Dry cleaners should be aware of new reporting requirements under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act ("CEPA").1
CEPA SUBSTANCE MANAGEMENT
On April 1st, 2017, the Government of Canada published notices in the Canada Gazette that outlined details of Substances Management information gathering under section 71(1)(b) of CEPA.2 Users of approximately 80 toxic and proposed toxic substances, including tetrachloroethylene (PERC), must provide information for the risk management of these substances.
Dry cleaners that use PERC may be required to provide information under these new notices. The reporting requirement only applies to a person who, during the 2015 or 2016 used a total quantity greater than 1,000 kg of PERC at a concentration equal to or above 0.1% by weight (w/w%), whether the substance was used alone, in a mixture, or in a product. If your company owns more than one facility, you must report on a company-wide basis.
Information that must be reported includes:
- Basic company information
- Year of activity (either 2015 or 2016, whichever is highest)
- Total quantity of PERC used
- CAS RN and NAICS codes
- Uses
- Applications
The deadline to report is September 27, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. EDT. Most dry cleaners will not have any reporting requirements under this provision because the threshold reporting requirement is so high. However, you will need to do an assessment to make this determination.
OTHER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
Even if you do not have to report under the new CEPA Substances Management requirements, it is important to be aware of dry cleaners' multiple different reporting requirements.
The table below summarizes the PERC reporting requirements for Ontario dry cleaners, and specifically, Toronto based dry cleaners. You should check with your own municipality and province to see if there are any additional reporting requirements.
|
Reporting Requirement |
Date Due |
When do you have to report? |
|
Federal Requirements (Applies to All Dry Cleaners in Canada) |
||
|
April 30 of the following year. |
Anyone who uses, imports, recycles or sells PERC in a calendar year3. |
|
|
June 1 of the following year. |
PERC concentration is ≥ 1% by weight and in a quantity of 10 tonnes or more, and employees worked a total 20,000 hours or more at a facility. |
|
|
Substances Management – Fall 2017 Notice |
September 27, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. EDT. |
Greater than 1,000 kg of PERC is used, at a concentration equal to or above 0.1% by weight (w/w%). |
|
City of Toronto Requirements |
||
|
June 30 of the following year. |
* If you own or operate multiple facilities in Toronto, each facility must be evaluated and reported separately. * If you use 100 kg/yr of PERC. * If you use any amount of PERC that is below the threshold, the City of Toronto recommends you report your facility as below reporting thresholds. |
|
Footnotes
1 Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, SC 1999, c. 33.
2 Canada Gazette, Part I, Vol. 151, No. 13.
3 Tetrachloroethylene (Use in Dry Cleaning and Reporting Requirements) Regulations, SOR/2003-79 at ss 11-14.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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