Volatile Organic Compound Concentration Limits for Certain Products Regulations (SOR/2021-268)

Marginal note:Issuance

• 9 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Minister must issue the permit referred to in subsection 8(1) if the applicant has demonstrated how they will compensate for the excess quantity of VOCs determined in accordance with subparagraph 8(2)(c)(v).

• Marginal note:Refusal

  (2) The Minister must refuse to issue the permit if

  • (a) the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant has provided false or misleading information in support of their application; or

  • (b) the information required under subsections 8(2) to (4) and the certification required under section 26 have not been provided or are insufficient to enable the Minister to process the application.

Marginal note:Revocation — grounds

• 10 (1) The Minister must revoke a permit issued under subsection 9(1) if

  • (a) the permit holder has not submitted the annual report referred to in section 13 within the prescribed time limit;

  • (b) the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that the permit holder has not compensated for the excess quantity of VOCs determined in accordance with paragraph 13(d); or

  • (c) the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that the permit holder has provided false or misleading information.

• Marginal note:Notice of revocation

  (2) Before revoking a permit, the Minister must provide the permit holder with written reasons and an opportunity to make written representations concerning the revocation.

Generation, Use and Transfer of Compliance Units

Marginal note:Notice of participation

• 11 (1) A person that intends to generate compliance units in respect of a reformulated product that they manufacture or import must, no later than October 1 of the first year in which they elect to participate in the compliance unit trading system in respect of that product, submit a notice to the Minister that contains the following information:

  • (a) the person’s name, civic and postal addresses, telephone number and, if any, fax number and email address;

  • (b) the name, title, civic and postal addresses, telephone number and, if any, fax number and email address of their authorized representative, if applicable; and

  • (c) respecting the product,

    • (i) its common or generic name and its trade name, if any,

    • (ii) the product category set out in column 1 of the table to Schedule 1 and, if applicable, the subcategory set out in column 2 to which it belongs, as well as the information used to categorize it,

    • (iii) its lowest VOC concentration prior to reformulation, the date of reformulation and its VOC concentration after reformulation, and

    • (iv) the quantity of the product, expressed in kilograms, that the person expects to manufacture or import during the period beginning on the day on which the notice is submitted and ending on December 31 of the same year, excluding the quantity that is to be manufactured or imported for export only.

• Marginal note:Generation of compliance units

  (2) A person that has submitted a notice under subsection (1) may generate compliance units, at a rate of one compliance unit per kilogram, for all of the reformulated products that they manufacture or import during a given calendar year. The number of kilograms is determined by the formula

  Σ [(B_i − C_i) × W_i]

  where

  B_i

  is, for each reformulated product, the maximum VOC concentration set out in column 3 of the table to Schedule 1 for the product category set out in column 1 or, if applicable, the subcategory set out in column 2 to which the product belongs;

  C_i

  is, for each reformulated product, the product’s VOC concentration after reformulation; and

  W_i

  is, for each reformulated product, the quantity, expressed in kilograms, that was manufactured or imported during the year in question, excluding the quantity that was manufactured or imported for export only.

• Marginal note:First year of participation

  (3) For the first calendar year in which the person participates in the compliance unit trading system, the value of the element W_i in the formula set out in subsection (2) is the quantity of the reformulated product that was manufactured or imported during the period beginning on the day on which the notice referred to in subsection (1) was submitted or the day on which the product was reformulated, whichever is later, and ending on December 31 of that year.

• Marginal note:Availability confirmed by Minister

  (4) The Minister must provide the person with written confirmation of the number of compliance units that are available to them within 60 days after the day on which the person submits a report in accordance with section 14.

• Marginal note:Valid for two years

  (5) Compliance units whose availability is confirmed by the Minister are valid for two years beginning on January 1 of the year following the calendar year in which they are generated.

Marginal note:Transfer of compliance units

• 12 (1) A person that participates in the compliance unit trading system may transfer unused compliance units to another person if the compliance units are still valid and the Minister approves the transfer.

• Marginal note:Application for approval of transfer

  (2) The transferee and transferor must, at least 90 days before the day on which the compliance units expire, submit to the Minister a joint application for approval of the transfer, using the form provided by the Minister, that contains the following information:

  • (a) the names of the transferee and transferor and their civic and postal addresses, telephone numbers and, if any, fax numbers and email addresses;

  • (b) the number of compliance units to be transferred;

  • (c) the year during which the compliance units were generated; and

  • (d) the effective date of the transfer.

• Marginal note:Approval by Minister

  (3) The Minister must approve the transfer and inform the transferee and transferor of the approval in writing if the transferor has at least the number of unused compliance units as are proposed to be transferred to the transferee.

• Marginal note:Use by transferee

  (4) The transferee may use the compliance units during the calendar year in which they are transferred and, if there are any compliance units remaining and those compliance units are still valid in accordance with subsection 11(5), during the following calendar year.

• Marginal note:Invalid transfer

  (5) For greater certainty, if the transferor does not have at least the number of unused compliance units as are proposed to be transferred to the transferee, the transfer is invalid.

Annual Reports

Marginal note:Permit issued under subsection 9(1)

13 A person that holds a permit issued under subsection 9(1) must, no later than March 1 of each year, submit a report to the Minister that contains the following information in respect of the preceding calendar year:

• (a) the person’s name, civic and postal addresses, telephone number and, if any, fax number and email address;

• (b) the name, title, civic and postal addresses, telephone number and, if any, fax number and email address of their authorized representative, if applicable;

• (c) for each product that the person manufactured or imported under a permit issued under subsection 9(1) during the year in question,

  • (i) its common or generic name and its trade name, if any,

  • (ii) the permit number,

  • (iii) the VOC concentrations at which the product was manufactured or imported, and

  • (iv) for each VOC concentration referred to in subparagraph (iii), the quantity of the product, expressed in kilograms, that was manufactured or imported during the year in question, excluding the quantity that was manufactured or imported for export only;

• (d) for all of the products that the person manufactured or imported under a permit issued under subsection 9(1) during the year in question, the quantity of VOCs in the products that is in excess of the applicable maximum VOC concentration for those products, determined by the formula

  Σ [(A_i − B_i) × W_i]

  where

  A_i

  is, for each product in respect of which a permit was issued that was manufactured or imported at a given VOC concentration, the product’s VOC concentration,

  B_i

  is, for each product in respect of which a permit was issued that was manufactured or imported at a given VOC concentration, the maximum VOC concentration set out in column 3 of the table to Schedule 1 for the product category set out in column 1 or, if applicable, the subcategory set out in column 2 to which the product belongs, and

  W_i

  is, for each product in respect of which a permit was issued that was manufactured or imported at a given VOC concentration, the quantity, expressed in kilograms, that was manufactured or imported during the year, excluding the quantity that is manufactured or imported for export only;

• (e) the values and data used in the calculation made in accordance with paragraph (d);

• (f) the number of compliance units that are being used to compensate for the excess quantity of VOCs determined in accordance with paragraph (d) and

  • (i) a statement as to whether those compliance units were generated by the person or were transferred to them, and

  • (ii) if the compliance units were transferred, the date of the transfer and the name of the transferor; and

• (g) confirmation of whether the person intends to continue manufacturing or importing products under a permit issued under subsection 9(1) during the calendar year following the year in question and, if so, the quantity of each product, expressed in kilograms, that they expect to manufacture or import during that calendar year, excluding any quantity to be manufactured or imported for export only, and the expected VOC concentration for each product.

Marginal note:Person that generates compliance units

14 A person that generates compliance units during a calendar year must, no later than March 1 of the following year, submit a report to the Minister that contains the following information:

• (a) the person’s name, civic and postal addresses, telephone number and, if any, fax number and email address;

• (b) the name, title, civic and postal addresses, telephone number and, if any, fax number and email address of their authorized representative, if applicable;

• (c) for each reformulated product for which they have elected to participate in the compliance unit trading system for the calendar year in question,

  • (i) its common or generic name and its trade name, if any,

  • (ii) the product category set out in column 1 of the table to Schedule 1 and, if applicable, the subcategory set out in column 2 to which it belongs, as well as the information used to categorize it,

  • (iii) its VOC concentration after reformulation and the date of the reformulation, and

  • (iv) the quantity of the product, expressed in kilograms, that the person manufactured or imported during the year in question, excluding the quantity that was manufactured or imported for export only;

• (d) the values and data used in the calculation made in accordance with subsection 11(2) for the calendar year in question and the result of that calculation; and

• (e) confirmation of whether the person intends to continue participating in the compliance unit trading system during the calendar year following the year in question and, if so, the quantity of each product, expressed in kilograms, that they expect to manufacture or import during that calendar year, excluding any quantity to be manufactured or imported for export only, and the expected VOC concentration for each product.

Permit — Products Whose Use Results in Lower VOC Emissions

Marginal note:Application

• 15 (1) A person may apply for a permit or a renewal of their permit, as the case may be, authorizing them to manufacture or import a product that belongs to a product category set out in column 1 of the table to Schedule 1 and, if applicable, a subcategory set out in column 2 that has a VOC concentration that is greater than the applicable maximum VOC concentration set out in column 3, but that, when used in accordance with the manufacturer’s written instructions, results in lower VOC emissions than those that would result from the use of another product that belongs to the same category and, if applicable, the same subcategory that has a VOC concentration that is less than or equal to that maximum VOC concentration.

• Marginal note:Required information

  (2) The application must be submitted to the Minister and must contain the following information:

  • (a) the applicant’s name, civic and postal addresses, telephone number and, if any, fax number and email address;

  • (b) the name, title, civic and postal addresses, telephone number and, if any, fax number and email address of their authorized representative, if applicable;

  • (c) the product’s common or generic name and trade name, if any;

  • (d) the product category set out in column 1 of the table to Schedule 1 and, if applicable, the subcategory set out in column 2 to which the product belongs, as well as the information used to categorize it;

  • (e) the product’s VOC concentration;

  • (f) the quantity of the product, expressed in kilograms, that the applicant expects to manufacture or import per calendar year, excluding any quantity that is manufactured or imported for export only;

  • (g) in the case of an application for the renewal of a permit in respect of the product, the number of the existing permit; and

  • (h) evidence that demonstrates that the use of the product in accordance with the manufacturer’s written instructions results in lower VOC emissions than those that would result from the use of another product that belongs to the same category and, if applicable, the same subcategory that has a VOC concentration that is less than or equal to the applicable maximum VOC concentration set out in column 3 of the table to Schedule 1.

• Marginal note:Clarifications

  (3) The Minister may, on receiving the application, require any clarifications that are necessary for the application to be processed.

• Marginal note:Notice of change to information

  (4) The applicant must notify the Minister in writing of any change to the information provided under this section — other than that provided under paragraph (2)(f) — within 30 days after the day on which the change occurs.