The Government is committed to minimizing Bermuda’s contribution to global warming/climate change. It continues to implement the requirements of the Montreal Protocol 1987, and subsequent amendments, to address the releases and impact of ozone-depleting and greenhouse-gas-forming refrigerant gases. As part of this commitment, the Refrigerant Handlers Permitting system was introduced by the Department of Environment & Natural Resources (DENR) using requirements under the Clean Air Act 1991.

DENR requires all service personnel of residential or commercial HVAC systems and personnel who fill gases into refrigeration, chiller or freezer units to have a Refrigerant Handlers’ Permit. To obtain a permit, personnel will need to take a course and exam to the requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA Section 608) at Bermuda College. Other qualifications can also be assessed and considered for equivalency by the technical point of contact at Bermuda College. Full details are available at: https://www.gov.bm/online-services/apply-refrigerant-handler-permit.

Over the next few months, many of the current 5-year Refrigerant Handlers’ Permits are due to expire. Persons wanting to renew their Refrigerant Handlers’ Permit are requested to bring the following to DENR:

1. Completed application form and fee ($220).
2. Confirmation from Mr. Cannoth Roberts at Bermuda College (Tel: 236-9000 ext. 4492, croberts@college.bm) that you have been working or studying for 3 or more years in the Refrigerant Industry over the 5-year permit period. 
3. Self-employed refrigerant handlers will need to show Mr. Roberts that their business is registered with the Registrar of Companies in order to count towards the 3+ year requirement.
4. Confirmation that you have attended one Refrigerant Workshop Meeting in 2020 at Bermuda College to provide progress, updates and feedback on refrigerant practices. Options for the meeting include: Wednesday, 18th March; Wednesday, 25th March; and Thursday, 26th March 2020, 6pm to 7.30pm. Please notify DENR at pollutioncontrol@gov.bm of which date you will attend.

To reflect the timeline of the soon-to-expire permits and the dates of the forthcoming workshops at Bermuda College, all permits that are due to expire before 31st May 2020 have had their effective expiry date extended to the 1st June 2020. A letter reflecting this adjustment has been emailed out to all Refrigerant Handlers. If your email address has recently changed, then please notify DENR at pollutioncontrol@gov.bm with your permit number.

Update: Monday, March 16th 2020 - Please note that the following meetings of the permitted refrigerant handlers planned at Bermuda College for Wednesday 18th March, Wednesday 25th March and Thursday 26th March 2020 have been postponed until further notice.

Future dates for these meetings will be provided in due course. This information will also be sent directly to the known contact details of the existing permitted refrigerant handlers and HVAC companies on record.

To address concerns over the soon-to-expire permits, where renewal requires attendance of these meetings, all existing permits that are due to expire have had their effective expiry date now extended to 31st July 2020.

Contact the Department of Environment and Natural Resources at pollutioncontrol@gov.bm with any questions or concerns.