Transport Canada this week published its Gazette II notice with respect to changes to PART 7 of the TDG regulations covering Emergency Response Assistance Plans (ERAP).
The TDG Act requires any person importing or offering for transport certain higher risk dangerous goods (for example chlorine, propane, crude oil) in quantities specified by the TDG Regulations to have an approved ERAP. In cases where no person is importing or offering for transport, persons handling or transporting these dangerous goods require an ERAP. These changes are the results of several recommendations stemming from the Lac-Megantic tragedy in July 2013.
The regulations are effective June 1, 2019 and come into full force following a nine-month transition period (end February 2020).
For complete details of the amended regulations, please click here. Carriers are encouraged to review the regulatory impact assessment contained in the Gazette II notice with respect to: (i) Initial notification through ERAP incident report, (ii) Specifying who needs an ERAP, and (iii) Changes to shipping document.