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Vol. 138, No. 44 — October 30, 2004 Regulations Amending the New Substances Fees RegulationsStatutory authority Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 Sponsoring departments Department of the Environment and Department of Health REGULATORY IMPACT (This statement is not part of the Regulations.) Description The proposed Regulations Amending the New Substances Fees Regulations (the "proposed Regulations") are necessary to harmonize the New Substances Fees Regulations (NSFR) with the proposed New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers). Historically, the NSFR have applied to the chemicals and polymers portion of the New Substances Notification Regulations (NSNR). Following extensive multistakeholder consultations regarding the notification of new chemicals and polymers, the NSNR will be repealed and replaced with two distinct regulations pursuant to subsections 89(1) and 114(1) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999: the proposed New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers) [NSNR (Chemicals and Polymers)] and the proposed New Substances Notification Regulations (Organisms) [NSNR (Organisms)]. The NSFR, as amended by the proposed Regulations, will apply only to the proposed NSNR (Chemicals and Polymers). Structural changes to the NSNR (Chemicals and Polymers) necessitate these harmonization amendments to the NSFR. The proposed Regulations, the NSNR (Chemicals and Polymers), and the NSNR (Organisms) are expected to come into force at the same time in early 2005. Background The NSFR, which came into force January 1, 2003, implement a cost recovery scheme for the notification and assessment processes of the NSNR, as recommended following Environment Canada's 1995 Program Review. The purpose of the cost recovery initiative is to improve efficiency and equity by charging clients or beneficiaries who benefit from services beyond those enjoyed by the general public. The NSFR require notifiers of new chemicals and polymers to submit a fee at the time of notification to partially offset the cost of an assessment. There are also fees associated with other services, including confidential searches, masked name applications, and applications under the Four Corners Arrangement. (see footnote 1) All fees are outlined in Schedules to the NSFR (both in the existing Regulations and with the proposed amendments), and vary depending on the annual sales of the notifier and the specific service provided by the New Substances Program. Proposed amendments to the NSFR In order to harmonize the NSFR with the proposed NSNR (Chemicals and Polymers), it is proposed that the Schedule references be updated as follows:
In addition to changes in Schedule references, the proposed regulatory amendments expand payment options for notifiers to include credit cards (e.g. VISA, MasterCard and American Express). This amendment formalizes a payment policy that has been in effect since February 2004. Alternatives No alternatives were considered because, even though the proposed amendments are minor administrative adjustments, they are still necessary. Benefits and costs Because the proposed amendments do not add, remove or alter the fees for services required under the NSFR, there are no significant benefits or costs anticipated for notifiers or the Government of Canada. The proposed NSNR (Chemicals and Polymers) will require notifications for some new chemicals and polymers to be submitted earlier (or later) than under the existing NSNR. Consequently, while the size of the fee associated with each type of notification will not change, notifiers may be required to submit their payment earlier (or later) than is currently required. In addition, there may be a small incremental benefit to notifiers associated with the expansion of fee payment options to include credit cards. Consultation Because the proposed amendments are minor and administrative and the fees remain the same, no consultation was held. The majority of the minor changes proposed for the NSFR are necessary for harmonization with the NSNR (Chemicals and Polymers), which were the outcome of a consensus-based multistakeholder process. The decision to expand payment options to include credit cards was made in response to a request from industry. In spring 2004, Environment Canada conducted a survey to improve client service delivery, the results of which indicated that 50 percent of notifiers prefer payment by credit card. Compliance and enforcement The proposed amendments will not alter the manner in which the NSFR are enforced. Contacts Mr. David McBain, New Substances Branch, Risk Assessment Directorate, Environment Canada, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0H3, (819) 997-4336 (telephone), (819) 953-7155 (facsimile), david.mcbain@ec.gc.ca (electronic mail), or Ms. Céline Labossière, Regulatory and Economic Analysis Branch, Economic and Regulatory Affairs Directorate, Environment Canada, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0H3, (819) 997-2377 (telephone), (819) 997-2769 (facsimile), celine.labossiere@ec.gc.ca (electronic mail). PROPOSED REGULATORY TEXT Notice is hereby given, pursuant to subsection 332(1) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (see footnote a), that the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Health propose, pursuant to section 328 of that Act, to make the annexed Regulations Amending the New Substances Fees Regulations. Any person may, within 60 days after the date of publication of this notice, file with the Minister of the Environment comments with respect to the proposed Regulations or a notice of objection requesting that a board of review be established under section 333 of that Act and stating the reasons for the objection. All comments and notices must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be sent to David McBain, Director, New Substances Branch, Department of the Environment, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H3. A person who provides information to the Minister may submit with the information a request for confidentiality under section 313 of that Act. Ottawa, September 21, 2004 STÉPHANE DION Ottawa, September 24, 2004 UJJAL DOSANJH REGULATIONS AMENDING THE NEW AMENDMENTS 1. (1) The definitions "LES" and "LIS" in section 1 of the French version of the New Substances Fees Regulations (see footnote 2) are repealed. (2) Section 1 of the French version of the Regulations is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order: « liste extérieure » La liste extérieure des substances tenue à jour par le ministre en application du paragraphe 66(2) de la Loi. (NDSL) « liste intérieure » La liste intérieure des substances tenue à jour par le ministre en application du paragraphe 66(1) de la Loi. (DSL) (3) The expression "(LIS)" at the end of the definition "DSL" in section 1 of the English version of the Regulations is replaced by the expression "(liste intérieure)". (4) The expression "(LES)" at the end of the definition "NDSL" in section 1 of the English version of the Regulations is replaced by the expression "(liste extérieure)". 2. Subsection 2(1) of the Regulations is replaced by the following: 2. (1) These Regulations do not apply to (a) biochemicals and biopolymers regulated under the New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers); and (b) organisms regulated under the New Substances Notification Regulations (Organisms). 3. Section 5 of the Regulations is replaced by the following: 5. Subject to the reductions provided for in sections 6 and 7, a notifier of a new substance who provides the information required under Schedule 5 or 9 to the New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers), and who is not required under those Regulations to provide subsequent information with respect to the same substance, shall pay for the assessment of that substance the amount set out in column 2 of Schedule 2 to these Regulations under the heading corresponding to the notifier's annual sales in Canada, reduced by any amount previously paid for the assessment of that substance in respect of any other schedule to the New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers), if applicable, but the reduction may not result in a negative amount. 4. Section 11 of the Regulations is replaced by the following: 11. The fees payable under sections 3 to 9 shall be paid at the time the service is requested by (a) certified cheque or money order to the Receiver General; or (b) credit card in respect of which the notifier is either the cardholder or an authorized user, if the issuer of the credit card has entered into an agreement with the Government of Canada establishing the conditions of its acceptance and use. 5. Schedules 1 and 2 to the Regulations are replaced by the following: SCHEDULE 1 ASSESSMENT FEES
* Schedule to the New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers). SCHEDULE 2 ASSESSMENT FEES
* Schedule to the New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers). 6. The Regulations are amended by replacing the expression "New Substances Notification Regulations" with the expression "New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers)", wherever it occurs in the following provisions: (a) the definition "notifier" in section 1; (b) sections 3 and 4; and (c) sections 7 and 8. 7. The French version of the Regulations is amended by replacing the expressions "LES" and "LIS" with the expressions "liste extérieure" and "liste intérieure", respectively, wherever they occur in the following provisions: (a) the definition "substance nouvelle" in section 1; and (b) Schedule 3. COMING INTO FORCE 8. These Regulations come into force on the day on which the New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers) come into force. [44-1-o] The Agreement for Sharing of Information Between the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Canada and Health Canada (the Four Corners Arrangement) has focused on providing a mechanism to expedite the introduction of substances newly added to the U.S. Inventory onto Canada’s Non-domestic Substances List, and to identify Canadian data requirements that could be waived based on U.S. assessment of the same new substance. S.C. 1999, c. 33 SOR/2002-374 |
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