CFB Kingston failed environmental compliance for refrigerant leaks

CFB Kingston failed federal environmental compliance inspections regarding refrigerant leaks, according to internal National Defence documents. Environment and Climate Change Canada warned the department earlier this year that the base violated halocarbon regulations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

An inspection revealed that the base failed to conduct and log necessary leak tests on five rooftop air conditioning units during 2023. The base reportedly experienced three large halocarbon releases, each exceeding 100 kilograms, within the last two years. Halocarbons are greenhouse gases linked to climate change and ozone depletion.

A memo signed by Peter Hammerschmidt, assistant deputy minister for infrastructure and environment at National Defence, attributed the non-compliance to limited maintenance resources and insufficient use of the Defence Resource Management Information System for record-keeping. While such violations can result in fines, the memo indicates no fines will be issued because the issue has been resolved.

While CFB Kingston has received only one warning in the last decade, National Defence has faced 37 similar enforcement measures across other establishments during that period, mostly due to administrative or maintenance deficiencies.