[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 186 (Monday, September 28, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49311-49315]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-23387]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 354

[Docket No. APHIS-2009-0048]
RIN 0579-AC99


User Fees for Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection Services

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are amending the user fee regulations by adjusting the fees 
charged for certain agricultural quarantine and inspection (AQI) 
services that are provided in connection with certain commercial 
vessels, commercial trucks, commercial railroad cars, commercial 
aircraft, and international airline passengers arriving at ports in the 
customs territory of the United States. The recent downturn in the U.S. 
economy has negatively impacted travel volumes, and, as a result, our 
user fee collections, which fund these services, have diminished. 
Although the volume of international travel and trade has decreased, 
inspection and related support services continue to be provided at 
their existing levels, so expenses have not decreased. As a result, our 
user fee collections have not been sufficient to enable us to provide 
those services and maintain a reasonable reserve balance. We are 
therefore increasing our AQI user fees in order to provide adequate 
funds for these purposes.

DATES: This interim rule is effective October 1, 2009. We will consider 
all comments that we receive on or before November 27, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2009-0048 to submit or view comments and 
to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
    <bullet> Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send two copies of 
your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2009-0048, Regulatory Analysis and 
Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to 
Docket No. APHIS-2009-0048.
    Reading Room: You may read any comments that we receive on this 
docket in our reading room. The reading room is located in Room 1141 of 
the USDA South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to 
help you, please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.
    Other Information: Additional information about APHIS and its 
programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning program 
operations, contact Mr. William E. Thomas, Director, Quarantine Policy, 
Analysis, and Support, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 131, Riverdale, 
MD 20737; (301) 734-5214. For information concerning rate development, 
contact Mrs. Kris Caraher, User Fee Section, Financial Services Branch, 
Financial Management Division, MRPBS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 55, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1232; (301) 734-0882.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Section 2509(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade 
Act of 1990 (21 U.S.C. 136a), referred to below as the FACT Act, 
authorizes the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to 
collect user fees for agricultural quarantine and inspection (AQI) 
services. The FACT Act was amended on April 4, 1996, and May 13, 2002.
    The FACT Act, as amended, authorizes APHIS to collect user fees for 
AQI services provided in connection with the arrival, at a port in the 
customs territory of the United States, of:
    <bullet> Commercial vessels,
    <bullet> Commercial trucks,
    <bullet> Commercial railroad cars,
    <bullet> Commercial aircraft, and
    <bullet> International airline passengers.

According to the FACT Act, as amended, these user fees should recover 
the costs of:

    <bullet> Providing the AQI services for the conveyances and the 
passengers listed above,
    <bullet> Providing preclearance or preinspection at a site outside 
the customs territory of the United States to international airline 
passengers, commercial vessels, commercial trucks, commercial railroad 
cars, and commercial aircraft, and
    <bullet> Administering the user fee program.

Introduction

    In an interim rule published in the Federal Register on December 9, 
2004 (69 FR 71660-71683, Docket No. 04-042-1), and effective on January 
1, 2005, we amended the user fee regulations in 7 CFR part 354 by 
adjusting the fees charged for certain agricultural quarantine and 
inspection (AQI) services that are provided by the Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP) Bureau of the Department of Homeland Security in connection with 
certain commercial vessels, commercial trucks, commercial railroad 
cars, commercial aircraft, and international airline passengers 
arriving at ports in the customs territory of the United States. Prior 
to the interim rule, user fees had not been adjusted since October 1, 
2001. Due to the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the resulting 
increased security concerns, the Federal Government began to inspect a 
greater volume and variety of cargo entering the United States than it 
had before. In addition, the attacks of September 11 resulted in a 
reduction in airline travel, which lowered fee revenues. We determined 
that the fee adjustments contained in the December 2004 interim rule 
were needed to recover the costs of this increased inspection activity 
and to account for routine inflationary increases in the cost of doing 
business. The adjusted AQI user fees contained in that interim rule 
covered fiscal years (FYs) 2005 through 2010. A final rule affirming 
the interim rule without change was published in the Federal Register 
on August 24, 2006 (71 FR 49984-49986, Docket No. 04-042-2).
    However, the effects of the recent and unanticipated downturn in 
the U.S. economy have been felt by all Americans, both personally and 
in their business concerns. These recent events have negatively 
impacted travel volumes and funds in the AQI user fee account. Due to 
the decrease in travel, we are collecting less in user fees while still 
maintaining the necessary enhanced level of inspection and related 
support services that we have since September 11, 2001. Although the 
volume of international travel and trade has decreased, inspection and 
related support services continue to be provided at their existing 
levels, expenses have not decreased. Moreover, while we have limited 
new hiring to

[[Page 49312]]

critical positions, we do not consider it advisable to cut back on 
existing personnel as a cost-saving measure because of the time 
required (2 to 3 years) to train agricultural inspectors. Reducing the 
number of fully trained, experienced inspectors during the current 
economic downturn could result in a shortage of such employees when the 
economy rebounds and volumes pick up again, thereby increasing the risk 
of plant or animal pest or disease introduction into the United States. 
Since our current user fee collections are not sufficient to enable us 
to continue to provide AQI services at their existing levels and to 
maintain a reasonable reserve balance, we are therefore increasing our 
AQI user fees in order to provide adequate funds for these purposes.
    Because our AQI Programs are funded solely through user fee 
collections, it is imperative that we adjust the fees upward to 
maintain our existing level of services. We estimate that, absent the 
necessary fee adjustments, revenues will be inadequate, and the reserve 
balance in the AQI user fee account will be completely depleted. By 
February 2010, the AQI program could be forced to lay off significant 
numbers of employees and cut back on services. Such cutbacks would 
increase the potential for agriculturally devastating animal and plant 
pests and diseases to enter the United States and could disrupt trade 
if inspectors were not available to inspect and clear cargo on a timely 
basis.
    Therefore, in this interim rule, we are amending our AQI user fees 
to enable us to continue to provide AQI services at their existing 
levels and to provide some replenishment of the reserve balance in the 
AQI account so that program operations can continue without 
interruption when volumes fluctuate due to economic conditions or other 
circumstances. Because user fee revenues were down in FY 2009, we have 
had to draw upon our reserve funds. We are adjusting the fees upward, 
at a rate of approximately 10 percent, for each type of conveyance or 
person to whom AQI services are provided: commercial vessels, 
commercial trucks, commercial railroad cars, commercial aircraft, and 
international airline passengers. However, because commercial truck 
inspection has separate fees for trucks with and without 
transponders,\1\ we are actually adjusting a total of six fees. We 
estimate that this action will result in total revenues of $578 million 
during the period from October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010, an 
increase of $53.4 million, or 10 percent from the $524.6 million which 
we anticipate would be collected without the increase. This proposed 
increase would be sufficient to cover joint CBP and APHIS expenses for 
providing AQI services in FY 2010. This action will also bring our 
reserve funding level to $48.5 million, about 1 month of AQI user fee 
funding. While we traditionally have sought to maintain a reserve 
balance sufficient to cover 3 to 5 months, we recognize that the 
significantly higher user fee increases that would be needed to build 
the reserve back to that level could be burdensome to affected entities 
in the present difficult economic climate. The smaller user fee 
increases contained in this interim rule, therefore, will not provide 
us with an optimal reserve balance; however, they are necessary to 
maintain a level of inspection services sufficient to prevent plant and 
animal diseases and pests from entering the United States.
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    \1\ In previous rulemakings, we referred to commercial truck 
decals rather than transponders. Because transponders are now being 
used, we are updating our terminology accordingly.
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AQI User Fee Accounting

    We maintain all AQI fees we collect in distinct accounts, carefully 
monitor the balances in these accounts, and only use these funds to pay 
for our actual costs for providing these distinct services. Any surplus 
in the AQI account carries forward from year to year, is not subject to 
appropriation by Congress, and is available until expended to fund AQI 
activities.

Types of AQI Program Costs

    As part of our accounting procedures, we maintain separate 
accounting codes to record costs that can be directly related to an 
inspection activity. These are referred to as ``direct-charge costs.'' 
APHIS functions that are directly charged to AQI accounts include the 
following: Salary and benefits and other costs, e.g., travel, supplies, 
rents, equipment, for personnel in plant inspection stations inspecting 
propagative plants; for personnel performing identification services 
(entomology, pathology, botanical); for personnel performing 
investigative and enforcement and smuggling interdiction and trade 
compliance activities; for personnel performing risk analysis, science 
and technology, and methods development activities relating to AQI 
work; and for personnel performing training of CBP agricultural 
specialists and canines. CBP functions that are directly charged to AQI 
accounts include the following: Salaries and benefits for inspectors 
and canine officers, supervisors (such as officers-in-charge), and 
clerical staff; equipment used only in connection with services subject 
to user fees; contracts; and large supply items such as x-ray equipment 
and uniforms.
    Other program-delivery-related costs, at the State level and below, 
that cannot be directly charged to individual accounts are charged to 
``distributable'' accounts established at the State level and are 
referred to as ``distributable costs.'' The following types of costs 
are charged to distributable accounts: Utilities, rent, telephone, 
vehicles, office supplies, etc. The costs in these distributable 
accounts are prorated (or distributed) among all the activities that 
benefit from the expense, based on a formula under which the costs that 
are directly charged to each activity are divided by the total costs 
directly charged to each account at the field level. For example, if a 
work unit performs work on domestic programs, AQI user fee programs, 
and AQI-appropriated programs, the costs are distributed among each of 
these programs, based on the percentage of the direct costs for that 
activity at the field level that is charged to that activity.
    AQI program costs also include program direction and support costs 
we incur at the regional and headquarters level, as well as Agency-
level support costs. Headquarters-level costs include salaries and 
benefits for employees of APHIS' Plant Protection and Quarantine and 
International Services programs who are based at those programs' 
headquarters in Riverdale, MD, and Washington, DC. We incur Agency-
level support costs through activities that support the Agencies (i.e., 
APHIS and CBP), such as recruitment and development; legislative and 
public affairs; regulation development; regulatory enforcement; and 
budget, accounting, payroll, purchasing, billing, and collection 
services.
    Departmental charges are assessed for various AQI program costs 
including Federal telephone service, mail, processing of payroll and 
money management, unemployment compensation, Office of Workers 
Compensation Programs, and central supply for storing and issuing 
commonly used supplies and forms.
    In order to identify properly our actual AQI program costs in prior 
fiscal years, we first identify the direct-charge costs. We then add to 
this the pro-rata share costs of the distributable accounts maintained 
at the State, regional, headquarters, Agency, and departmental levels.

[[Page 49313]]

Calculation of User Fees Contained in This Interim Rule

    Results in FY 2009: We originally anticipated collecting revenue of 
$553.5 million in FY 2009, and planned to spend that same amount. If 
the economy had remained strong, this approach would have led to the 
AQI User Fees Program keeping the strong reserve balance of $100.6 
million it had at the start of FY 2009. We have maintained our planned 
level of services and related costs during FY 2009; however, our 
current estimate for FY 2009 collections is only $483.3 million, a 
difference of $70.2 million [$553.5 million (anticipated) - $483.3 
million (current estimate)]. The reserve balance of $100.6 million we 
had at the start of FY 2009 has allowed the program to continue 
operating even with the lower collections. We now estimate that only 
$27.2 million will remain as the program's reserve balance at the end 
of FY 2009 as follows:

             Table 1--Program Overview--FY 2009 and FY 2010
                              [In millions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     FY 2010
                                          FY 2009    current    FY 2010
                                          estimate     fees     new fees
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reserve balance at the start of fiscal      $100.6       27.2       27.2
 year..................................
+ Estimated collections................     +483.3     +524.6     +578.0
                                        --------------------------------
    Total availability.................      583.9      551.8      605.2
- Program spending.....................     -556.7     -556.7     -556.7
                                        --------------------------------
    Estimated reserve balance at the        $ 27.2    $ (4.9)       48.5
     end of fiscal year................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    FY 2010 program overview: If we were to collect user fees in FY 
2010 at the current published rates for FY 2010, we estimate that 
collections would be $524.6 million. This amount falls short of our 
funding needs by $32.1 million [$556.7 million (FY 2010 funding needs) 
-$524.6 million (estimated FY 2010 collections without this rule 
change)]. This $32.1 million shortfall would leave APHIS and CBP to 
cover this difference, as well as ordinary annual increases in costs 
for pay and inflation. If we continue to maintain the same level of 
services in FY 2010, the program would consume the remaining amount in 
the reserve and face a shortfall of $4.9 million in the program.
    FY 2010 planned fee increases: We project that the revenue needed 
to maintain the same level of service in FY 2010 that we provided in FY 
2009 and to begin rebuilding the reserve is $578.0 million ($556.7 
million in program expenditures and $21.3 million to help rebuild the 
reserve). To do so, we calculated an approximately 10 percent increase 
across the board in current user fees. This amount is used because it 
will allow us to maintain the same level of service in FY 2010 that we 
did in FY 2009 and to bring the reserve fund balance partially back up 
to the level it was at the start of FY 2009 without placing an 
excessive burden on those who pay the user fees. This action will allow 
the program to continue operating while the economy recovers.
    Once we identified that an approximately 10 percent across-the-
board increase was needed for all AQI user fees, we calculated the fees 
on that basis and then rounded up in increments of $1 for the 
commercial vessel fee, which is a significantly larger fee than all the 
others, and $0.25 for the rest, as shown in Table 2. below. No rounding 
of the international air passenger fee was required, though it 
traditionally has been rounded up to the nearest $0.05, nor of the 
commercial truck transponder fee, which is simply calculated at 20 
times the individual rounded truck fee.

                       Table 2--Adjusted User Fees
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                FY 2010
         AQI user fee category            FY 2009    FY 2010    rounded
                                         user fees   raw fees     fees
------------------------------------------------------------------------
International airline passengers.......      $5.00      $5.50      $5.50
Commercial aircraft....................      70.75      77.83      78.00
Commercial vessels.....................     494.00     543.40     544.00
Loaded rail cars.......................       7.75       8.53       8.75
Commercial trucks......................       5.25       5.78       6.00
Commercial truck transponders..........     105.00        N/A     120.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This rule is intended to provide sufficient funding to operate the 
program and partially replenish the AQI reserve funds. APHIS and CBP 
are also embarking on a review of the current fees and what costs are 
built into them and may, if needed, enter into a new rulemaking to set 
longer-term rates for AQI user fees.
    Projecting FY 2010 volumes: In projecting our activity volumes and 
fee collections for FY 2010, we assumed that the first two quarters of 
activity in FY 2010 will be similar to the diminished levels of FY 2009 
and that the final two quarters of FY 2010 will see a rebound, with 
activity levels similar to those of the third and fourth quarters of FY 
2008. In other words, our assumption is that the U.S. economy will 
fully recover by midway through FY 2010.
    Table 3 below contains our actual volumes for each AQI service 
category for FY 2008 and our estimated volumes for FYs 2009 and 2010. 
Our estimated FY 2009 volumes are based on actual data from the first 
three quarters and an estimate for the fourth. Average actual quarterly 
volumes for the first three quarters of FY 2009 showed a 10.3 percent 
decrease in comparison with the same quarters in FY 2008. To estimate

[[Page 49314]]

the volumes for the final quarter of FY 2009, therefore, we projected 
that volumes for the fourth quarter of FY 2009 would be 10.3 percent 
less than the actual volumes for the fourth quarter of FY 2008.
    We projected our volumes for the first and second quarters of FY 
2010 using the averages for the first three quarters of FY 2009, based 
on the assumption that the economy will not recover in the first half 
of FY 2010. We used actual FY 2008 volumes for the third and fourth 
quarter volumes for FY 2010, based on the assumption that the economy 
will bounce back completely in the second half of FY 2010. These 
assumptions are considered reasonable.
    Actual FY 2008 volumes, estimated FY 2009 volumes, projected FY 
2010 volumes, adjusted FY 2010 user fees, and resulting estimated FY 
2010 collections with the new user fees in place are as follows:

                                                   Table 3--Volumes and Estimated FY 2010 Collections
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                       Estimated FY 2010
                  AQI user fee category                      Actual FY 2008   Estimated FY 2009  Estimated FY 2010   FY 2010 adjusted     collections
                                                                volumes            volumes            volumes           user fees        (volume x fee)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International airline passengers.........................         79,152,044         77,004,184         80,337,817             $ 5.50       $441,857,994
Commercial aircraft......................................          1,262,599            801,110          1,037,829              78.00         80,950,662
Commercial vessels.......................................             56,536             45,225             54,834             544.00         29,829,696
Loaded rail cars.........................................          1,300,645            934,463          1,069,345               8.75          9,356,769
Commercial trucks........................................            888,693            645,169            748,712               6.00          4,492,272
Commercial truck transponders............................            111,875             83,184             96,262             120.00         11,551,440
                                                          ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total................................................  .................  .................  .................  .................        578,038,832
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emergency Action

    This rulemaking, which adjusts our flat-rate AQI user fees, is 
necessary on an emergency basis to ensure the adequate funding and 
continued operation at necessary levels of CBP and APHIS activities 
vital to preventing the introduction of plant and animal pests and 
diseases into the United States. Under these circumstances, the 
Administrator has determined that prior notice and opportunity for 
public comment are contrary to the public interest and that there is 
good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 for making this rule effective less than 
30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
    We will consider comments we receive during the comment period for 
this interim rule (see DATES above). After the comment period closes, 
we will publish another document in the Federal Register. The document 
will include a discussion of any comments we receive and any amendments 
we are making to the rule.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This interim rule has been determined to be significant for the 
purposes of Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has been reviewed by 
the Office of Management and Budget.
    We have prepared an economic analysis for this interim rule. The 
economic analysis provides a cost-benefit analysis, as required by 
Executive Order 12866, and an initial regulatory flexibility analysis 
that examines the potential economic effects of this rule on small 
entities, as required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The economic 
analysis is summarized below. The full analysis may be viewed on the 
Regulations.gov Web site (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for 
accessing Regulations.gov) or obtained from the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    This interim rule amends the user fee regulations by adjusting the 
fees charged for certain AQI services that are provided in connection 
with certain commercial vessels, commercial trucks, commercial railroad 
cars, commercial aircraft, and international airline passengers 
arriving at ports in the customs territory of the United States. This 
rulemaking is intended to enable us to continue to provide AQI services 
at their existing levels and to provide some replenishment of the 
reserve balance in the AQI account so that program operations can 
continue without interruption when volumes fluctuate due to economic 
conditions or other circumstances. We project that the revenue needed 
to maintain the same level of service in FY 2010 and begin rebuilding 
the reserve is $578 million.
    International airline passengers and the operators of commercial 
aircraft, commercial vessels, commercial trucks, and commercial 
railroad cars will be affected by this interim rule. Taken 
collectively, the changes in user fees in this rule are very large, 
amounting to more than $53 million in user fees collected in FY 2010 
over what we would have collected if the fees had remained at their 
previous levels. However, the impact of the individual increases in the 
user fees should be small. The fee increases are small compared to the 
overall costs of the affected travel and transport activities. For 
example, the user fee on international passengers increases from $5 to 
$5.50. The new fee equates to less than 1 percent (about 0.3 percent) 
of the average international airfare.
    The benefits associated with AQI services are the losses to U.S. 
animals, plants, and their products and markets that are avoided when 
foreign pests and diseases are prevented from entering the country. The 
cost of the introduction of a single foreign pest or disease can be 
immense. The increase in AQI user fees will ensure that the program 
operates at a level sufficient to minimize the risk of introduction of 
agricultural pests and diseases. Without the increase in fees, those 
services cannot be adequately provided.
    Collections of $556.7 million are required to maintain the current 
level of AQI services. If we were to collect user fees at the original 
rates for FY 2010 while continuing to provide services at the current 
level, we estimate that collections would be $524.6 million, based on 
projected international airline passenger and transport volumes for the 
year. Therefore a shortfall in revenue of $32.1 million would occur 
absent changes to the fees over the next year. In addition, the reserve 
fund is currently being depleted, and continuing to operate the program 
at the current level without fee increases will quickly and fully 
deplete the reserve. A reserve level of $48.5 million represents 48 
percent of the size of the reserve balance at the beginning of FY 2009.
    The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that agencies specifically 
consider the economic impact of their rules on small entities. Those 
entities most likely to be economically affected by the rule are 
domestic entities in the transportation sector moving goods into the 
United States. In addition to international air passengers, four modes

[[Page 49315]]

of conveyance--trucks, railroad cars, maritime vessels, and aircraft--
are assessed AQI user fees upon arrival in the United States. According 
to the guidelines established by the Small Business Administration, 
most of the surface, waterborne, and air conveyance entities that are 
directly affected by the rule are small, although we do not have 
precise estimates of their numbers. However, the user fee changes 
represent a small portion of overall operating costs for affected 
transportation entities whether small or large, and should therefore 
have a small impact on those entities. We invite public comment on this 
interim rule, including any comment on the rule's expected impact on 
small entities.
    Alternatives to this rulemaking that were considered included 
taking no action or enacting even higher fee increases to build the 
reserve quickly. For reasons discussed in the full analysis, these 
alternatives were not pursued.

Executive Order 12988

    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil 
Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Has no retroactive effect; and (2) does 
not require administrative proceedings before parties may file suit in 
court challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This rule contains no new information collection or recordkeeping 
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.).

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 354

    Animal diseases, Exports, Government employees, Imports, Plant 
diseases and pests, Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Travel and transportation expenses.

0
Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 354 as follows:

PART 354--OVERTIME SERVICES RELATING TO IMPORTS AND EXPORTS; AND 
USER FEES

0
1. The authority citation for part 354 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 7701-7772, 7781-7786, and 8301-8317; 21 
U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 49 U.S.C. 80503; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

0
2. Section 354.3 is amended by revising the tables in paragraphs 
(b)(1), (c)(1), (d)(1), (e)(1), and (f)(1) to read as set forth below.


Sec.  354.3  User fees for certain international services.

* * * * *
    (b) Fee for inspection of commercial vessels of 100 net tons or 
more. (1) * * *

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Effective dates                           Amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 1, 2008, through September 30, 2009..................    $494.00
Beginning October 1, 2009....................................     544.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
    (c) Fee for inspection of commercial trucks. (1) * * *

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Effective dates                           Amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 1, 2008, through September 30, 2009..................      $5.25
Beginning October 1, 2009....................................       6.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
    (d) Fee for inspection of commercial railroad cars. (1) * * *

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Effective dates                           Amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 1, 2008, through September 30, 2009..................      $7.75
Beginning October 1, 2009....................................       8.75
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
    (e) Fee for inspection of commercial aircraft. (1) * * *

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Effective dates                           Amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 1, 2008, through September 30, 2009..................     $70.75
Beginning October 1, 2009....................................      78.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
    (f) Fee for inspection of international passengers. (1) * * *

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Effective dates \1\                         Amount
------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 1, 2008, through September 30, 2009..................      $5.00
Beginning October 1, 2009....................................       5.50
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Persons who issue international airline tickets or travel documents
  are responsible for collecting the AQI international airline passenger
  user fee from ticket purchasers. Issuers must collect the fee
  applicable at the time tickets are sold. In the event that ticket
  sellers do not collect the AQI user fee when tickets are sold, the air
  carrier must collect the user fee from the passenger upon departure.
  Carriers must collect the fee applicable at the time of departure from
  the traveler.

* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of September 2009.
John Ferrell,
Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs.
[FR Doc. E9-23387 Filed 9-25-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P