Environmental Enforcement stories tend to get attention. Sometimes it’s an indication of a trend or enforcement initiative, or it may be that a case has reached a conclusion. Regardless, they are usually interesting unless, of course, it hits too close to home. The two enforcement cases below couldn’t be more different. The first case was interesting because we have been following the ongoing enforcement at dry cleaners in Canada… the second because it crosses the border...
Read MoreEnvironmental Regulations: Dry Cleaners and Their Suppliers
In the past few years, we’ve shared observations regarding several cases of enforcement at dry cleaners. The basis for enforcement is the Tetrachloroethylene Regulations, or PERC Regulations (SOR/2003-79). This is a federal (rather than provincial) regulation. It is administered under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. While there is little disputing the potential health and environmental impacts that can result from mishandling PERC or other chlorinated solvents,...
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...
Read MorePERC and TCE Releases
A couple of common bad environmental actors (i.e., toxic chemicals) have been in the news again recently. One news story should be a heads up for a specific industry, and the other news story is about an ongoing concern for residents of a small community. Dry Cleaner Fined About a year and a half ago, my colleague, Andrew Tymec, P.Eng., wrote a blog about enforcement actions at dry cleaners across Canada. In the blog, Andrew said, in part, “If you have dry-cleaning...
Read MoreEnvironmental Enforcement at Dry Cleaners
On July 8, 2014, Environment Canada announced that a Vancouver-based dry cleaner had plead guilty and was fined $9,500 under the Tetrachloroethylene Regulations (SOR/2003-79). The offences included two open containers of wastewater, one open container of sludge waste, and the absence of proper secondary containment around these three containers. Dry Cleaners Will be Inspected If you have dry-cleaning operations in Canada, you would do well to pay attention to this and...
Read More