Vol. 144, No. 8 — April 14, 2010

Registration

SOR/2010-79 April 1, 2010

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION ACT

Regulations Amending the Ocean Dumping Permit Fee Regulations (Site Monitoring) (Miscellaneous Program)

P.C. 2010-447 April 1, 2010

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of the Environment and the Treasury Board, pursuant to paragraph 19.1(a) (see footnote a) of the Financial Administration Act (see footnote b), hereby makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Ocean Dumping Permit Fee Regulations (Site Monitoring) (Miscellaneous Program).

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE OCEAN DUMPING PERMIT FEE REGULATIONS (SITE MONITORING) (MISCELLANEOUS PROGRAM)

AMENDMENTS

1. The title of the Ocean Dumping Permit Fee Regulations (Site Monitoring) (see footnote 1) is replaced by the following:

DISPOSAL AT SEA PERMIT FEE REGULATIONS

2. Section 1 of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

1. The words and expressions used in these Regulations have the same meaning as in Division 3 of Part 7 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

3. Section 2 of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

2. The holder of a permit granted under section 127 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 shall pay to the Receiver General, for the permit, a fee of $470 for every 1 000 m³, or portion thereof, of dredged material or inert, inorganic geological matter, that is authorized by the permit to be disposed of at sea.

COMING INTO FORCE

4. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT
ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issue and objectives

Fees for disposal of dredged material and excavated material (inert, inorganic geological matter) in Canadian marine waters are assessed through the Ocean Dumping Permit Fee Regulations (the Regulations) made under the Financial Administration Act. All legal references made by the Regulations are to the former Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) and not the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999). The references and terminology used in the Regulations do not match CEPA 1999 wording or the wording used in the Disposal at Sea Regulations. In addition, given that references in the regulatory text are to provisions under CEPA instead of CEPA 1999, this can lead to confusion from regulatees. This confusion can result in regulatees not meeting the requirements of the Regulations. Hence, there is a need to update the references to CEPA 1999.

The Regulations Amending the Ocean Dumping Permit Fee Regulations (Site Monitoring) (Miscellaneous Program) (hereinafter referred to as the Amendments), made pursuant to Section 19.1(a) of the Financial Administration Act, update the legislative references from the former CEPA to CEPA 1999 in the text of the Regulations. Additional changes are being made to make reference to the proper section and to align the terminology of the regulatory text with the wording used in CEPA 1999.

The Amendments are of an administrative nature and will not change the intent or scope of the Regulations.

Description and rationale

Currently, disposal activities in Canadian marine waters are regulated federally by the disposal at sea provisions under CEPA 1999 which include a system of permits. However, the permit fees for the disposal of dredged material and inert, inorganic geological matter are established through the Regulations made under the Financial Administration Act.

At the time of implementing the Regulations, reference to the legislative authority was CEPA. In 1999, CEPA was repealed and replaced by CEPA 1999. Through the application of the Interpretation Act, the Regulations still apply under CEPA 1999. However, all legal references to the legislative authority in the Regulations remained to CEPA and not CEPA 1999. In addition, the terminology used in the Regulations differs from the terminology used in CEPA 1999 and the Disposal at Sea Regulations. In addition, the referenced provisions of the Act do not match those of CEPA 1999. These have the potential to lead to confusion from regulatees.

Notwithstanding the Interpretation Act, these inconsistencies have the potential to confuse stakeholders. To improve consistency with CEPA 1999 and to avoid any potential issues, Environment Canada is amending the Regulations.

Amendments

To ensure consistency between the Regulations and CEPA 1999, the amendments

• replace the wording “Ocean Dumping” with “Disposal at Sea” in the title of the Regulations to read: “Disposal at Sea Permit Fee Regulations.”
• update the reference to the legislative authority from CEPA to CEPA 1999 by adding “,1999” after “Canadian Environmental Protection Act” in section 1 and 2.
• update the reference to the proper division and part of CEPA 1999 by replacing the words “Part VI” with the words “Division 3, Part 7” in section 1 of the Regulations.
• Modify section 2 of the Regulations by replacing

○ “section 71” with “section 127” to reflect the applicable CEPA 1999 section;

○ the word “dumping” with “disposal”, and the CEPA term “excavated material” with “inert inorganic geological matter”.

These Amendments come into force on the day on which they are registered.

Consultation

As the proposed Amendments are administrative in nature, no formal consultations were held.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

Since the Amendments are administrative in nature, they will not result in the implementation of any new programs or activities under the Disposal at Sea Program. The Amendments do not alter the manner in which the Regulations are enforced.

Contacts

Linda Porebski
Chief
Marine Protection Programs
Environmental Assessment and Marine Programs Division
Environment Canada
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H3
Telephone: 819-953-4341
Fax: 819-953-0913
Email: linda.porebski@ec.gc.ca

Markes Cormier
Senior Economist
Regulatory Analysis and Instrument Choice Division
Environment Canada
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0H3
Telephone: 819-953-5236
Fax: 819-997-2769
Email: markes.cormier@ec.gc.ca

Footnote a
S.C. 1991, c. 24, s. 6

Footnote b
R.S., c. F-11

Footnote 1
SOR/99-114

NOTICE:
The format of the electronic version of this issue of the Canada Gazette was modified in order to be compatible with extensible hypertext markup language (XHTML 1.0 Strict).