Disposal at sea permit application guide: permitting process for excavated material, chapter 3.2

Official Title: Disposal at Sea Permitting Process for Excavated Material, Chapter 3.2, Step II: Submission of Permit Application

The entire application assessment process can take up to 90 days for a completed application. In addition, the Disposal at Sea Program must publish a copy of the permit in the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Registry. This process requires 7 days, and publication occurs every Tuesday. Without exception, a permit must be published in the Registry for 7 days before the first date on which loading or disposal can be authorized by the permit.

Applications are submitted to the nearest Disposal at Sea Program regional office. You are strongly encouraged to follow the pre-application steps in section 3.1 prior to submitting the application package. We will contact you if the application does not contain sufficient information to initiate the review process. We will also notify you once the review process has begun.

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3.2.1 Submit a permit application with supporting documentation and prescribed fee(s)

The information collected during the pre-application phase should be included in the application package. Some of the information can be submitted as stand-alone documentation (for example, the Alternatives Assessment and Detailed Characterization Report), while other information should be documented in the application form. If further assistance is required in completing your application, contact your nearest Disposal at Sea Program regional office in Appendix A, and refer to the Disposal at Sea Permit Application Form Guide for Excavated Material.

As per the Disposal at Sea Permit Fee Regulations, all applications must be accompanied by a non-refundable permit application fee of $2,555. This fee must be paid in full prior to initiating the permit review process and the cheque made payable to the Receiver General for Canada. Post-dated cheques, cash or credit cards will not be accepted.

In addition, you must pay a fee of $480.34 for every 1000 cubic metres, or portion thereof, of excavated material permitted to be disposed of at sea. Half (50%) of the total fee must be received before the permit is published in the CEPA Registry, and the remaining balance must be paid before the midway mark of the permit’s term (for example, for a 1 year permit, the fee should be paid at 6 months).

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Application checklist

The application package should include the information listed in the checklist below.

Applicant’s checklist for an excavated material disposal at sea permit

Before submitting the application, verify that you have:

  • ▢   consulted the nearest Disposal at Sea Program regional office on case-specific requirements
  • ▢   provided Program staff with a project description and preliminary site information
  • ▢   attached a Disposal at Sea Program-reviewed sampling plan
  • ▢   conducted and appended the results of any required sampling and analysis
  • ▢   completed and appended a Detailed Characterization Report
  • ▢   completed and appended an Assessment of Alternatives
  • ▢   published the Notice of Application in a local newspaper (attach a clipping or copy to the application)
  • ▢   verified and appended required data and supporting documents or maps
  • ▢   completed and signed the application form
  • ▢   attached the non-refundable application fee
  • ▢   included the permit fee; 50% must be paid before the permit is published in the CEPA Registry

Note: additional documents or information may be requested in support of this application.

3.2.2 We notify you that the application is complete

You will receive notification that your application is complete. The review of the complete permit application package and a decision to issue (signature of a permit) or refuse to issue a permit may take up to 90 days from the date that the Disposal at Sea Program regional office notifies you that the application is complete and ready for review. The process can take additional time if further information is required upon review of the application package or if additional consultations are needed.

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