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 – Railway Personnel Training and Qualifications Regulations
- Federal – Regulations Amending the Pest Control Products Fees and Charges Regulations (Annual Charge)
- Ontario – Bill 228, Resource Management and Safety Act, 2024
- Ontario – Proposal to add materials to the Off-Farm Anaerobic Digestion Materials Protocol
- Quebec – Bill 81, An Act to amend various provisions relating to the environment
United States
- Transportation of Fuel for Agricultural Aircraft Operations
- Review of New Source Performance Standards for Stationary Combustion Turbines and Stationary Gas Turbines
- Testing Methods for Detecting and Identifying Asbestos in Talc-Containing Cosmetic Products
European Union
- No newsworthy proposals this month.
Canada – Federal
Railway Personnel Training and Qualifications Regulations
Published Date: 16 December 2024
Industry Sector: Rail Transportation
The Canadian Ministry of Transport has announced its intention to overhaul training and certification requirements for railway workers in order to “ensure that workers acquire knowledge, skills, and on-the-job training (OJT), and that they are adequately supervised [and ultimately] mitigate the risk of workplace injuries, improve the safety of the railway operation, [and] reduce tail incidents and accidents.” According to the government, the new rules would notably:
- “[add] two new positions critical to safety [i.e. remote control locomotive operators (RCLOs) and rail traffic controllers (RTCs)]”;
- “[require the] pairing of employees with less than two years of experience in a position critical to safety”;
- “[establish] new types of training: continuing training, familiarization training (e.g. training related to the specific operating environment), and training for employees who have not carried out their duties for 12 months or more”;
- integrate crew resource management (CRM) training into employee training; and
- “[require] a training record for each person who takes the training and undergoes [required] examinations and evaluations.”
The changes would be enacted by new Railway Personnel Training and Qualifications Regulations and by the repeal of the existing Railway Employee Qualification Standards Regulations.
Additional information is available here and here.
Interested parties may submit comments until 13 January 2025.
Regulations Amending the Pest Control Products Fees and Charges Regulations (Annual Charge)
Published Date: 21 December 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry, Building Management & Maintenance
The Canadian Department of Health has announced its intention to update pest control product fees. According to the government, the changes would “increase the annual charge and replace the current sales-based approach for determining the annual charge payable with a tiered approach, based on the number of pest control product registrations held by each registrant. A lower annual charge would apply for, among other things, registrations held by small businesses; registrations that are semiochemicals, microbial agents, or non-conventional pest control products; and registrations for certain specialized niche products.”
The changes would be made by amending the Pest Control Products Fees and Charges Regulations.
Interested parties may submit comments until 19 February 2025.
Additional information is available here.
Ontario
Bill 228, Resource Management and Safety Act, 2024
Published Date: 9 December 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry
The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has announced its intention to update rules for wildland fire protection. According to the government, the changes would:
- “[provide] for the issuance of permits with respect to outdoor fires outside a restricted fire zone during a fire season”;
- require certain entities to have a wildland fire management plan; and
- introduce specific rules governing the geologic storage of carbon, notably including prohibitions on specified activities, permit requirements for other activities, “general obligations applicable to any person performing activities” covered by the new rules, and the establishment of a Carbon Storage Stewardship Fund.
The changes would be made by amending the Forest Fires Prevention Act, the Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Act, and the Surveyors Act, and by enacting the Geologic Carbon Storage Act, 2024.
Additional information is available here and here.
Proposal to add materials to the Off-Farm Anaerobic Digestion Materials Protocol
Published Date: 20 December 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has announced its intention to “add new waste materials to the Off-Farm Anaerobic Digestion Materials Protocol, [which] would result in consistent eligibility of organic waste materials from the production of ingredients, irrespective of where the ingredients are produced.”
The changes “would allow organic waste materials from the production of ingredients used in food, animal feed, pet food, ethanol, and biodiesel production to be eligible for [Regulated Mixed Anaerobic Digestion Facility] use, irrespective of the ingredients’ production location.”
Interested parties may submit comments until 18 February 2025.
Additional information is available here.
Quebec
Bill 81, An Act to amend various provisions relating to the environment
Published Date: 20 November 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry, Building Management & Maintenance
The Government of Quebec has announced its intention to:
- “provide for a system of credits applicable to heavy motor vehicles”;
- make certain provisions that currently apply to light motor vehicles also apply to heavy vehicles;
- provide that “the development of a replacement habitat may be required” for “certain activities that [may] alter a wildlife habitat”;
- prohibit “activities that could have adverse effects on” threatened or vulnerable species;
- provide that applicants may be required to “furnish security, carry out measures necessary for the conservation, management or development of a replacement wildlife habitat, or pay the financial compensation necessary for those purposes”;
- require “more information [to be] sent to the Minister in the early stages” of the environmental impact assessment and review procedure;
- “decide that certain preparatory work may be carried out before the [environmental impact assessment and review] procedure is held if the public interest warrants it”; and
- introduce “a new sectoral or regional environmental assessment procedure”.
The changes would be made by amending the Act to increase the number of zero-emission motor vehicles in Québec in order to reduce greenhouse gas and other pollutant emissions, the Act to affirm the collective nature of water resources and to promote better governance of water and associated environments, the Natural Heritage Conservation Act, the Act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife, the Act respecting threatened or vulnerable species, the Act respecting certain measures enabling the enforcement of environmental and dam safety legislation, the Act respecting the Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs and the Environment Quality Act.
Additional information is available here.
United States
Transportation of Fuel for Agricultural Aircraft Operations
Published Date: 4 December 2024
Industry Sector: Road Transportation
The United States Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has announced its intention “to allow States to waive the hazardous materials (HM) endorsement requirement for holders of Class A commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) who transport no more than 1,000 gallons of aviation grade jet fuel in support of seasonal agricultural operations.”
Interested parties may submit comments until 3 February 2025.
Additional information is available here.
Review of New Source Performance Standards for Stationary Combustion Turbines and Stationary Gas Turbines
Published Date: 13 December 2024
Industry Sector: General Industry, Building Management & Maintenance
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced its intention to update performance standards for “new, modified, and reconstructed stationary combustion turbines and stationary gas turbines based on a review of available control technologies for limiting emissions of criteria air pollutants.”
The changes would “establish size-based subcategories for new, modified, and reconstructed stationary combustion turbines that also recognize distinctions between those that operate at varying loads or capacity factors and those firing natural gas or non-natural gas fuels. In general, the EPA is proposing that combustion controls with the addition of post-combustion selective catalytic reduction (SCR) is the best system of emission reduction (BSER) for limiting nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions from this source category, with certain, limited exceptions. [It would also] lower the NOX standards of performance for most of the stationary combustion turbines included in this source category. [Finally,] for new, modified, and reconstructed stationary combustion turbines that fire or co-fire hydrogen, the EPA is proposing to ensure that those sources are subject to the same level of control for NOX emissions as sources firing natural gas or non-natural gas fuels, depending on the percentage of hydrogen fuel being utilized.”
Interested parties may submit comments until 13 March 2025.
Additional information is available here and here.
Testing Methods for Detecting and Identifying Asbestos in Talc-Containing Cosmetic Products
Published Date: 27 December 2024
Industry Sector: Chemical Industry
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced its intention to require testing for asbestos in talc-containing cosmetic products. It would “require testing of talc-containing cosmetic products using standardized testing methods for detecting and identifying asbestos that may be present as a contaminant in talc. [It also proposes} corresponding adulteration provisions.”
According to the FDA, “[a]sbestos is a potential contaminant in talc, which is used in certain cosmetic products, and is a known human carcinogen. [The rules would] help protect users of talc-containing cosmetic products from harmful exposure to asbestos given the potential for contamination of these products.”
Interested parties may submit comments until 27 March 2025.
Additional information is available here.
Achieve comprehensive compliance with Nimonik
Nimonik exists to help organizations comply with regulatory requirements – leading to less environmental damage, better worker safety and higher quality products. We can help you with:
Document-Level Compliance Obligations
- Access over 550,000 EHS regulations, standards and guidelines for global jurisdictions on our easy-to-use software, NimonikApp.
- Receive alerts when applicable documents change or new ones get introduced.
Clause-Level Compliance Obligations
- Access specific requirements in over 100,000 regulations, standards and guidelines for global jurisdictions on our easy-to-use software, NimonikApp.
- Receive alerts when the specific applicable requirements change or new ones get introduced.
- Use the specific requirements as audit protocols to assess your compliance.
Audit and Inspection Software
- Assess your compliance to industry standards, corporate policies, customer requests or any other set of requirements with our robust mobile and web auditing app, Nimonik Audit.
We promise:
- accuracy and comprehensiveness of our regulatory content
- rapid publication of regulatory changes
- easy-to-use software
- exceptional customer support
- state of the art IT security
Contact us to discuss how you can achieve comprehensive compliance.
