By: Sydney Sybydlo
Here are a few noteworthy global EHS regulatory changes in August 2023. 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.
- Canada – Federal
- Canada – British Columbia
- Canada – New Brunswick
- Canada – Nova Scotia
- Canada – Ontario
- Canada – Quebec
- United States – Federal
- United States – New York
- European Union
- Belgium
- Brazil – Brasilia
- France
- Ireland
- New Zealand
- Oman
- United Kingdom
- China
Canada – Federal
Amended Document – Exemptions from and Modifications to Hours of Work Provisions Regulations
Amending Document – Regulations Amending the Exemptions from and Modifications to Hours of Work Provisions Regulations and the Administrative Monetary Penalties (Canada Labour Code) Regulations
First Effective Date: 4 August 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
According to the government, the amended document notably provides additional types of modifications (to hours-of-work provisions) for employees in the air transportation, rail transportation, banking and telecommunications and broadcasting industries (summaries of the applicable exemptions and modifications for each industry are available at these links). It also adds, removes, and modifies some employee classes “to provide clarity, capture modern job titles, ensure employees with different exemptions and modifications were not in the same class, [and] to add new employee classes”.
Canada – British Columbia
Amended Document – Occupational Health and Safety Regulation
Amending Document – Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 2023-08-29 Amendments
First Effective Date: 1 December 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
Canada – New Brunswick
Amended Document – First Aid Regulation
Amending Document – First Aid Regulation 2023-08-09 Amendments
First Effective Date: 9 August 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
The amended document incorporates by reference CSA Group standards Z1210-17 and Z1220-17, which concern the provision of first aid kits and personal protective equipment, as well as workplace first-aid training. It also updates the definition of “high hazard work” to clarify that it means “work that carries a greater likelihood of injury or damage to health and a greater severity of potential injury because of the place of employment or the nature of the work” and updates first aid requirements for workplaces, depending on the number of employees per shift and whether the place of employment does or does not have high hazard work.
Canada – Nova Scotia
New Principal Document – Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging, Paper Products and Packaging-Like Products Regulations
First Effective Date: 1 August 2023
Industry Sector: Printing and Pulp & Paper Industry, Chemical Industry, Food Industry
This document requires producers of designated materials to register with the Province and comply with the rules concerning the management of packaging, paper products, and packaging-like products. It requires producers to submit readiness reports, establish and operate collection systems (including necessary promotion and education programs), and manage designated materials. The document contains additional reporting and recordkeeping requirements concerning the weights of designated materials supplied to and recovered from consumers, collection systems, and records concerning small producers’ sizes. It also subjects producers to audits of their practices and procedures.
Amended Document – Solid Waste-Resource Management Regulations
Amending Document – Solid Waste-Resource Management Regulations–amendment
First Effective Date: 1 August 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
The amended document introduces rules for battery and lamp product stewardship programs that apply to “brand owners” (manufacturers and distributors of batteries or lamp products in Nova Scotia, as defined) and which regulate the submission of stewardship program proposals and annual reporting on the programs.
It also adds various products to the lists of (1) materials designated as banned from destruction or disposal in landfills and incinerators and (2) products included in the Electronic Product Stewardship Program, with effective dates.
Canada – Ontario
Amended Document – Construction Projects
Amending Document – Amending O. Reg. 213/91 (Construction Projects)
First Effective Date: 8 August 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Building Management & Maintenance
The amended document notably updates:
- equipment requirements for cranes and similar hoisting devices;
- recordkeeping requirements for crane operators;
- rules governing the erection and operation of tower cranes, including rules for the engineer certifying its structural, electrical, mechanical, and hydraulic components and its control systems; and
- requirements for cables and wire ropes being used on tower cranes.
It also requires that:
- only competent workers climb or erect cranes or similar hoisting devices;
- every portable or removable counterweight, test block and ballast used on a crane be accurately weighed and have their weight clearly marked on them; and
- outriggers or stabilizing devices used on cranes be set up only after the ground bearing pressure has been considered by the operator.
Finally, the document:
- removes the prohibition on storing, stacking, or piling materials close to an excavation;
- incorporates by reference CSA Standards concerning the safe operation of tower cranes, mobile cranes, and articulating boom cranes and update references to newer editions of existing standards;
- expands the list of limiting devices and load and radius indicating devices required on tower cranes; and
- introduces daily, weekly, and monthly inspection requirements that apply while a tower crane is in use at a project.
Amended Document – General, under Aggregate Resources Act
Amending Document – Amending O. Reg. 244/97 (General)
First Effective Date: 18 August 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry
The amended document notably prescribes amendments to site plans for the following purposes, under certain conditions, as amendments that a licensee or holder of an aggregate permit may make to a site plan without government approval:
- “to allow the importation of concrete, asphalt, brick, glass or ceramics for recycling”;
- “to add or relocate an entrance or exit to the site”;
- “to allow the addition or relocation of portable processing equipment”;
- “to allow the addition or relocation of portable concrete or asphalt plants”;
- “to allow the addition or relocation of above-ground fuel storage tanks”; and
- “to allow the removal of portable processing equipment, portable concrete or asphalt plants or above-ground fuel storage tanks.”
Canada – Quebec
Amended Document – Regulation respecting a system of selective collection of certain residual materials
Amending Document – Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting a system of selective collection of certain residual materials and other regulatory provisions
First Effective Date: 30 August 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry
According to the Government of Québec, the amended document notably:
- amends “some definitions, in particular to ensure concordance, and adds exclusions to the matters to which the Regulation applies”;
- makes changes to “provisions concerning the persons required to comply with the obligations of the Regulation”;
- adds “an obligation, for certain producers, to provide for measures to facilitate the participation of social economy enterprises in order to meet their obligations for the collection and transportation of the residual materials targeted by the Regulation”;
- adds “cutting-edge technologies to facilitate sorting to the list of measures that producers must include in their system of selective collection to promote the ecodesign of containers, packaging and printed matter and ensure that the residual materials generated by the containers, packaging and printed matter are compatible with the system”;
- amends “the rules governing the visibility of the costs involved in the recovery and reclamation of the residual materials generated by containers, packaging or printed matter”;
- delays “until 1 January 2027, the date on which the collection and transportation of residual materials consisting of wood, cork, ceramic, porcelain or textiles must be provided for in certain contracts”;
- adds “the management of hazardous materials […] to the elements that must be covered in some contracts”;
- adds “rules for the auditing of the information filed by producers, sorting centres and conditioners”;
- makes adjustments “to harmonize the system of selective collection with the deposit system”;
- specifies “the obligations governing the publication of the terms and conditions for calculating the contribution producers are required to pay to finance the system of selective collection”;
- brings forward “the date on which institutions, businesses and industries, the owners or managers of multiple-unit residential complexes and the syndicates of immovables under divided co-ownership must participate in the system of selective collection”; and
- modifies “the monetary administrative penalties applicable for failures to comply and the penal sanctions applicable for offences under certain provisions.”
Amended Document – Regulation respecting the development, implementation and financial support of a deposit-refund system for certain containers
Amending Document – Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting the development, implementation and financial support of a deposit-refund system for certain containers
First Effective Date: 30 August 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry
According to the Government of Québec, the amended document notably:
- amends “some definitions, in particular to ensure concordance and to clearly distinguish between redeemable containers and non-returnable containers”;
- adjusts “provisions concerning the persons required to comply with the obligations of the Regulation”;
- relaxes “the requirements for persons conducting a verification of certain activities, and specifies the requirements for audits”;
- includes “an exception to the obligation to pay a deposit to a person selling a redeemable container”;
- specifies that “access to a return site and the use of its equipment to return redeemable containers must be provided free of charge”;
- reduces “the number of return sites that must be operational when the implementation of the deposit system begins”;
- makes it possible “for any person to offer a personalized service to collect redeemable containers, on certain conditions”;
- details “the calculation of the contribution payable by producers to finance the deposit system and the related publication requirements”; and
- amends “the rules governing the visibility of the costs for recovering and reclaiming redeemable containers.”
United States – Federal
Amended Document – 26 CFR 1 Income Taxes
Amending Document – Additional Guidance on Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program
First Effective Date: 16 October 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
According to the government, the amended document introduces requirements for a program that allows “applicants investing in certain solar or wind-powered electricity generation facilities for which [they] otherwise would be eligible for an energy investment credit [to] apply for an allocation of environmental justice solar and wind capacity limitation to increase the amount of the energy investment credit for the taxable year in which the facility is placed in service.”
Amended Document – 40 CFR 761 Subpart A General
Amending Document – Alternate PCB Extraction Methods and Amendments to PCB Cleanup and Disposal Regulations
Various subparts of 40 CFR 761 Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Manufacturing, Processing, Distribution in Commerce, and Use Prohibitions have been updated.
According to the government, the changes expand the “set of extraction and determinative methods that can be used to characterize and verify the cleanup of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) waste,” and “[update] the performance-based disposal option for PCB remediation waste; [remove] the provision allowing PCB bulk product waste to be disposed of as roadbed material; [add] more flexible provisions for cleanup and disposal of waste generated by spills that occur during emergency situations; [harmonize] general disposal requirements for PCB remediation waste,” and make some clarifications.
United States – New York
New Principal Document – NYCL Title ENV-30 Decommissioning Nuclear Power Plant Discharges Into the Hudson River
First Effective Date: 18 August 2023
Industry Sector: Utilities & Communications Industry
This document generally prohibits the “discharge [of] any radiological substance into the Hudson River in connection with the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant.”
Newly issued NYCL Title ENV-71-28 Enforcement of Article 30 establishes the penalties applicable to violations of this document.
European Union
First Effective Date: 17 August 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
This document, according to its content, sets out “requirements on sustainability, safety, labelling, marking and information to allow the placing on the market or putting into service of batteries within the Union”; establishes “minimum requirements for extended producer responsibility, the collection and treatment of waste batteries and for reporting”; imposes battery due diligence obligations on economic operators; and sets out rules on green public procurement.
Amended Document – Regulation (EU) 2019/631 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 setting CO2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars and for new light commercial vehicles, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 443/2009 and (EU) No 510/2011 (Text with EEA relevance)
Amending Document – Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1634 of 5 June 2023 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/631 of the European Parliament and of the Council setting CO2 emission performance standards for new passenger cars and for new light commercial vehicles (Text with EEA relevance)
First Effective Date: 5 September 2023
Industry Sector: Road Transportation Industry
The amended document notably:
- specifies the methods for calculating specific emission targets for the specified calendar years for manufacturers that are members of a pool;
- specifies the calculation method for manufacturers that have been granted derogations in certain calendar years;
- updates the definition of “TM” (test mass) to specify the test mass to be considered in the case of complete and incomplete base vehicles;
- facilitates the monitoring of emissions from new passenger cars and new light commercial vehicles by updating and adding monitoring parameters related to the CO2 emissions standards; and
- clarifies the requirements for manufacturers to calculate the CO2 emissions and mass values.
Amended Document – Regulation (EU) No 649/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 concerning the export and import of hazardous chemicals
Amending Document – Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1656 of 16 June 2023 amending Regulation (EU) No 649/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the listing of pesticides and industrial chemicals (Text with EEA relevance)
First Effective Date: 14 September 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Building Management & Maintenance
The amended document notably includes various substances to the lists of chemicals subject to export notification procedure and qualifying for or subject to the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure for certain hazardous chemicals, in view of the non-renewal or withdrawal of approvals for certain substances (e.g., famoxadone, phosmet, and indoxacarb) under the relevant legislation, leading to bans or severe restrictions on their use and in view of the concerns for human health or the environment.
Belgium
Amended Document – Code of well-being at work (2017)
Amending Document – Royal Decree laying down measures to protect workers against agents with endocrine-disrupting properties.
First Effective Date: 28 July 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
The changes to this document concern workplaces where there is a risk of exposure to “endocrine disruptors” which are chemicals that disrupt the normal functioning of the endocrine system. The effect of the change is to impose more stringent obligations on employers in terms of risk assessment, prevention, training, and information disclosure regarding endocrine disruptors, as well as to prohibit exposure of youth workers, pregnant workers, and breastfeeding workers to endocrine disruptors.
New Principal Document – Law on the transport of hydrogen by pipeline
First Effective Date: 4 August 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Building Management & Maintenance
This document applies only to hydrogen transport facilities. It establishes requirements and conditions for the construction and operation of such facilities.
Additional information is available here (FR only).
Brazil – Brasilia
First Effective Date: 6 July 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces
This document, as stated in its title, sets out provisions for registering and investigating cases of moral or sexual harassment in the work environment of the organs and entities of the direct and indirect administration of the Government of the Federal District. It notably specifies the procedure for reporting cases of harassment, introduces the Special Commission for the Prevention and Combating of Harassment, discusses the precautionary measures that the manager of the entity can implement to ensure the effectiveness of the preliminary analysis and the preservation of the work environment, and includes provisions for the implementation of the aforementioned rules in administrative contracts, partnerships and agreements, and encourages compliance and good practices by the contractors involved in the situation.
It replaces Decree No. 41,536, of December 1, 2020 – Provides for the procedures for registering and investigating cases of moral or sexual harassment in the work environment of the organs and entities of the Government of the Federal District. The new document notably updates (1) certain definitions, such as broadening the scope of the preliminary investigation and clarifying the definition of “work environment”; (2) provisions respecting the composition and operation of the Special Commission for the Prevention and Combating of Harassment; and (3) precautionary administrative measures. It also specifies methods of reporting moral or sexual harassment and preventive measures that can be taken, such as training, guidance, and the raising of awareness among employees, to ensure a work environment free of harassment.
France
New Principal Document – Order of June 20, 2023 on the analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in aqueous discharges from facilities classified for environmental protection under the authorization regime
First Effective Date: 28 June 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Other Industry
This document applies to facilities that are subject to authorization under the “facilities classified for environmental protection” (ICPE) scheme, and which either (a) fall within one of a specific set of designations or (b) use, produce, treat or discharge per- or polyfluoroalkylated substances. The document establishes a requirement for such facilities to sample and analyze the effluent being ejected at all points of ejection, for the presence and quantity of certain per- or polyfluoroalkylated substances. It also establishes related requirements, including recordkeeping and reporting requirements for the campaign of analysis.
Ireland
New Principal Document – Circular Economy (Waste Recovery Levy) Regulations 2023
First Effective Date: 1 September 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
This document lays down provisions for the imposition of a recovery levy in relation to municipal waste recovery operations, such as the recovery operations at municipal waste landfills, waste incineration and co-incineration plants, and the export of waste. The document also specifies the liability for levy payment, provides for exemptions from the recovery levy for certain wastes (e.g., hazardous waste and construction and demolition waste), establishes payment rules, and specifies the relevant record-keeping and accounting requirements.
New Zealand
New Principal Document – Severe Weather Emergency Recovery (Temporary Accommodation) Order 2023
First Effective Date: 1 June 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Building Management & Maintenance
This document, according to its contents, “[establishes provisions for] treating the construction, installation, or use of temporary accommodation in certain locations affected by the severe weather events defined in the SWERLA (the severe weather events) as a permitted activity.”
New Principal Document – Natural and Built Environment Act 2023
First Effective Date: 24 August 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Building Management & Maintenance
This document imposes restrictions on, and obligations regarding, a wide variety of business activities. Most notably, it establishes a prohibition on any of the following activities unless explicitly permitted by one of a specific set of rules or plans, or if a specific exception applies:
- discharging contaminants into the land, air, or water;
- dumping or incinerating waste, discharging harmful substances including any radioactive material, or dumping water, in a coastal marine area;
- using or taking water in any way, using coastal marine areas, beds of lakes or rivers, or subdividing land.
It also sets out the obligations of landowners in case of contamination of their land and requirements related to the establishment and execution of “freshwater farm plans” by farmers, whether aquaculture farms or land farms. Finally, it sets application requirements, procedural requirements and conditions attached to a wide variety of approvals, including resource use approvals, water use approvals and approvals to subdivide land.
Oman
New Principal Document – Labour Law
First Effective Date: 26 July 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
This document applies to all companies. It sets out a general regulatory framework for employment relations, including notably rules regarding the following: occupational health and safety; the protection of juvenile workers; wages, vacations, termination of employment, and the work contract; language and Omanization of the workplace; preferences for Omani citizens and the employment of non-citizens; and unions, strikes, and lockdowns.
It replaces a previous Labour Law and introduces a number of new labour law protections for workers, most notably (1) new protections for expatriate workers, including prohibiting the withholding of passports and other documents, a right to a return air ticket to their home country, and a right to file a complaint against unjust dismissal, and (2) the clarification of situations when a worker may be terminated, and the right to a 6-month grace period if performance is unsatisfactory.
Additional information is available here.
United Kingdom
Amended Document – The Building Regulations 2010
Amending Document – The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023
First Effective Date: 1 October 2023
Industry Sector: General Industry, Building Management & Maintenance
According to the Government of the United Kingdom, the amended document notably:
- introduces a number of new definitions, such as the definition of “construction phase” and “contractor”;
- exempts higher-risk buildings from most procedural requirements under the amended document;
- updates the responsibilities of clients in relation to projects, such as the notification requirements;
- updates certain references related to applications for building control approval;
- ensures that the person carrying out work in relation to a higher-risk building is aware that the building is a higher-risk building;
- requires the responsible person to acknowledge receipt of the fire safety information; and
- introduces a new requirement for notification of commencement of work.
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