EHS teleprocedures: observation, service multiplication

The development of digital administration, or "e-administration", is now one of the public authorities' top priorities. The effects of this policy can be seen in particular in the field of EHS regulations, with the accelerated development in recent years of EHS tele-procedures offered or imposed on companies. Here's an overview of these teleservices, which are now part of the daily routine of EHS functions.

`Teleprocedures` EHS for classified installations

Annual declaration of pollutant emissions and waste (GEREP)

Since 2012, operators of classified facilities (ICPE) subject to authorization or registration have been required to submit their annual data on aqueous 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, while use of the GEREP tool remained optional.

Today, the online GEREP declaration must be made by March 31 following the calendar year in question. Only discharges and withdrawals exceeding 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 2 t/year, Volume of water withdrawn from the natural environment 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 emissions of VOC > 30 t/year, etc.).

Transmission of self-monitoring data (GIDAF)

Since 2009, the GIDAF tool (Gestion Informatisée des Données d'Autosurveillance Fréquente - Computerized management of frequent self-monitoring data) has been available to ICPE operators who are required to measure their discharges into surface waters at least once a year. The initial aim was to enable operators to electronically transmit their discharge self-monitoring data to the ICPE inspectorate, responsible for monitoring compliance with emission limit values, and to the Water Agency, responsible for collecting water pollution charges.

Since January^1, 2015, GIDAF has been mandatory for all operators whose prefectoral order and/or ministerial decree 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 only groundwater monitoring data and legionella analysis results for cooling towers to be reported, in addition to surface water discharges.

ICPE EHS teleprocedures

Since the beginning of 2016, the public service website has made available a teleservice enabling the following administrative procedures to be carried out for ICPEs subject to the declaration regime: the ICPE teledeclaration:

Filing an initial declaration before commissioning a facility
Declaration of modification to an installation involving a significant change to the initial declaration file
Notification of definitive shutdown of a facility
Declaration of change of operator of a facility
Declaration of benefit of anteriority

For initial declarations, the computerized system automatically issues a proof of submission of the file, as soon as it is complete. The installation can be commissioned immediately, unless the file requires the opinion of the ICPE inspectorate (e.g.: file with a request for modification of the applicable requirements), in which case this reservation is noted on the proof of filing.

Until December 31, 2020, the above-mentioned procedures can still be carried out in writing, by submitting or sending the required documents to the prefecture department responsible for the administrative management of ICPE procedures. Cerfa forms, which can also be downloaded from the Service Public website, must now be used for this purpose:

Cerfa 15271*02 - Initial declaration of an ICPE subject to the declaration regime
Cerfa 15272*02 - Declaration of the 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 - Déclaration du bénéfice des droits acquis d'une ICPE relevant du régime de déclaration (French only)
Cerfa 15275*02 - Notification of the cessation of activity of an ICPE subject to the declaration regime

From January 1, 2021, paper-based procedures will no longer be possible. All procedures will have to be carried out online via the Service Public website.

N.B.: These provisions mainly concern sites operating only ICPEs subject to declaration. Use of the new teleservice and Cerfa forms remains optional for sites operating ICPEs subject to authorization, insofar as declared ICPEs can hardly be the subject of separate procedures due to their related nature.

Inventory of hazardous substances and mixtures at Seveso sites

Every 4 years, operators of Seveso sites are required to carry out an inventory of the hazardous substances, mixtures and waste present on their premises. 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 completed by December 31st of the year in question, and entered online by the following February 15th at the following address: https://seveso3.din.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/. By way of exception, the first census based on the CLP classification of substances and mixtures to be carried out on December 31, 2015 may be completed up to and including April^1, 2016.

Tele-procedures for waste management

Notification of transboundary waste shipments (GISTRID)

Since the end of 2015, the investigation of cross-border waste shipment dossiers has been transferred from the DREALs to a national cross-border waste shipment hub, located in Metz. In parallel with this transfer, a new teleservice called GISTRID (Gestion par Internet du Suivi des Transferts Internationaux de Déchets) has been set up.

Accessible at https://gistrid.din.developpement-durable.gouv.fr, this teleservice enables you to carry out the following procedures online:

Submission of transfer notification files
Consultation on the status of notification files submitted
Management of movement documents, after obtaining transfer consents from the competent authorities of the States concerned

As a reminder, shipments of all waste for disposal and hazardous waste for recovery are subject to the prior written notification and consent procedure now handled under GISTRID.

Contribution on paper

Any company issuing externally at least 5 tonnes of printed paper[1] in a calendar year is required to make a declaration and pay a contribution to 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 1st, the company declares the tonnage of paper issued during 2015 on the Ecofolio website.
Before March 31st, Ecofolio notifies the company of the amount of the contribution it has to pay
Before April 30, the company pays the contribution to Ecofolio

Extended producer responsibility channels (SYDEREP)

Manufacturers, importers and own-brand retailers of certain products are required to contribute financially to the collection and treatment of waste from their products. This is the principle of "extended producer responsibility" (EPR). To demonstrate that they are fulfilling their obligations, the producers concerned must declare each year, on the one hand, the quantities of products placed on the market, and on the other, the corresponding quantities of waste collected and treated at their expense.

The SYDEREP website (System for declaring EPR sectors) enables mandatory annual declarations to be made for the following sectors:

electrical and electronic equipment
batteries and accumulators
tires
end-of-life vehicles

In practice, most of the producers concerned delegate their obligations to an approved eco-organization, which then makes the declarations to SYDEREP.

Note: The quantities of fluorinated greenhouse gases (GHGs), including refrigerants, placed on the market, sold, charged into equipment and processed are also reported annually in SYDEREP.

EHS electronic procedures for environmental taxation

General tax on polluting activities (Prodouane)

As of the 2016 declaration (concerning 2015 data), companies liable for a TGAP amount in excess of €100,000 are required to declare and pay the tax online via the Prodouane portal: https://pro.douane.gouv.fr/

Where the amount of TGAP due remains below €100,000, remote filing remains optional in 2016, but will be made compulsory for all companies liable for payment in 2017. For companies using remote declaration and payment, an additional month is allowed to complete the declaration and pay the first instalment. These formalities can now be completed by May 31, instead of April 30 for the Nice TGAP customs office.

N.B.: TGAP related to the operation of ICPEs subject to authorization is collected directly by 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 https://teleservices.lesagencesdeleau.fr/. This teleservice can be used to declare all water charges, in particular those for water abstraction and non-domestic water pollution.

As with paper declarations, electronic declarations must be made by April 1 following the calendar year for which the royalties are due.

EHS teleprocedures for environmental reporting obligations

Greenhouse gas emission reports

The next greenhouse gas (GHG) emission balances for companies with over 500 employees will be published via an IT platform hosted by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) at the following address: http://www.bilans-ges.ademe.fr/

As a reminder, the first GHG emission balances drawn up on December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2015, had to be e-mailed to the regional prefect of the company's head office and posted online for at least 1 month on the company's website, or failing that, on the regional prefecture's website.

Regulatory energy audits

A national IT platform is due to go live in spring 2016 for the submission of regulatory energy audit reports required of companies with more than 250 employees OR annual sales exceeding €50 million AND balance sheet total exceeding €43 million.

Reminder: The French Ministry of Ecology has decided to grant an additional 7 months for the completion of the first energy audits. The companies concerned have until June 30, 2016 to provide proof of completion of their audit or ISO 50001 certification of their energy management system, provided that they have begun the process by December 5, 2015.

Tele-procedures for health and safety at work

Declaration of commissioning of pressure equipment (LUNE)

Since April^1, 2015, the declaration of commissioning of pressure equipment subject to this obligation (e.g. autoclaves, steam boilers, etc. meeting certain pressure and volume characteristics) must be made via the LUNE teleservice accessible at the following address: https://lune.application.developpement-durable.gouv.fr

Once the declaration has been submitted online, the LUNE tool allows you to download the proof of submission and the declaration contents. These documents must be kept in the technical file for the pressure equipment concerned.

Declaration of accidents at work and commuting accidents (Net-entreprises)

Created in 2000 on the initiative of all social security organizations, http://www.net-entreprises.fr enables companies to make the majority of compulsory social security declarations. In particular, they can declare accidents at work and commuting accidents, by entering EHS teleprocedures online, or by submitting a file generated by payroll or management software.

The reporting deadline remains the same as for the paper form, i.e. the employer must report the accident no later than 48 hours after becoming aware of it.

Exposure to risk factors (Net-entreprises)

The Déclaration sociale nominative (DSN) used to declare employees' exposure to risk factors is also available on the http://www.net-entreprises.fr website.

In conclusion, we can see that the majority of the teleservices presented above have been launched since the beginning of 2015, which tends to confirm an acceleration of the phenomenon. While the initial aim is to facilitate procedures and exchanges between companies and the administration, the completion of all these EHS teleprocedure formalities, even in a dematerialized way, remains very time- and energy-consuming for EHS departments in particular. What's more, getting to grips with a new teleservice may require a learning curve, with each company having to adapt to varying degrees (e.g. by modifying procedures, internal software, computer files, etc.). In order to meet all its EHS teleprocedure reporting obligations on time, a company must always keep a close eye on its regulatory deadlines, and plan ahead.

[1] E.g.: Catalogues, Sales brochures, Activity reports... As of 2017, posters, instruction leaflets and user manuals will also be concerned.

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Teleprocedures EHS for classified installations