A recent successful prosecution by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) highlights the responsibility on a seller of the dry-cleaning fluid commonly known as PERC to ensure that its purchaser’s dry-cleaning facility meets regulatory equipment specifications.
On December 10, 2018, GFL Environmental Inc. was sentenced after pleading guilty in the Ontario Court of Justice to violating federal environmental legislation. The company was fined $300,000, which will be directed to the Environmental Damages Fund.
After an investigation led by ECCC enforcement officers, charges were laid and GFL Environmental Inc. pleaded guilty to two counts of contravening the Tetrachloroethylene (Use in Dry Cleaning and Reporting Requirements) Regulations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 for selling tetrachloroethylene to owners or operators of dry-cleaning facilities that did not meet regulatory standards.
The Regulations prohibit anyone from selling tetrachloroethylene to dry cleaners unless the dry-cleaning facility is compliant with the equipment specifications set out in the Regulations, which aim to reduce releases into the environment.
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Manning Environmental Law is a Canadian law firm based in Toronto, Ontario. Our practice is focussed on environmental law, energy law and aboriginal law.
Paul Manning is a certified specialist in environmental law. He has been named as one of the World’s Leading Environmental Lawyers and one of the World’s Leading Climate Change Lawyers by Who’s Who Legal.
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