Earlier in 2016, there was less than favourable press coverage about Canadian household waste shipped to the Philippines back in 2013 and 2014. There were more than 100 containers of waste shipped from Canada to the Philippines that were in international regulatory limbo. Recent amendments to Canadian regulations seek to avoid such issues in the future. On October 21, 2016, the Export and Import of Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Recyclable Materials Regulations...
Read MorePBDE: An Emerging Environmental Regulatory Concern?
We often talk about how environmental compliance is never static, because chemicals or compounds that might be acceptable and even lauded one day are a concern the next day. Consider a recent group of chemical compounds that fit this description: Polybrominated Diphenyl Esters (PBDEs). According to the American Council for Science and Health, organic compounds such as PBDEs that contain multiple atoms of bromine and chlorine in their structure usually have two...
Read MoreUS Election Results and Canadian Environmental Expectations
Trade between Canada and the United States (U.S.) is a pretty big deal for both countries. In fact, when you look at 15 of Canada’s top import partners, the US accounts for more than 75% of Canadian imports. So when national elections occur on either side of the border, those in business pay attention. With the US Presidential election now in the books, what are the potential implications as they relate to environmental issues? While we’ll all learn more after...
Read MoreEmergency Planning Regulations in Canada
The Environmental Emergency Regulations in Canada date back several years. These regulations, as you likely know, are undergoing some changes. To date, there have been no shortage of comments from the regulated community regarding the potential amendments to the regulations (see summary of comments as of October 6, 2016). Do these regulations apply to your company, and should you be concerned about these proposed amendments? At a minimum, you should be aware of the...
Read MoreEnvironmental Enforcement Roundup
Several times each year, we provide some of our observations on environmental enforcement. The enforcement actions are owed to a variety of reasons from accidents, to oversight, to regulatory confusion, to what might be described as “self-inflicted.” With this said, here are some of our observations. Environmental Enforcement at a Refinery An oil refinery in Sarnia, Ontario, was fined $812,000 for an incident that resulted in a release of hydrogen sulfide. According to...
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