Comments and Reply: Content of Notice

• Submission of Notification
• Amendments
• Identification of Facilities
• Notification Requirements
• Codes
• Confirmation of Notice Information
• Renewal of the Notice

A number of comments were received by both industry and association stakeholders with respect to the notification provisions in the proposed Regulations.

Response: The proposed Regulations prescribe the information required for the notice. Environment Canada will provide, in its compliance-promotion material, an administrative form that is accessible in electronic format. Since the proposed information requirements are the same for both hazardous waste and hazardous recyclable material, only one form will be made available.

The process for assigning numbers for notices, permits, and movement documents will occur as they do today. Regulatees must contact Environment Canada to obtain these numbers, and they will then be assigned.

Environment Canada agrees with the recommendation that regulatees be permitted to submit notifications electronically, as PDFs. Environment Canada will consider further clarification of this point in its compliance-promotion material.

Response: Environment Canada agrees with the recommendation that the "number of shipments" field be listed as amendable. Accordingly, a provision has been included to reflect this in the proposed Regulations.

In the case of a change to the name of the generator, if the change is the result of a purchase of shares, the permit may be amended. If the change is the result of a purchase of assets, however, this results in a change to the legal status of the enterprise. In the latter case, both the notice and contracts would no longer be valid, and a new notification would be required.

Response: The name, registration number, address, and contact information must be included in the notification for all authorized facilities involved in the shipping or receiving of the hazardous waste or hazardous recyclable material. This includes the importer and foreign receiver, the exporter and foreign generator, including the shipping sites or the receiving site. In the case where brokers may be allowed, all addresses above must be indicated.

In the case of hazardous recyclable material, the conditions of export and import outline the instances in which a broker may be the exporter or importer of record. In such instances, the same information outlined above must be provided for the exporters, importers, and facilities.

Contracts must be in place for all authorized facilities managing the waste once it has been exported or imported, including final destinations (D13, D14, D17, R12, R13 and R16). This is already a requirement under the current EIHWR and will continue to be required under the proposed Regulations. This may be further clarified in the new compliance-promotion material.

Notification must be specific to a single site, and not to multiple locations. This is necessary in order to be consistent with the notification procedures of the Basel Convention and the OECD Decision.

Response: In the case of border crossings, more than one border crossing may be indicated in the notification. For exports, the ports of exit must be indicated; for imports, the ports of entry. The name of the customs office may also be necessary, as some imports may be declared inland (particularly in the case of rail shipments). The proposed Regulations do not define these terms, as they are mandated by the Canada Border Service Agency; however, they may be further clarified in the compliance-promotion material.

The options the regulatee has considered for reducing or phasing out the export of hazardous waste and the reason the final disposal is taking place outside Canada will be required for all exports of hazardous wastes destined for disposal. This notification element is in keeping with the Basel Convention, which requires parties to reduce and dispose of hazardous wastes in their own country before looking to export.

If a waste or recyclable material is considered hazardous in Canada but not in the United States, the Canadian exporter or importer must meet the requirements of the proposed Regulations by submitting a notice to Environment Canada. The movement may only take place once Environment Canada has issued a permit.

Response: Waste classifications are contained in schedules 1-7 and 10 of the proposed Regulations. The codes will be referenced in updated user's guides, and reflect the requirements of the proposed Regulations. The majority of these codes are the same as those required in the current EIHWR. The additional codes include the following:

• Basel or OECD code;
• commodity or HS code;
• Y code (in the existing IWIC); and
• POPs code.

The commodity or HS code is a notification requirement under the revised OECD Decision. While wastes and recyclables are commonly associated with products, they are treated as commodities for the purposes of the World Customs Organization, and therefore require a customs code.

Response: It is the responsibility of the Canadian exporter or importer to ensure that the information provided to the Minister is correct and complete. This is also a requirement under both the Basel Convention and the OECD Decision.

Response: Environment Canada is exploring the option of providing the same notice number to exporters and importers from year to year, rather than issuing a new number upon expiry of a permit.