HSE and Energy Regulatory Changes as of January 1, 2020

As of January 1, 2020, new safety and environmental regulations came into force concerning the CSE, the mandatory defibrillator (AED), and asbestos detection for transport.

Marie Faucon
Consultante HSE
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Please note: This article concerns French legislation. The requirements described may not apply in other countries.

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We invite you to review the regulatory developments that came into effect on January 1 of this new year regarding safety and environment.

Regulatory Developments in Safety

  • Social and Economic Committee (CSE): the new employee representative body

(Labor Code Articles L. 2312-5 to L. 2312-60, L. 2313-1 to L. 2315-94, R. 2312-1 to R. 2312-28 and R. 2315-9 to R. 2315-23)

Among the recently published regulatory changes, as of January 1, 2020, all companies with more than 10 employees (excluding public health establishments) must have elected their CSE, replacing their employee representatives (DP), works councils (CE), and health, safety, and working conditions committees (CHSCT).

We invite you to read our articles on the operation, responsibilities and implementation of this body.

  • Internal Regulations mandatory for companies with 50 employees or more

(Labor Code Article L. 1311-2)

Internal regulations are now mandatory in companies or establishments employing at least 50 employees, instead of 20 employees previously.

  • Mandatory AED in Public Access Buildings (ERP) of categories 1 to 3

(Construction and Housing Code Articles R. 123-57 to R. 123-60 & Orders of October 29, 2019)

An automated external defibrillator (AED) is now mandatory in Public Access Buildings (ERP) of categories 1 to 3.

As a reminder, Category 1 to 3 establishments open to the public (ERP) are those that can accommodate more than 300 people (public + staff).

This AED must be installed in an easily accessible location, allowing its permanent use by anyone present on the premises. Its signage must comply with the decree of October 29, 2019.

Furthermore, the operator must declare information regarding the location, accessibility, and technical characteristics of its AED in the national database.

Note: This AED installation requirement will be mandatory from January 1, 2021, for Category 4 establishments open to the public (ERP) and from January 1, 2022, for certain Category 5 ERPs, namely train stations, mountain hotels and restaurants, mountain shelters, enclosed and covered sports facilities, care homes for the elderly, care homes for people with disabilities, healthcare facilities, as well as multi-purpose sports halls.

  • Pre-work asbestos survey for railway rolling stock and other transport rolling stock, and for ships, boats, floating craft, and other floating structures

(Decree of November 13, 2019, decree of June 19, 2019)

Any owner, client, or project manager of ships, boats, and other floating structures, and of railway rolling stock and other transport rolling stock, must now have an asbestos presence investigated before any operation involving risks of worker exposure to asbestos.

The pre-work asbestos survey involves searching for, identifying, and locating asbestos-containing materials and products likely to be directly or indirectly affected by the work and interventions.

This asbestos survey must be carried out by an operator in accordance with:

  1. Standard NF X 46-101 - January 2019 - « Asbestos survey - identification of asbestos-containing materials and products in ships, boats, and other floating structures - Mission and methodology » for ships, boats, and other floating structures.
  2. Standard NF F 01-020 - October 2019 - « Identification of asbestos-containing materials and products in railway rolling stock - Mission and methodology » for railway rolling stock and other transport rolling stock.

As a reminder, regarding built properties, this survey has been mandatory since July 19, 2019. See our article on this topic: https://hse-reglementaire.com/reperage-amiante-avant-travaux-immeubles-batis/

  • New template for the CSTMD report

(Decree of May 29, 2009)

The safety advisors' (CSTMD) reports for the year 2019 must take into account the regulatory changes to their content introduced by the December 11, 2018 amendment to the TMD decree. The main regulatory changes concern the following points:

- the addition of the concept of consignor;

- the obligation to specify the identity of the advisor(s) who carried out the visit(s) if they are not the report writer;

- the possibility of grouping information currently requested in several tables into a single table, including the elements required for each operation, provided that the activities concerned are specified;

- in part 2 of the report, the creation of a specific table related to the record of dangerous goods shipping activities newly subject to the obligation of having a DGSA;

- the inclusion of a question regarding parking facilities subject to the requirements of 2.3.2;

- the removal of the general conclusion from the annual report, which must now be incorporated into the report's introductory summary;

- a more precise and comprehensive description of the actions and verifications carried out by the safety advisor during the year, detailed across 6 themes.

Regulatory developments in environmental matters

  • RSDE: compliance with emission limit values (ELVs)

(Amending Order of August 24, 2017)

Existing ICPE sites and new sites that submitted an application before January 1, 2018, concerned by RSDE (*), must comply with the ELVs introduced by the Order of August 24, 2017 (known as the RSDE Order) for their aqueous discharges.

(*) these include all classified facilities subject to authorization, as well as facilities subject to registration that are likely to produce significant discharges of hazardous substances.

It should be noted that the ELVs set for PFOS, Trifluralin, quinoxyfen, dioxins, aclonifen, bifenox, cybutryne, cypermethrin, HBCDD, and heptachlor substances apply from January 1, 2023.

  • Collection and declaration of TGAP (excluding waste TGAP) with the DGFIP

(Customs Code Articles 266 sexies to 266 quindecies)

The collection of TGAP, other than waste TGAP, is now managed by the DGFIP (General Directorate of Public Finance) and no longer by customs.

For VAT taxpayers subject to the normal actual tax regime: the TGAP declaration must be made at the same time as the VAT declaration and submitted in the month following the first calendar quarter of the year after the one in which the tax became due.

For VAT taxpayers subject to the simplified actual tax regime: the TGAP declaration must be made at the same time as the VAT declaration and submitted for the fiscal year in which the tax became due.

In other cases: the declaration must be made to the collection service responsible for the taxpayer's head office or main establishment no later than April 25 of the year following the one in which the tax became due.

Transitional provisions are thus planned for the 2020 declaration campaign. These provisions are detailed in Circular of June 27, 2019 - General Tax on Polluting Activities.

  • Prohibitions on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases (GHG)

(Regulation No. 517/2014 of 16 April 2014)

The following prohibitions concerning HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons), which are greenhouse gases, have entered into force:

- prohibition on producing HCFCs (e.g., R22 or R408A);

- prohibition on placing on the market equipment containing HFCs with a GWP (Global Warming Potential) greater than or equal to 2500 (e.g., R404a);

- prohibition on recharging for the servicing or maintenance of equipment with a charge exceeding 40 tonnes CO2 equivalent with virgin fluorinated GHGs* with a GWP >= 2500.

(*) Fluorinated GHGs => Examples: HFCs (e.g., R134a or R143), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).

  • Prohibition of certain plastic products

(Environmental Code Articles L. 541-10- and D. 543-294 to D. 543-296)

The making available of single-use plastic products (except those compostable in home composting and made, in whole or in part, from bio-based materials) is prohibited: disposable kitchen cups, glasses and plates for table use, straws, cutlery, steak picks, disposable glass lids, meal trays, ice cream pots, salad bowls, plastic boxes and stirrers for beverages.

Note that this prohibition will only apply to these products as packaging from 3 July 2021.

  • General requirements applicable to Classified Facilities for Environmental Protection (ICPE) subject to declaration under headings 4440, 4441 or 4442

(Order of 1 August 2019)

Classified facilities subject to declaration under headings 4440, 4441, or 4442 must now apply the Order of 1 August 2019 instead of the Order of 5 December 2016. This concerns facilities for the use and storage of solid oxidizing substances and mixtures of category 1, 2 or 3, liquid oxidizing substances of category 1, 2 or 3, or gaseous oxidizing substances of category 1 when the total quantity likely to be present in the facility is greater than or equal to 2 tonnes but less than 50 tonnes.

The Order sets out requirements relating to siting (ventilation, electrical installations, boiler rooms and battery charging, retention basins, etc.), operation (operational monitoring, access control, product knowledge – labelling, inventory of oxidizing products, storage layout, reserves of consumable products or materials), risks (personal protection, fire-fighting equipment, work permits, safety instructions, operating instructions, staff training), water (sampling, consumption, collection network and rainwater) and noise and vibrations (noise limit values, vehicles - construction machinery, operator monitoring of noise emissions). Facilities declared before 1 January 2020 are considered existing and are exempt from certain obligations.

  • Mandatory AIPR for dump truck drivers

(Order of February 15, 2012)

For work carried out near utility networks and pipelines, a Near-Network Intervention Authorization (AIPR) must be issued by the employer to:

- individuals responsible for managing or supervising work on behalf of the project owner,

- individuals acting on behalf of the contractor as supervisors for the work,

- and equipment operators listed in Annex 4 of the Order of February 15, 2012.

Dump truck drivers have been added to this list.

Conclusion

In conclusion, given the significant regulatory changes, we encourage you to carefully check if any of these measures apply to you and, if so and if not already done, to study them thoroughly and implement them. Consult the regulatory overview of key HSE topics or the list of regulatory provisions applicable as of January 1, 2021.

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