New Substances Notification Advisory Note 01-01

This advisory note outlines the current status of the proposed New Substances Fees Regulations, briefly explains the proposed Regulations, and advises of the 60-day comment period associated with the pre-publication of the proposed Regulations in Part I of the Canada Gazette.

The Treasury Board Cost Recovery and Charging Policy requires that government departments consider ways to recover costs for programs that confer benefits on certain groups or individuals beyond those received by the general public. Multi-stakeholder consultations have determined that the New Substances Notification Program falls into this category, as it provides some services of direct benefit to notifiers. The Minister of the Environment is, therefore, proposing to use the authority provided under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), 1999, to charge fees to recover part of the cost of processing and assessing notifications for new chemicals and polymers. The fees will be collected under the proposed regulations developed under section 328 of CEPA, 1999. The proposed regulations do not apply to new substances that are biotechnology products (e.g., biochemicals, biopolymers, microorganisms, organisms).

The proposed New Substances Fees Regulations have been approved by the ministers of Environment Canada and Health Canada, and the President of Treasury Board, and were pre-published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on Saturday, June 30th, 2001. You may obtain a copy of the publication from the New Substances Program Web site or the Environmental Registry Web site.

The proposed New Substances Fees Regulations were developed by Environment Canada and Health Canada after consulting with a number of key parties, including Industry Canada, Treasury Board and the chemical industry. Non-government organizations were also invited to participate. Environment Canada will be responsible for administering the Regulations.

Once the proposed New Substances Fees Regulations have been registered and published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, all applicants will be required to pay the prescribed fees at the time their notification assessment or special service is requested. Omission of proper payment in the notification package will delay the assessment process. The fee is payable to the Receiver General by certified cheque or money order.

The fee for a notification assessment ranges from $50 to $3,500, with reductions available for staged, matched, or consolidated notifications, and for notifiers having annual sales in Canada that total $40 million (Canadian) or less. The proposed New Substances Fees Regulations also include fees for special services such as a confidential search of the Domestic Substances List or the Non-domestic Substances List, masked name requests, and Four Corners Agreement submissions.

Any person may, within 60 days after pre-publication in the Canada Gazette, Part I, 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 CEPA, 1999, and stating the reasons for the objection. All comments and notices must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of the pre-publication, and be addressed to David McBain, Acting Director of the New Substances Branch, Department of the Environment, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0H3, by fax to 819-953-7155, or by electronic mail to nsn-infoline@ec.gc.ca.

A Cost Recovery Advisory Committee consisting of government and industry representatives will also be established to review fees and services, and to recommend amendments if warranted.

A guide to the New Substances Fees Regulations will be available to assist notifiers in understanding the regulations and in determining the applicable fee for a notification assessment. The guide will be available in hard copy and on the New Substances Program Web site.

Sincerely,

David McBain
A/Director, New Substances Branch Environment Canada