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The development of digital administration, or "e-government," is now a priority objective for public authorities. The effects of this policy are particularly visible in the field of HSE regulations, with the accelerated development in recent years of HSE e-procedures offered or imposed on companies. An overview of these online services that are now part of the daily life of HSE functions.
E-procedures for classified installations
Annual declaration of pollutant emissions and waste (GEREP)
Since 2012, operators of classified installations (ICPE) subject to authorization or registration have been required to electronically declare their annual data on water and atmospheric discharges, waste production, and/or water withdrawals via the GEREP website. Until 2012, this annual declaration could still be sent in writing to the ICPE inspectorate, as the use of the GEREP tool remained optional.
Today, the online GEREP declaration must be completed by March 31st following the calendar year in question. Only discharges and withdrawals exceeding the regulatory thresholds must be declared (e.g., quantity of hazardous waste > 2 t/year, volume of water withdrawn from the natural environment > 7,000 m3/year, atmospheric VOC emissions > 30 t/year, etc.).
Transmission of self-monitoring data (GIDAF)
The GIDAF tool (Computerized Management of Frequent Self-Monitoring Data) has been available since 2009 to ICPE operators required to measure their surface water discharges at least once a year. The initial objective was to allow the operators concerned to electronically transmit their self-monitoring discharge data to the ICPE inspectorate, responsible for checking compliance with emission limit values, and to the Water Agency, responsible for collecting water pollution fees.
Since January1st , 2015, the use of GIDAF has become mandatory for any operator whose prefectural order and/or ministerial order requires them to transmit self-monitoring results to the ICPE inspectorate or the prefect, "except in cases of technical impossibility." In practice, the GIDAF application currently allows for the declaration of surface water discharges, as well as groundwater monitoring data and legionella analysis results for cooling towers.
HSE e-procedures for ICPE
Since early 2016, the Service Public website has provided an online service for completing administrative procedures for ICPEs (Installations Classified for Environmental Protection) subject to the declaration regime: ICPE online declaration :
- Submission of an initial declaration file before commissioning an installation
- Declaration of modification to an installation resulting in a significant change to the initial declaration file
- Notification of permanent cessation of activity for an installation
- Declaration of change of operator for an installation
- Declaration of grandfathering rights
For initial declarations, the computerized system automatically issues proof of submission once the file is complete. The installation may be commissioned immediately, unless the file requires an opinion from the ICPE inspection service (e.g., a file requesting a change to applicable requirements), in which case this caveat will be noted on the proof of submission.
Until December 31, 2020, the aforementioned procedures may still be carried out in writing by submitting or sending the required documents to the prefecture department in charge of managing ICPE administrative procedures. For this purpose, Cerfa forms, which can also be downloaded from the Service Public website, must now be used:
- Cerfa 15271*02 - Initial declaration of an ICPE subject to the declaration regime
- Cerfa 15272*02 - Declaration of modification of an ICPE subject to the declaration regime
- Cerfa 15273*02 - Declaration of change of operator of an ICPE subject to the declaration regime
- Cerfa 15274*02 - Declaration of grandfathering rights for an ICPE subject to the declaration regime
- Cerfa 15275*02 - Notification of cessation of activity of an ICPE subject to the declaration regime
As of January 1, 2021, paper-based procedures will no longer be possible. All procedures must be completed online via the Service Public website.
Note: These provisions primarily concern sites operating only ICPEs subject to declaration. The use of the new online service and Cerfa forms remains optional for sites operating ICPEs subject to authorization, as declared ICPEs are difficult to process separately due to their interconnected nature.
Inventory of hazardous substances and mixtures at Seveso sites
Operators of Seveso sites are required to inventory all hazardous substances, mixtures, and waste present at their facility every 4 years. This inventory consists of listing all hazardous substances and mixtures, specifying their classification under the CLP regulation, their physical state, and the maximum quantity likely to be present.
It must be prepared as of December 31 of the relevant year and then entered online before February 15 of the following year at the following address: https://seveso3.din.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/. As an exceptional measure, the first census based on the CLP classification of substances and mixtures to be carried out as of December 31, 2015, may be completed until April 1st , 2016 inclusive.
Waste-related online procedures
Notification of transboundary waste shipments (GISTRID)
Since the end of 2015, the processing of transboundary waste shipment applications has been transferred from the DREALs to a national center for transboundary waste shipments, located in Metz. Alongside this transfer, a new online service called GISTRID (Gestion par Internet du Suivi des Transferts Internationaux de Déchets) was implemented.
Accessible at https://gistrid.din.developpement-durable.gouv.fr, this online service allows you to perform the following procedures online:
- Submission of shipment notification files
- Tracking the processing status of submitted notification files
- Management of movement documents, once consent for the shipment has been obtained from the competent authorities of the states concerned
As a reminder, shipments of all waste intended for disposal and hazardous waste intended for recovery are subject to the prior written notification and consent procedure, which is now handled via GISTRID.
Paper contribution
Any company that has externally issued a cumulative total of at least 5 tonnes of printed paper[1] during a calendar year is required to file a declaration and pay a contribution to the organization Ecofolio. The same applies to any company that has placed at least 5 tonnes of blank copy paper on the market. The procedure is as follows:
- Before March 1, the company declares the tonnage of paper issued during 2015 on the Ecofolio website
- Before March 31, Ecofolio notifies the company of the amount of the contribution due
- Before April 30, the company pays the contribution to Ecofolio
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes (SYDEREP)
Manufacturers, importers, and private-label retailers of certain products are required to contribute financially to the collection and treatment of waste generated by their products. This is the principle of "Extended Producer Responsibility" (EPR). To demonstrate compliance with their obligations, the producers concerned must declare annually both the quantities of products placed on the market and the corresponding quantities of waste collected and treated at their expense.
The SYDEREP website (EPR reporting system) is used to submit mandatory annual declarations for the following sectors:
- electrical and electronic equipment
- batteries and accumulators
- tires
- end-of-life vehicles
In practice, the majority of producers concerned delegate their obligations to an approved eco-organization, which then handles the declarations on SYDEREP.
Note: The quantities of fluorinated greenhouse gases (GHG), including refrigerants, placed on the market, sold, charged into equipment, and treated are also declared annually in SYDEREP.
HSE online procedures for environmental taxation
General Tax on Polluting Activities (Prodouane)
Starting with the 2016 declaration (covering 2015 data), companies liable for a TGAP amount exceeding €100,000 are required to file and pay the tax online via the Prodouane portal: https://pro.douane.gouv.fr/
When the amount of TGAP due is less than €100,000, the online procedure remains optional for 2016, but will become mandatory for all liable companies starting in 2017. For companies using online filing and payment, an additional one-month extension is granted to submit the declaration and pay the first installment. These formalities can therefore be completed until May 31, instead of April 30 for the paper-based procedure sent to the Nice TGAP customs office.
N.B.: The TGAP related to the operation of ICPEs subject to authorization is collected directly by the ICPE inspection services. It does not require an annual declaration and is therefore not affected by these provisions.
Water agency fees
Water agency fees can now be declared online via a dedicated portal, accessible at the following address: https://teleservices.lesagencesdeleau.fr/. This online service allows for the declaration of all fees, in particular those for water resource abstraction and non-domestic water pollution.
Just like the paper-based declaration, the online declaration must be completed before April 1 following the calendar year for which the fees are due.
HSE online procedures for environmental reporting obligations
Greenhouse gas emissions reports
Future greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reports for companies with over 500 employees must be published via an online platform hosted by the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME) at the following address: http://www.bilans-ges.ademe.fr/
As a reminder, the initial GHG emissions reports for December 31, 2012, and December 31, 2015, had to be emailed to the regional prefect of the company's registered office and posted online for at least one month on the company's website, or failing that, on the regional prefecture's website.
Regulatory energy audits
A national online platform is expected to launch in the spring of 2016 for submitting regulatory energy audit reports. This applies to companies with more than 250 employees OR an annual turnover exceeding €50 million AND a balance sheet total exceeding €43 million.
Reminder: The Ministry of Ecology has granted a 7-month extension for completing the first energy audits. Affected companies have until June 30, 2016, to provide proof of their audit completion or ISO 50001 certification for their energy management system, provided the process was initiated by December 5, 2015.
Health and safety online procedures
Declaration of commissioning for pressure equipment (LUNE)
Since April 1st 2015, the declaration of commissioning for pressure equipment subject to this requirement (e.g., autoclaves, steam boilers, etc., meeting specific pressure and volume criteria) must be completed via the LUNE online service at the following address: https://lune.application.developpement-durable.gouv.fr
Once the online declaration is submitted, the LUNE tool allows you to download the submission receipt and the declaration details. These documents must be kept in the technical file for the relevant pressure equipment.
Reporting workplace and commuting accidents (Net-entreprises)
Created in 2000 by all social protection agencies, the website http://www.net-entreprises.fr allows companies to complete most mandatory social declarations. It specifically enables the reporting of workplace and commuting accidents through online HSE procedures or by uploading a file generated by payroll or management software.
The reporting deadline remains the same as for paper forms: the employer must report the accident no later than 48 hours after becoming aware of it.
Exposure to occupational hardship factors (Net-entreprises)
The Nominative Social Declaration (DSN), which serves as the medium for declaring employee exposure to occupational hardship factors, is also completed on the http://www.net-entreprises.fr website.
In conclusion, it is clear that the majority of the online services presented above have been launched since the beginning of 2015, which tends to confirm an acceleration of the trend. While the initial objective is indeed to facilitate procedures and exchanges between companies and the administration, completing all these formalities for HSE online procedures, even in a paperless format, remains very time-consuming and energy-intensive, particularly for HSE departments. Furthermore, getting to grips with a new online service may require a learning period and varying degrees of adaptation within each company (e.g., modifying procedures, internal software, computer files, etc.). To be able to fulfill all its reporting obligations via HSE online procedures on time, a company must therefore always rigorously track its regulatory deadlines and plan ahead.
[1] E.g., catalogs, sales brochures, annual reports, etc. As of 2017, posters, instruction leaflets, and user manuals will also be included.