Environment Canada

Regulator responsibility

Environment Canada (EC) has a mandate in Canada similar to that of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the US, as defined by the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA).

VOC Regulations

On July 2, 2003, ozone and its precursors, including VOCs were added to Schedule 1 of CEPA  which provided Environment Canada with additional tools and the legal authority to develop and propose measures to control VOC emissions.   Since then, Environment Canada has continued to review and update its regulations on VOCs. On May 2nd, 2015, a proposed Order to amend the definition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as listed on Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) was published in the Canada Gazette, Part I. This proposed amendment will add compounds to the exclusion list of the VOC definition. The final list will be published in the final Order in the Canada Gazette, Part II. Environment Canada often follows the lead of the EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB) in regulating the emission of pollutants. Environment Canada, like other regulators in the US, regulates each main industrial sector separately. The EC sectors include: Aerosol Coatings, Architectural Coatings, Automotive Refinishing Products, Cleaning and Degreasing, Certain Products (household and personal care), Asphalt, and others. The status of regulations for each sector are published on the website. EC publishes a list of VOC-excluded compounds similar to the EPA VOC-exempt list.  The substances not considered to be VOCs in Canada are found at section 65 of the following link:  http://www.ec.gc.ca/lcpe-cepa/default.asp?lang=En&n=0DA2924D-1&wsdoc=4ABEFFC8-5BEC-B57A-F4BF-11069545E434. Aerosol Coatings In 2012, EC published a discussion paper and invited comment on a proposal to introduce VOC content restrictions in Aerosols: Environment Canada: Proposed Control Instrument Volatile Organic Compounds in Aerosol Coatings: Considerations for the Development of a Control Instrument.  The paper makes specific reference to the EPA and CARB as models.  The paper includes a table of proposed VOC limits.  We could not determine if an effective date has been established. Architectural Coatings Regulations to limit VOC contents were published in 2009. The regulations can be found on the Dept. of Justice website:  Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Concentration Limits for Architectural Coating Products Regulations and also on the EC website at Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Concentration Limits for Architectural Coatings Regulations (SOR/2009-264). The regulations include a table of maximum VOC content for various products. A brochure on VOC Concentration Limits was published in September, 2014. This document details changes to the VOC content limits for several industrial coatings. Automotive Refinishing Products Regulations to limit VOC contents were published in 2009: “VOC Concentration Limits for Automotive Refinishing Products Regulations”.  The regulations include a table of maximum VOC content for various products. Certain Products The Proposed Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Concentration Limits for Certain Products Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on April 26, 2008. On January 21, 2013, EC published a consultation paper: Consultation Paper: Revisions to the Proposed VOC Concentration Limits for Certain Products Regulations. The consultation is aimed at seeking input on three objectives:

  1. updating the regulations to lower VOC concentration limits
  2. aligning Canadian regulations more closely with CARB, as the EPA proposes to do over time,
  3. reducing the regulatory burden on Canadian businesses by combining separate VOC regulations into a single comprehensive document.

The consultation was intended to take place in 2013. The new regulations will be adopted on January 1 two years after they are officially registered. Until then, business in Canada will be subject to the current regulations.  We could not determine if an effective date has been established. Cleaning and Degreasing EC does not regulate VOC emissions from cleaning and degreasing operations. Instead, the Canadian council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) has stepped into the vacuum. They developed the Environmental Code of Practice for the Reduction of Solvent Emissions from Commercial and Industrial Degreasing Facilities in 1995. The code of practice defines operating standards for new degreasers and for retrofitting existing facilities, identifies record-keeping standards, and discusses elements of operator training. Asphalt EC published a discussion paper in 2012: Possible Control Measures on Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) Concentration Limits in Cutback Asphalt and Emulsified Asphalt.  The paper is not conclusive about the direction or timing of regulations. They may fall under Consumer Products regulations. Test Methods Environment Canada has published an extensive Guidance Document on how to test for VOC content for automotive refinishing and architectural coatings.   The guidelines point to EPA Method 24 and CARB Method 310.

National Pollution Release Index

Environment Canada publishes the National Pollution Release Index (NPRI) which requires solvent users above a threshold to report on their use and emissions of compounds listed on the NPRI. The NPRI also maintains a list of VOC-exempt compounds. Once a product is approved as VOC-exempt by the EPA, the manufacturer can apply to have it formally listed as VOC-exempt under NPRI. The NPRI requirements are published every 2 years. For reporting purposes, a company producing a substance containing a mixture of VOCs and excluded materials, would report the percentage by weight of the VOCs within the substance.  For example, 1000 tonnes of a material containing 8% VOCs by weigh would be reported as 80 tonnes of VOC.