The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) gives notice that pursuant to section 96B(3) of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (“Act”), the EPA amends the Fire Fighting Chemicals Group Standard 2017 – HSR002573 (“Group Standard”) as follows:

1. further restrictions on the use of fire fighting foam products containing fluorinated organic compounds (PFAS chemicals) under the Group Standard and associated waste products are added to clause 4;
2. a reference to “waste products” is added to clause 5;
3. references to clause 4 in Schedule 1 are amended;
4. condition 4 of Schedule 1 is made subject to conditions 22 and 23;
5. the reference to clause 4 in condition 6(3) of Schedule 1 is amended;
6. “Part 4 – Fire Fighting Foams”, which sets out specific conditions for fire fighting foams and associated waste products, is added to Schedule 1;
7. defintions of “Act”, “applicable trade waste bylaw”, “Basel Convention”, “Basel Convention General Technical Guidelines on Persistent Organic Pollutant Wastes”, “C6 fluorotelomer fire fighting foam”, “C6 fluorotelomer fire fighting foam waste product”, “contained fire fighting system”, “emergency”, “fire fighting foam”, “fire fighting system”, “HEPA Landfill Acceptance Criteria, “legacy PFAS fire fighting foam”, “legacy PFAS fire fighting foam waste product”, “PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances)”, “PFAS fire fighting foam”, “PFAS free fire fighting foam”, “PFHxS”, “PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid)”, “PFOA-related compounds”, “PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate)”, “small fire extinguisher”, “solid waste product”, “supply”, “uncontained fire fighting system” and “use” are added to Schedule 2;
8. the definition of “asbestos” in Schedule 2 is amended to include reference to Regulation 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations 2016;
9. the definition of “fire fighting chemical” in Schedule 2 is amended to remove reference to suppressant;
10. the defintion of “workplace” in Schedule 2 is amended to include reference to section 20 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015;
11. the definitions of “perfluoroalkyl sulfonate”, “perfluorooctane sulfonate” and “perfluorooctanoic acid” are deleted from Schedule 2; and
12. the explanatory notice is updated to reflect the changes made to the Group Standard.

The amendments to the Group Standard were approved by the EPA on 14 December 2020 and take effect on 18 December 2020.

The Group Standard may be inspected free of charge during normal business hours at the EPA office, purchased from the EPA or viewed in full at www.epa.govt.nz.

EPA Contact Details: Level 10, Grant Thornton House, 215 Lambton Quay, Wellington 6011, New Zealand. Telephone: (04) 916 2426 or 0800 CALL EPA (0800 225 537). Email: info@epa.govt.nz.