Continued from page 16


• Are you thinking of buy- ing or selling a dry cleaning property or dry cleaning business? Bring any corpo- rate documents, agreements of purchase and sale, and correspondence with the interested party.


Of course, your best protection is to consult with an environ- mental lawyer before you actu- ally need one. Your environ- mental lawyer will help you be proactive and ensure that you are in compliance with federal, provincial, and municipal reg- ulatory requirements, such as the Tetrachloroethylene (Use in Dry Cleaning and Report- ing Requirements) Regulations pursuant


to the Canadian


Environmental Protection Act, 1999, required annual report- ing and handling of waste products, and avoiding spills or other events that may lead to regulatory enforcement. Your environmental lawyer will also help you investigate your property and your operations to determine any potential civil and regulatory liabilities, and provide guidance to prepare for purchase or sale.


Whether you’re preventing a legal issue, or responding to one, your environmental law- yer will help you to put your best foot forward and navigate the steps to a resolution. n


Jacquelyn Stevens is a Partner, Specialist in Environmental Law Certifi ed by the Law Society of Ontario, Willms & Shier Environ- mental Lawyers LLP. Prepared with the assistance of Anand Srivastava, Associate, and Amanda Spitzig, Student-at-Law. Contact Jacquie by telephone at 416-862-4828 or by email at jstevens@willmsshier.com.


ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL UPDATES


by Jacquelyn Stevens


WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW


CANADA-WIDE: UPDATE ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROSECUTIONS


Legislative changes in 2012 prompted a fl urry of envi- ronmental prosecutions by Environment and Climate Change Canada against dry cleaners under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. Over the past few years, there has been a gradual decrease in the number of charges against dry cleaners, although fi ne amounts remain high for those convicted.


We continue to see charges and convictions for: improper storage of chemicals, failure to use a secondary containment system, and failure to properly dispose of waste. Upon conviction, dry cleaners may be required to: pay a signifi cant fi ne, publish an article about the case in the Fabricare Canada magazine, display the article in their window for a length of time, design and implement employee training programs, complete a dry cleaners environmental management training course, and/or, in rare cases, serve jail time. Dry cleaners must also remain aware of obligations arising from provincial and municipal environmental leg- islation dealing with spills, waste removal and disposal, and sewer discharges.


CANADA-WIDE: NEW ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCY REGULATIONS


Dry cleaners using perc should be aware of new man- datory requirements under the federal Environmental Emergency Regulations, 2019 (SOR/2019-51) under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. Effective as of August 24, 2019, dry cleaners that own or have the charge, management or control of a minimum of 1.13 tonnes of perc must: • prepare an Environmental Emergency Plan, and review and update it annually;


• conduct an annual simulation exercise of the Environ- mental Emergency Plan;


• keep a copy of the Environmental Emergency Plan readily available at the dry cleaning facility;


• submit notices of compliance to Environment and Climate Change Canada; and


• provide written reports describing any environmental emergency, such as a spill.


ONTARIO: DRY CLEAN- ING COURSE NO LONGER MANDATORY


The Ontario provincial govern- ment recently repealed Ontario Regulation 323/94: Dry Clean- ers. This regulation required dry cleaning businesses to have at least one employee on staff that had completed a man- datory environmental man- agement training course. This training course taught import- ant information about ways to operate dry cleaning equip- ment, manage contaminants and wastes, and minimize the discharge of contaminants into the environment.


This course also provided dry cleaners education about the legal requirements dry clean- ers must adhere to. The course emphasized how dry cleaners can implement procedures to meet the requirements of fed- eral, provincial and municipal regulations pertaining to the environment.


Even though the course may


no longer be statutorily man- dated in Ontario, applying les- sons learned in the dry clean- ing course can be a first step towards implementing best practices in your dry cleaning operation.


Consider speaking with an environmental lawyer to help you understand, adhere to and respond to federal, provin- cial, and municipal regulatory requirements impacting your dry cleaning business. n


18 FABRICARE CANADA March/April 2020


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