Stratospheric ozone depletion is an important environmental and health problem. The Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has been regulating the use, release and disposal of ODS since the early 1990s.
The MOE is proposing the consolidation of Ontario's five ODS regulations into one single regulation. The regulatory proposal also includes revoking the following existing regulations made under Ontario's Environmental Protection Act, 1990:
O. Reg. 356/90: Ozone Depleting Substances - General;
O. Reg. 189/94: Refrigerants;
O. Reg. 413/94: Halon Fire Extinguishing Equipment;
O. Reg. 717/94: Solvents;
O. Reg. 718/94: Sterilants.
This consolidation aims to streamline and simplify existing requirements, as well as to remove obsolete requirements. This will allow everyone to find all applicable ODS requirements in a single location.
In addition to the consolidation, the ministry is also proposing new requirements that will harmonize the provincial regulation with the National Action Plan for the Environmental Control of Ozone-Depleting Substances and their Halocarbon Alternatives (NAP), which represents actions that Canada wishes to implement in response to the United Nations Environment Program's Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1989). The overall objective of these new requirements is to implement refill restrictions for halon fire extinguishing equipment to minimize the release of halons into the atmosphere. The proposed amendments include:
Prohibit refilling portable fire extinguishers with halon, unless the extinguisher is used or intended to be used in an aircraft or for military purposes;
Provide for one refill of fixed fire extinguishing equipment with halon between 2011 and 2015 on the condition that the system is replaced or modified by an alternative within a year of refill.
This regulatory proposal includes amendments to recognize the qualifications of certified refrigeration technicians from other provinces under certain conditions when they come to Ontario such that the regulation is consistent with the Ontario Labour Mobility Act, 2009.
Please refer to the Draft Regulation and the Regulation Comparison Table through the links provided in this notice to review the consolidation and proposed amendments.