EHC Regulation review - FAQ
What does the Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Regulation do?
The Regulation contains administrative provisions relating to the operation of the Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Act 1985 (EHC Act). It provides for:
- the appointment of alternate members of the Hazardous Chemicals Advisory Committee
- the setting of fees for (1) technology assessments undertaken by the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) relating to a chemical process or declared chemical waste, and (2) EHC Act licences to undertake prescribed activities in relation to environmentally hazardous chemicals
- the prescription of information to be provided in applications for the assessment of prescribed activities; notices issued by DECC about applications for licences; and registers under the EHC Act
- other administrative matters relating to appeals against DECC decisions and property seizures under the EHC Act.
Why is the Regulation being remade?
The Subordinate Legislation Act 1989 provides for the staged repeal of statutory rules, including regulations, every five years. Under the program of staged repeal, regulations which are due for repeal may:
- be remade with major or minor amendments
- be allowed to lapse
- have their repeal postponed by one year if exceptional circumstances exist.
The Regulation was due to be repealed in 2004 but permission was granted on previous occasions to postpone the repeal of the existing EHC Regulation until 1 September 2008.
As the Regulation contains administrative provisions relating to the operation of the EHC Act, it is important that it continues to operate. This will provide regulatory certainty to industries operating in accordance with current regulatory requirements.
Is the proposed new Regulation changing anything?
The proposed new Regulation will not change any provisions relating to the operation of the EHC Act. The only change that it is proposing to make is to adjust the fees so that the costs associated with the administration of the technology assessments and licensing activities are properly recovered. The licensing activities help to ensure the protection of the environment and human health.
Are the licence fees changing?
Yes, almost all licence fees are changing. The fee for the assessment of a prohibited/prescribed activity, however, remains unchanged (see explanation below).
Why are the licence fees being changed?
A review of the Regulation has found that the administrative and compliance costs associated with EHC Act licences have changed since 1999. That is, there have been increases in the costs associated with providing many of the licence-related services.
There have also been efficiency gains which have enabled DECC to propose that the fee for a licence transfer be decreased from 1 September 2008.
Why is the fee for licence transfers being decreased yet nearly all of the other fees are going up?
There have been efficiency gains which have enabled DECC to propose that the fee for a licence transfer be decreased from 1 September 2008.
There have been increases in the costs associated with the majority of the other licensing activities since 1999.
Why is the application fee for the assessment of a prohibited/prescribed activity not being changed whilst all the other fees are?
To date there have been no applications for the assessment of a prohibited/prescribed activity. DECC is therefore not in a position to know whether the costs associated with such applications have risen or decreased since the fee was introduced. The fee is therefore not being changed.
Will the new Regulation change the application fee for technology assessments?
Yes. The application fee is being increased by $1250 each year for the next 5 years.
Why is the fee for a technology assessment application being increased, and why is it being increased each year for the next five (5) years?
In recent years there has been a general increase in the scale and complexity of technology assessments as a result of major remediation works for land contamination and the application of novel technologies to treat declared chemical wastes. This has meant that the cost to DECC of a standard assessment has risen substantially beyond the current fee level.
To minimise the impact of a large fee increase, the Regulation is proposing that the application fee be increased by $1250 annually over the next 5 years.
Are applicants required to do anything more because the technology assessment application fee is going up?
No.
Will DECC do anything more for me/our organisation in exchange for increasing the fees?
DECC is already using in-house specialists to review applications to ensure that the most appropriate technology is utilised in accordance with:
- international best practice principles and
- the National Protocols for Approval/Licensing of Trials of Technologies for the Treatment/Disposal of Schedule X Wastes 1994 and/or
- National Protocol for Approval/Licensing of Commercial-Scale Facilities for the Treatment/Disposal of Schedule X Wastes 1994.
The current fee does not cover the cost of such specialist work.
As the fee is a maximum, if an application is received that can be processed quickly, DECC has the discretion to charge less than the maximum fee amount.
In an attempt to minimise the impact of the fee increase, the Regulation is proposing a staged increase in the fees for technology assessments over the next five years.
Will the fee increases affect many people?
The fee increases are not expected to affect many members of the public or many businesses. There are currently approximately 31 EHC Act licences in force.
In relation to the increase in the application fee for a technology assessment, it is expected that only about two to three of the EHC Act licensees will apply for a technology assessment in any one year.
Why isn’t the Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Act being reviewed?
DECC considers that it would be prudent to await the outcomes of developments at the national level before reviewing the EHC Act:
- the EHC Act and regulation will likely be key instruments needed to implement any agreed national chemical reforms.
- in particular, the Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC) has been developing the National Chemicals Environmental Management (NChEM) framework with environment Ministers signing an Agreement in 2007, endorsing the framework and setting out principles for sustainable environmental chemical management and the Chemicals Action Plan for the Environment.
- this will not be finalised until the current reviews of the Productivity Commission and Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Ministerial taskforce study into chemicals and plastics regulation are completed.
- the outcomes of these reviews are expected to take effect in late 2008/early 2009.
When will the Environmentally Hazardous Chemicals Act be reviewed?
The EHC Act will be reviewed once developments at the national level have been finalised.
How can I make comments?
Send your own comments or contribute comments through your organisation. Written submissions should be sent to:
Manager Chemicals Policy
Department of Environment and Climate Change
PO Box A290
SOUTH SYDNEY NSW 1232
Submissions may also be emailed to: info@environment.nsw.gov.au
The closing date for all comments is Friday 20 June 2008.
Where can I find out more information about the proposed Regulation?
Call Environment Line on 131 555 (cost of a local call from anywhere in NSW).