Draft Environmental Performance Agreement Respecting 2-Butoxyethanol

This is a notification of public consultation for a proposed Environmental Performance Agreement with Health Canada, Environment Canada, the Canadian Paint and Coatings Association (CPCA) and paint and coatings companies.

The Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Health have determined that 2-butoxyethanol ("2-BE") is entering the environment in a quantity or concentration or under conditions that constitute or may constitute a danger in Canada to human life or health, under paragraph 64(c) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 ("CEPA 1999").

Pursuant to recommendations made by the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Health, on March 9, 2005, 2-BE was added to the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 of CEPA 1999.

On July 9, 2005, proposed Regulations Respecting 2-Butoxyethanol (the "Regulations") were published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, followed by a 60-day comment period which ended on September 7, 2005; the proposed Regulations seek to establish concentration limits for 2-BE in commercial and consumer products designed for indoor use (e.g. cleaners, paints and coatings). The intent of the Regulations is to prevent exposure of the general public to 2-BE, over the established tolerable concentration.

During the 60-day comment period, paint and coatings companies have stated that commercial paint and coatings are only sold to industrial and commercial applicators and not to the general public. The CPCA therefore suggested, as an alternative to regulations, an Environmental Performance Agreement (EPA) to control commercial paint and coatings and to ensure that the general public is not able to purchase these products.

Please forward your comments before June 23, 2006, to EPA_EPE@ec.gc.ca. You may also contact Guy Gagné for more information at:

Guy Gagné
Controls Development Engineer
Pollution Prevention, Environmental Stewardship Branch
Environment Canada
351 St-Joseph Blvd.
12th floor, Place Vincent Massey
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0H3
(819) 994-5787