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 – Notice with respect to the availability of an equivalency agreement
- Alberta – Bulletin 2024-21: Invitation for Feedback on Revisions to Directive 020
- Manitoba – Regulated Vehicles (Safety Fitness, Operator Identification and Records, and Vehicle Exemptions) Regulation
- Yukon – New contaminants regulation
United States
- National Wildlife Refuge System; 2024-2025 Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations
- 1-Bromopropane (1-BP); Regulation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
- Pipeline Safety: Cost Recovery for Siting Reviews for LNG Facilities
- Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings
European Union
- No newsworthy proposals this month.
Canada – Federal
Notice with respect to the availability of an equivalency agreement
Published Date: 3 August 2024
Industry Sector: Utilities & Communications
The Government of Canada announced its intention to enter into an equivalency agreement with the Government of Nova Scotia concerning the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions by electricity producers.
This agreement will pave the way for the suspension of certain provisions of the Reduction of Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Coal-fired Generation of Electricity Regulations in Nova Scotia.
Interested persons can submit comments on the proposed agreement concerning these changes until 2 October 2024.
Additional information is available here and here.
Alberta
Bulletin 2024-21: Invitation for Feedback on Revisions to Directive 020
Published Date: 8 August 2024
Industry Sector: Oil & Gas Industry
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is seeking feedback on proposed updates to well abandonment rules. According to the AER, the changes would “[provide] information on qualified pools for commingled abandonment in central Alberta and a map of the new routine commingled abandonment region.” They would also “[allow] retrievable mechanical plugs to remain in the well after abandonment and [make] changes concerning the approach to remedial cementing of wells.”
A layered cementing methodology is being considered “in a select number of wells to evaluate the regulatory effectiveness of this methodology while ensuring the risk to public safety and environmental protection are mitigated;” a form is available “to request nonroutine remedial cementing of wells.”
The changes would be made by updating Directive 020: Well Abandonment.
Interested parties may submit comments until 20 September 2024.
Additional information is available here.
Manitoba
Regulated Vehicles (Safety Fitness, Operator Identification and Records, and Vehicle Exemptions) Regulation
Published Date: 7 August 2024
Industry Sector: Road Transportation
The Government of Manitoba has announced its intention to update safety requirements for commercial carriers, notably “to prevent ‘chameleon carriers’, [which are] heavy commercial vehicle operators who have been put out of business due to a poor safety record [and] reinvent themselves under a new name and identity and continue to operate heavy vehicles in an unsafe manner.”
The rules would set out criteria under which the government may investigate new Safety Fitness Certificate (SFC) applicants’ histories, to determine if the applicant is a “chameleon carrier”. They would also “require commercial vehicle operators to display their unique National Safety Code (NSC) number on their trucks and buses [and] make heavy vehicle regulations more accessible and understandable by consolidating the existing requirements found in two separate regulations.”
The changes would be made by replacing the Safety Fitness Criteria and Certificates Regulation with the new Regulated Vehicles (Safety Fitness, Operator Identification and Records and Vehicle Exemptions) Regulation.
Interested parties are invited to complete a survey concerning the changes.
Additional information is available here.
Yukon
New contaminants regulation
Published Date: 6 August 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
The Government of the Yukon has announced its intention to update rules governing contaminated sites. According to the government, the new rules would follow “updated standards aligned with the latest knowlegde and national guidance” for environmental protection and would ensure “effective contaminated site remediation and development of contaminated land”.
The government has published a discussion paper which contains details of the proposed new rules for contaminated sites.
Interested parties are invited to submit feedback until 30 September 2024.
The changes would be made by replacing the existing Contaminated Sites Regulation with a new regulation of a similar name.
Additional information is available here.
United States
National Wildlife Refuge System; 2024-2025 Station-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations
Published Date: 2 August 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has announced its proposed hunting and sport fishing rules for 2024-2025. According to the Service, the rules would “open hunting opportunities on six National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) and [expand] hunting or sport fishing opportunities on seven NWRs.”
Changes would also be made “to 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.”
Specific NWRs in West Virginia and North Dakota may also require the use of lead-free ammunition in hunting, as “lead ammunition and tackle have [been shown to have] negative impacts on both wildlife and human health.”
Additional information is available here.
1-Bromopropane (1-BP); Regulation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
Published Date: 8 August 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced its intention to regulate 1-bromopropane (1-BP) (CASRN 106-94-5), also known as n-propyl bromide, as a toxic substance. The rules would, “among other things, prevent consumer access to the chemical, restrict the industrial and commercial use of the chemical while also allowing for a reasonable transition period where an industrial and commercial use of the chemical is being prohibited, and protect workers from the unreasonable risk of 1-BP while on the job.”
According to the EPA, “1-BP is a widely used solvent in a variety of occupational and consumer applications, including vapor degreasing, aerosol degreasing, adhesives and sealants, and in insulation [which] presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health due to the significant adverse health effects associated with exposure to 1-BP, including neurotoxicity, developmental toxicity from acute and chronic inhalation exposures and dermal exposures, and cancer from chronic inhalation exposures.”
Interested parties may submit comments until 23 September 2024.
Additional information is available here.
Pipeline Safety: Cost Recovery for Siting Reviews for LNG Facilities
Published Date: 19 August 2024
Industry Sector: Oil & Gas Industry
The United States Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has announced its intention to require “a new fee for cost recovery for siting reviews of liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility project applications where the design and construction costs total $2.5 billion or more.” The fee would support “siting reviews to promote the public safety and environmental protection objectives of the Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS).”
Interested parties may submit comments until 18 October 2024.
Additional information is available here.
Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings
Published Date: 30 August 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry, Office Spaces, Building Management & Maintenance
The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced its intention “to issue a new standard, titled Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings. [It] would apply to all employers conducting outdoor and indoor work in all general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture sectors where OSHA has jurisdiction, with some exceptions. It would be a programmatic standard that would require employers to create a plan to evaluate and control heat hazards in their workplace. It would more clearly set forth employer obligations and the measures necessary to effectively protect employees from hazardous heat.”
Interested parties may submit comments until 30 December 2024.
Additional information is available here.
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