ENHESA GLOBAL MONITORING HIGHLIGHTS
Below we have highlighted various new laws,
proposals and background news in which we
have monitored over the past two months.
North America:
United States
Federal
The Environmental Protection Agency adopted
36 new Significant New Use Rules (SNURs)
for substances that were the subject of
Pre-Manufacture Notices (PMNs). The SNURs
establish PMN conditions as generally applicable
to any company that manufactures, imports,
processes or uses the substances. Companies
that are unable to comply with SNURs are required
to cease activity and submit a Significant New Use
Notice (SNUN) prior to commencing non-compliant
activity. The SNURs restrict a broad range of
activities including discharges to water and
industrial, commercial and consumer uses. Several
SNURs require the use of specified respirators and
personal protective equipment. Often, EPA requires
maintenance of records as a condition in the
SNUR. This group of SNURs includes restrictions
on the use of generic carbon nanotubes.
State: California
Recent legislation requires local agencies to
regulate private drilling to ensure that groundwater
reserves are sustainably managed. In California,
overreliance on groundwater is depleting the
groundwater supply much faster than the expected
pace. When surface water is depleted farms and
cities dig wells to tap into groundwater reserves.
Unlike surface waters that are replenished by rain
and snow, groundwater reserves, which are found
Enhesa Flash October/November 2014 | www.enhesa.com
in aquifers located beneath earth’s surface, can
take centuries and millennia to build up. In areas
where groundwater supplies have been exhausted,
wells have run dry causing cities and farmers to
dig deeper to reach the dwindling water supply.
However, in some instances, most notably in the
San Joaquin Valley, this can cause land to sink and
put homes and infrastructure at risk. According
to a new state report, in an average year, 39%
of the water consumed in California comes from
groundwater reserves. In areas like Santa Barbara
for example, where there is little surface water,
groundwater makes up 80%, on average, of the
water consumed.
Canada
On 9 August 2014, Health Canada proposed
to adopt the Globally Harmonized System for
the Classification and Labeling of Chemicals
(GHS) that would revise the classification and
hazard communication requirements related to
workplace hazardous chemicals. This would align
Canadian requirements with U.S. requirements
and other countries. The revisions would amend
the Hazardous Materials Information Review
Regulations, SOR/88-456, Hazardous Materials
Information Review Act Appeal Board Procedures
Regulations, SOR/91-86, New Substances
Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers),
SOR/2005-247 and Export of