HSE and Energy Regulatory Changes as of January 1, 2022

Since January 1, 2022, new obligations have impacted companies regarding HSE and energy: waste, diagnostics, RE2020, safety, and prevention.

Geoffrey Ponthier
Consultant HSE
Publication : 
28.12.2021
Table of Contents
Example H2
Request a demo

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

‍

We invite you to review the main regulatory provisions that came into effect on January 1st of this new year concerning safety, environment, and energy.

New Environmental Regulatory Provisions

Inventory of Stored Materials

(Order of October 4, 2010 – Article 47 / Order of April 11, 2017 – Article 1.4.I.)

As of January 1, 2022, the following are required to maintain an updated detailed inventory of stored materials:

  • Facilities subject to registration or authorization classified under 1510 (Covered Warehouses);
  • Seveso establishments,
  • Sites authorized under one of headings 1436, 2718, 4330, 4331, 4722, 4734, 4742, 4743, 4744, 4746, 4747, or 4748.

Issuance of Hazardous Waste Tracking Slips via Trackdéchets

(Environmental Code – Article R. 541-43)

As of January 1st , 2022, every Hazardous Waste Tracking Slip (HWTS) must be issued in the database “waste tracking slip management system” (Trackdéchets)  with a 6-month grace period (untilst July 2022).

Similarly, the issuance of Tracking Slips forAsbestos (BSDA) is mandatory via TrackDéchets, effective January 1, 2022, with the same grace period.

The issuance of Refrigerant Fluid Tracking Slips (BSFF) and Infectious Waste Tracking Slips (BSDASRI) via Trackdéchets will be mandatory as of July 1, 2022, with a 6-month grace period as well (untilst January 2023).

Content of the waste, excavated soil, and sediment register

(Order of May 31, 2021)

The Order of May 31, 2021, specifying the content of registers for waste, excavated soil, and sediments, effective from1st January 2022, comes into force. It sets the regulatory content of waste registers which must be kept up to date by:

  • Operators of establishments producing or dispatching waste, excavated soil, and sediments;
  • Collectors and transporters of waste, excavated soil, and sediments;
  • Dealers and brokers of waste, excavated soil, and sediments;
  • Operators of waste transfer, consolidation, or treatment facilities for waste, excavated soil, and sediments;
  • Persons recovering excavated soil and sediments;
  • Persons preparing waste for reuse, recycling, or other recovery operations for such waste, including when it ceases to be waste.

These registers are kept for at least 3 years and can be kept in paper or electronic format.

As a reminder, households and individuals using public waste collection services for the waste concerned are exempt from the obligation to keep a register of waste produced or dispatched.

Extension of the scope of assessments concerning the management of products, materials, and waste before demolition / renovation

(Construction and Housing Code – article R. 126-8)

The regulatory scope of the surveys concerning the management of products, materials, and waste before demolition / renovation is extended.

Henceforth, this obligation applies to demolition or significant renovation of the following buildings:

  • Those for which the cumulative floor area of all concerned buildings is greater than 1,000 m²;
  • Those concerning at least one building that has hosted an agricultural, industrial, or commercial activity and has been the site of the use, storage, manufacture, or distribution of one or more substances classified as hazardous.

Prevention of Plastic Pellet Loss

(Environmental Code – article D. 541-362)

Decree No. 2021-461 of April 16, 2021, establishes the implementation procedures for the prevention of industrial plastic pellet loss into the environment.

Therefore, any operator of a site for the production, handling, and transport of industrial plastic pellets must, from January 1st January 2022, adopt procedures preventing the dispersion of pellets of industrial plastics into the environment.

Audits of the procedures must be implemented within one year from the implementation of the procedures, then at least every three years, under the responsibility of the operator.

Company Vehicle Tax

(General Tax Code – Article 1010)

The 2021 Finance Act amends, as of January 1,st 2022, the regulations concerning the company vehicle tax. In this context, passenger vehicles used in France for economic activities are subject to two independent taxes instead of just one:

  • An annual tax on carbon dioxide emissions;
  • An annual tax on atmospheric pollutant emissions.

Any company liable for these taxes is also required to draw up an annual summary statement of the vehicles it uses that are subject to the tax.
It must be up-to-date by the declaration date at the latest, made available to the administration, and provided upon request.

Provisions expiring on January 1,st 2022, in Environment

Prior declaration request under heading 1510 of the ICPE nomenclature

(Decree No. 2020-1169 of September 24, 2020)

Operators of classified facilities under heading 1510 (Covered warehouses) regularly commissioned before January 1,st 2021 and whose regime or scope has changed following the amendment of heading 1510 and the publication of Decree No. 2020-1169 of September 24, 2020, must notify the prefect, among others, before January 1, 2022.

Reporting obligation for classified facilities newly covered by the amended decrees of October 3, 2010, and September 24, 2020

(Decree of October 3, 2010 – article 1. V. / Decree of September 24, 2020 – article I.1.V.)

Operators of classified facilities subject to authorization under one or more other categories than categories n°1436, 4330, 4331, 4722, 4734, 4742, 4743, 4744, 4746, 4747 or 4748, or for crude oil under one or more of categories n°4510 or 4511 newly covered by the decree of October 3, 2010 amended, relating to the storage of flammable liquids in manufactured above-ground tanks, and the decree of September 24, 2020 relating to the storage of flammable liquids in mobile containers, must notify the prefect and the classified facilities inspectorate no later than January 1, 2022.

To this end, they must provide:

  • Information relating to the nature, volumes, and storage configurations or methods of use of flammable liquids, in particular the properties, quantities present, characteristics of the facilities (above-ground, underground tanks, mobile containers, fusible and non-fusible containers, other storage, other places of use such as reactors, columns, etc.), and their locations on the site;
  • A compliance report with respect to this or these texts.

More specifically, this reporting applies only to facilities newly covered by these texts due to the presence of hazardous substances or mixtures with hazard statements H224, H225, H226, and HP3 classified flammable liquid waste within all facilities regulated by the prefectural authorization decree, where quantities exceed 1,000 tonnes, or 100 tonnes in fusible containers.

New Regulatory Provisions in Energy

Energy and Environmental Performance Requirements for New Buildings

(Order of August 4, 2021)

The Environmental Regulation 2020 (RE2020) comes into force on January 1st , 2022.

The energy and environmental performance requirements of the RE2020 apply, from this date, to the construction of buildings or parts of buildings for residential use and:

  • From July 1st , 2022 to the construction of buildings or parts of buildings for office use, or for primary or secondary education;
  • As of January 1st , 2023, to extensions of these constructions and to temporary constructions.

In this context, the Order of August 4, 2021, relating to the energy and environmental performance requirements for building constructions in mainland France and approving the calculation method provided for in Article R. 172-6 of the Construction and Housing Code, sets the energy and environmental performance requirements that new buildings located in mainland France must comply with under the RE2020.

Capping of annual GHG emissions for fossil fuel power generation facilities

(Energy Code – Article D. 311-7-2)

In order to take into account the objectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing primary energy consumption from fossil fuels, an emissions cap is made applicable, as of January 1st , 2022, to fossil fuel power generation facilities located in mainland France and emitting more than 0.55 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.2/MWh of electricity produced.

The cap is set at 0.7 kilotonne CO2 per year per MW of installed capacity.

This cap does not apply to electricity generation facilities deemed authorized, including:

  • Facilities primarily using fossil fuels other than natural gas and coal, with an installed capacity of less than 10 MW;
  • Facilities primarily using natural gas, with an installed capacity of less than 20 MW;
  • Facilities using solar energy, with an installed capacity of less than 50 MW;
  • Facilities using wind energy, with an installed capacity of less than 50 MW;
  • Facilities that recover household or similar waste, with the exception of facilities using biogas, with an installed capacity of less than 50 MW;
  • Other electricity generation facilities using renewable energy sources that have undergone a competitive bidding process, with an installed capacity of less than 300 MW.

New Regulatory Provisions for Safety

Obligation for certain Public Access Buildings (ERP) to have an automated external defibrillator

(Construction and Housing Code – article R. 157-1)

The obligation to have an automated external defibrillator (AED) extends, as of January 1, 2022, to the following Category 5 Public Access Buildings (ERP):

  • Care facilities for the elderly;
  • Facilities for people with disabilities;
  • Healthcare facilities;
  • Train stations;
  • High-altitude hotel-restaurants;
  • Mountain shelters;
  • Enclosed and covered sports facilities, as well as multi-purpose sports halls.

Furthermore, the operator must register their AED in the national database Géo’DAE

Digitalization of notifications for decisions regarding AT/MP contribution rates

(Social Security Code – Article L. 242-5)

As of 1st January 2022, employers of companies with fewer than 10 employees must subscribe to the AT/MP Account online service, accessible on the website https://www.net-entreprises.fr/

This requirement has already been in effect since 2021 for companies employing between 10 and 149 employees, and since 2020 for others.

Additional deadline for implementing the new radiation protection organization

(Decree No. 2021-1091 of August 18, 2021 – Article 3)

End, by 11st January 2022, of the transitional period for the implementation of the new radiation protection organization.

In this context, as of this date,

  • The duties of the radiation protection advisor (RPA) can no longer be assigned to a competent person in radiation protection (CPRP) internal or external to the establishment;
  • Initial verifications must be carried out in accordance with the decree of October 23, 2020, relating to measurements performed as part of risk assessment and verifications of the effectiveness of prevention measures implemented for worker protection against risks due to ionizing radiation;
  • Verification of radon activity concentration in the air, when the area is designated as a radon zone, must be carried out by an accredited body.

Conclusion

Finally, in this context, we invite you to carefully check if some of these regulatory provisions apply to you and, if so and if not already done, to study them precisely and implement them.

‍