Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 119 / Tuesday, June 20, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 38179

Done in Washington, DC, this 14th day of

June 2000.

Richard L. Dunkle,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 00–15469 Filed 6–19–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–U

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

9 CFR Part 130

[Docket No. 98–045–2]

Veterinary Services User Fees; Pet

Food Facility Inspection and Approval

Fees

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: We are amending user fees for

the inspection and approval of pet food

manufacturing, rendering, blending,

digest, and spraying and drying

facilities. We are replacing hourly rate

user fees previously used to cover costs

for this service with flat rate user fees

that cover the cost of all inspections

required for annual approval. We are

taking this action in order to make it

easier for users to know their costs in

advance, while still ensuring that we

recover our costs.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 20, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Donna Ford, Section Head, Financial

Systems and Services Branch, Budget

and Accounting Service Enhancement

Unit, MRPBS, APHIS, 4700 River Road

Unit 54, Riverdale, MD 20737–1232;

(301) 734–8351.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

User fees to reimburse APHIS for the

costs of providing veterinary diagnostic

services and import- and export-related

services for live animals and birds and

animal products are contained in 9 CFR

part 130. Section 130.8 lists

miscellaneous flat rate user fees. Section

130.21 lists the hourly rate user fees

charged for APHIS’ export services.

Prior to this final rule, the hourly rate

user fees listed in § 130.21 included fees

for inspecting and approving pet food

facilities under 9 CFR part 156,

‘‘Voluntary Inspection and Certification

Service.’’

On January 5, 2000, we published in

the Federal Register (65 FR 391–394,

Docket No. 98–045–1) a proposal to

replace the hourly rate user fees for the

inspection and approval of pet food

manufacturing, rendering, blending,

digest, and spraying and drying

facilities with flat rate user fees that

would cover the cost of all inspections

required for annual approval.

We solicited comments concerning

our proposal for 60 days ending March

6, 2000. We did not receive any

comments. Therefore, for the reasons

given in the proposed rule, we are

adopting the proposed rule as a final

rule without change.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory

Flexibility Act

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12866. The rule has

been determined to be not significant for

the purposes of Executive Order 12866

and, therefore, has not been reviewed by

the Office of Management and Budget.

User fees to reimburse APHIS for the

costs of providing veterinary diagnostic

services and import- and export-related

services for live animals and birds and

animal products are contained in 9 CFR

part 130. Prior to the effective date of

this rule, we charged hourly rate user

fees for inspection and approval of

manufacturing, rendering, blending,

digest, and spraying and drying

facilities. This rule replaces those

hourly rate user fees with two sets of flat

rate annual user fees: One for the

inspection and approval of pet food

manufacturing, rendering, blending, and

digest facilities, and one for the

inspection and approval of pet food

spraying and drying facilities.

We arrived at the flat rate annual user

fees by calculating the average number

of hours required for an APHIS

inspector to complete an inspection

(including travel time), multiplying by

the average number of inspections

performed during a year (two per

facility), and adding the average direct

labor involved and proportional shares

of support costs, overhead, and

departmental charges.

The resulting flat rate user fees for

manufacturing, rendering, blending, or

digest facilities are $404.75 for initial

inspection and approval and $289.00 for

renewal of approval; for spraying and

drying facilities, they are $275.00 for

initial inspection and approval and

$162.50 for renewal of approval. These

fees are not significantly different from

the amount customers have paid yearly

in the past at hourly rates for initial

inspection and approval.

The table below shows the difference

between the average cost for initial and

renewed inspection and approval for

each of the five categories of pet food

facilities using hourly rate user fees and

the new flat rate user fees.

CHANGE IN COST OF INSPECTION AND APPROVAL UNDER THE FLAT RATE USER FEES

Type of pet food facility

Average cost to facilities at

hourly rate user fees

Cost to facilities under new

flat rate user fees

Change in user fee

collections

Initial

approval

Renewed

approval

Initial

approval

Renewed

approval

Initial

approval

Renewed

approval

Manufacturing .................................................................. $415.00 $353.25 $404.75 $289.00 -$10.25 -$64.25

Rendering ......................................................................... 376.75 272.75 404.75 289.00 28.00 16.25

Blending ........................................................................... 436.25 316.00 404.75 289.00 -31.50 27.00

Digest ............................................................................... 390.75 213.75 404.75 289.00 14.00 76.00

Spraying/Drying ................................................................ 275.00 162.50 275.00 162.50 0 0

As shown in the table, the user fees

collected for the inspection and

approval of pet food manufacturing and

blending facilities are expected to

decrease overall when the flat fees are

implemented. Pet food spraying and

drying facilities will not be affected by

this rule. For the inspection and

approval of the rendering and digest

facilities, user fee collections are

expected to increase.

However, as shown in the table

below, the total amount of fees collected

is not expected to change significantly.

38180 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 119 / Tuesday, June 20, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

COMPARISON OF TOTAL HOURLY (A) AND FLAT (B) RATE USER FEE COLLECTIONS, BASED ON THE NUMBER OF

APPROVALS (C) ISSUED IN 1997 FOR MANUFACTURING, RENDERING, BLENDING, AND DIGEST PET FOOD FACILITIES

A B C (A*C) (B*C)

Manufacturing facilities ....................................................................... [(415+353.25)/2]

= $384.13

[(404.75+289)/2]

= $346.88

88 $33,803.00 $30,525.00

Rendering facilities ............................................................................. [(376.75+272.75)/

2]

= $324.75

[(404.75+289)/2]

= $346.88

148 48,063.00 51,337.50

Blending facilities ................................................................................ [(436.25+316)/2]

= $376.13

[(404.75+289)/2]

=$346.88

7 2,428.13 2,428.13

Digest facilities ................................................................................... [(390.75+213.75)/

2]

= $302.25

[(404.75+289)/2]

= $346.88

12 3,627.00 4,162.50

Total collections using the two different methods (A and B) ...... ........ 87,921.13 88,453.13

In the table above, columns ‘‘A’’ and

‘‘B’’ depict the average charges by

APHIS for an initial inspection and a

license renewal, using the average

hourly rate user fee and using the new

flat rate user fee. Column ‘‘C’’ shows the

number of facilities that were approved

by APHIS in 1997 within each of the pet

food industries.

The last two columns (‘‘A*C’’) and

(‘‘B*C’’) represent the dollar amounts

collected by APHIS using the two

different methods. Column ‘‘A*C’’

represents the dollar amount collected

by APHIS when it used an hourly rate

user fee. Column ‘‘B*C’’ represents the

dollar amount that will be collected by

APHIS when it uses the new flat rate

user fee. Based on the difference

between the total collections under the

two methods, the new flat rate fee will

result in a 0.6 percent increase in total

collections.

Effects on Small Entities

The Regulatory Flexibility Act

requires that agencies consider the

economic effects of rules on small

business, organizations, and

governmental jurisdictions. The entities

that could be affected by this rule are

pet food manufacturing, rendering,

blending, digest, and spraying and

drying facilities. According to Small

Business Administration data, there are

1,100 firms in the United States that

produce cat and dog food or ingredients

that go into pet food, 1,030 (over 93

percent) of which would be considered

small (employing fewer than 500

people). However, as shown above, the

economic effects of this rule on those

entities, whether small or large, should

be insignificant.

Under these circumstances, the

Administrator of the Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service has

determined that this action will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

Executive Order 12372

This program/activity is listed in the

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

under No. 10.025 and is subject to

Executive Order 12372, which requires

intergovernmental consultation with

State and local officials. (See 7 CFR part

3015, subpart V.)

Executive Order 12988

This final rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12988, Civil

Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts

all State and local laws and regulations

that are inconsistent with this rule; (2)

has no retroactive effect; and (3) does

not require administrative proceedings

before parties may file suit in court

challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This final 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 9 CFR Part 130

Animals, Birds, Diagnostic reagents,

Exports, Imports, Poultry and poultry

products, Quarantine, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Tests.

Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR

part 130 as follows:

PART 130—USER FEES

1. The authority citation for part 130

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5542; 7 U.S.C. 1622; 19

U.S.C. 1306; 21 U.S.C. 102–105, 111, 114,

114a, 134a, 134c, 134d, 134f, 136, and 136a;

31 U.S.C. 3701, 3716, 3717, 3719, and 3720A;

7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(d).

2. In § 130.1, definitions for pet food

blending facility, pet food digest facility,

pet food manufacturing facility, pet food

rendering facility, and pet food spraying

and drying facility are added in

alphabetical order to read as follows:

§ 130.1 Definitions.

* * * * *

Pet food blending facility. A facility

that blends animal or plant protein meal

for use in pet food.

Pet food digest facility. A facility that

produces enzymatic protein meals in

powdered or liquid form for use as pet

food flavor enhancers.

Pet food manufacturing facility. A

facility that produces, processes, or

packages pet food for sale in the United

States or for export to another country.

Pet food rendering facility. A facility

that processes slaughter byproducts,

animals unfit for human consumption,

and meat scraps by cooking them down

into protein meal for use as ingredients

in pet food.

Pet food spraying and drying facility.

A facility that produces powdered blood

meal for use as a flavor enhancer in pet

food.

* * * * *

3. In § 130.8, paragraph (a), the table

is revised to read as follows:

§ 130.8 User fees for other services.

(a) * * *

Service User fee

Germ plasm being exported: 1

Embryo:

(Up to 5 donor pairs) ......................................................................................................... $54.75 per certificate.

(each additional group of donor pairs, up to 5 pairs per group, on the same certificate) $24.75 per group of donor pairs.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 119 / Tuesday, June 20, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 38181

Service User fee

Semen ...................................................................................................................................... 33.50 per certificate.

Germ plasm being imported: 2

Embryo ..................................................................................................................................... $39.50 per load.

Semen ...................................................................................................................................... $39.50 per load.

Import compliance assistance:

Simple (2 hours or less) ........................................................................................................... $51.25 per release.

Complicated (more than 2 hours) ............................................................................................ $131.75 per release.

Processing VS form 16–3, ‘‘Application for Permit to Import Controlled Material/Import or Transport Organisms or Vectors’’:

For permit to import fetal bovine serum when facility inspection is required .......................... $208.50 per application.

For all other permits ................................................................................................................. $27.50 per application.

Amended application ................................................................................................................ $11.50 per amended application.

Application renewal .................................................................................................................. $15.00 per application.

Release from export agricultural hold:

Simple (2 hours or less) ........................................................................................................... $51.25 per release.

Complicated (more than 2 hours) ............................................................................................ $131.75 per release.

1This user fee includes a single inspection and resealing of the container at the APHIS employee’s regular tour of duty station or at a limited

port. For each subsequent inspection and resealing required, the applicable hourly rate user fee would apply. 2For inspection of empty containers being imported into the United States, the applicable hourly rate user fee would apply, unless a user fee

has been assessed under 7 CFR 354.3.

4. A new § 130.11 is added to read as

follows:

§ 130.11 User fees for inspecting and

approving import/export facilities and

establishments.

(a) User fees for the inspection of

various import and export facilities and

establishments are listed in the

following table. The person for whom

the service is provided and the person

requesting the service are jointly and

severally liable for payment of these

user fees in accordance with §§ 130.50

and 130.51.

Service User fee

Embryo collection center inspection and approval ......................................................................... $278.50 for all inspections required during the

year for facility approval.

Inspection for approval of pet food manufacturing, rendering, blending, or digest facilities:

Initial approval .......................................................................................................................... $404.75 for all inspections required during the

year.

Renewal .................................................................................................................................... $289.00 for all inspections required during the

year.

Inspection for approval of biosecurity level three laboratories ....................................................... $977.00 for all costs of inspection related to

approving the laboratory for handling one

defined set of organisms or vectors.

Inspection for approval of pet food spraying and drying facilities:

Initial approval .......................................................................................................................... $275.00 for all inspections required during the

year.

Renewal .................................................................................................................................... $162.00 for all inspections required during the

year.

Inspection for approval of slaughter establishment:

Initial approval .......................................................................................................................... $246.50 for all inspections required during the

year.

Renewal .................................................................................................................................... $213.50 for all inspections required during the

year.

Inspection of approved establishments, warehouses, and facilities under 9 CFR parts 94

through 96:

Initial approval .......................................................................................................................... $262.75 for first year of 3-year approval (for all

inspections required during the year).

Renewal .................................................................................................................................... $152.00 per year for second and third years of

3-year approval (for all inspections required

during the year).

38182 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 119 / Tuesday, June 20, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

Done in Washington, DC, this 14th day of

June 2000.

Richard L. Dunkle,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 00–15494 Filed 6–19–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–U

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50

RIN 3150–AG22

Elimination of the Requirement for

Noncombustible Fire Barrier

Penetration Seal Materials and Other

Minor Changes

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) is amending its fire

protection regulations to remove the

requirement that fire barrier penetration

seal materials be noncombustible, and

to make other minor changes. The final

rule removes a requirement that has a

negligible contribution to safety and

includes editorial changes designed to

meet the intent of the Presidential

memorandum dated June 1, 1998,

entitled, ‘‘Plain Language in

Government Writing.’’

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 20, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Daniele Oudinot, Office of Nuclear

Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear

Regulatory Commission, Washington,

DC 20555–0001, telephone 301–415–

3731; e-mail DHO@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The NRC conducted a technical

assessment of fire barrier penetration

seals. The NRC documented the results

of its assessment in SECY–96–146,

‘‘Technical Assessment of Fire Barrier

Penetration Seals in Nuclear Power

Plants,’’ July 1, 1996; in NUREG–1552,

‘‘Fire Barrier Penetration Seals in

Nuclear Power Plants,’’ July 1996; and

in NUREG–1552, Supplement 1, January

1999. On the basis of its findings, the

NRC concluded that the

noncombustibility criterion for

penetration seal materials that is

specified in the NRC fire protection

regulation and review guidance had a

negligible contribution to safety, and

recommended that this

noncombustibility criterion be deleted.

Copies of NUREG–1552 and NUREG–

1552, Supplement 1, may be purchased

from the Superintendent of Documents,

U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O.

Box 37082, Washington, DC 20402–

9328. Copies are also available from the

National Technical Information Service,

5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA

22161. A copy of each document is also

available for inspection and/or copying

at the NRC Public Document Room,

2120 L Street, NW. (Lower Level),

Washington, DC. NUREG–1552,

Supplement 1, is also available through

the Technical Reports area of the NRC

Reference Library accessed through the

NRC Website: http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/

NUREGS/index.html.

II. Analysis of Public Comments and

Staff Response

The proposed rule was published for

public comment in the Federal Register

on August 18, 1999 (64 FR 44860). The

comment period ended on November 1,

1999. The NRC received eight comment

letters. Six commenters supported the

proposed amendment; two commenters

objected to the changes. This section

discusses the comments received, how

the NRC staff was able to incorporate

some comments into the final rule and,

if not, why a comment was not

accepted. This section addresses all

comments, but specific commenters are

not identified.

A commenter suggested that footnote

1 to Section I, ‘‘Introduction and

Scope,’’ of Appendix R to 10 CFR Part

50, be deleted because its wording is

identical to footnote 4 to § 50. 48(b).

This commenter stated that the basis for

deleting footnote 4 to § 50.48 also

applies to footnote 1 to Section I of

Appendix R. The NRC agrees with this

comment and footnote 1 to Section I of

Appendix R is deleted.

One of the commenters who endorsed

the proposed rule stated that, in

particular, (1) There are no reports of

fire that have challenged the ability of

fire-rated penetration seals to confine a

fire; (2) numerous fire endurance tests

have confirmed the fire-resistive

capabilities of the penetration seal

materials, designs, and configurations

installed in nuclear power plants; and

(3) if penetration seals are properly

designed, installed, and maintained,

there is reasonable assurance that they

will provide the fire-resistive integrity

of the fire barriers in which they are

installed, and confine a fire to its area

of origin.

A commenter objected to the rule

change, but did not identify any specific

technical or safety information for NRC

staff consideration. Therefore, the

comment did not result in changes to

the rule.

One commenter provided multiple

comments in opposition to the proposed

rule. Each of these comments are

discussed below. None of the comments

resulted in any changes from the

proposed rule.

1. Comment. The non-combustibility

requirement for fire seals is key in

providing a high level of confidence in

the operability determination for a fire

seal.

Response. The Commission disagrees.

10 CFR Part 50, Appendix A, General

Design Criteria (GDC), Criterion 3—Fire

Protection states: ‘‘Noncombustible and

heat resistant materials shall be used

wherever practical throughout the

unit. * * *’’ Thus, the Commission’s

most fundamental requirements with

respect to fire protection do not

mandate the exclusive use of

noncombustible materials. The

Commission’s implementing

requirements on fire protection in 10

CFR 50.48 and 10 CFR Part 50,

Appendix R, require the use of fire

barriers that meet 1-hour or 3-hour fire

ratings; while the current regulation

requires the use of noncombustible

materials it is also clear that the 1-hour

and 3-hour ratings can be achieved with

the use of properly tested, rated and

qualified material that is ‘‘combustible.’’

Penetration seals used as a part of the

rated fire barrier assembly are required

to meet the acceptance criteria of

Nationally Recognized Testing

Standards that are specifically designed

to test these components. Examples of

these standards include American

Society for Testing and Materials

(ASTM) E–814, ‘‘Standard Test Method

for Fire Tests of Through-Penetration

Fire Stops,’’ and Institute of Electrical

and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 634,

‘‘Standard Cable Penetration Fire Stop

Qualification Test.’’ These nationally

recognized testing standards do not

require the penetration seal material to

be noncombustible, but rather focus on

the penetration seals ability to prevent

flame travel through the opening and

limit the heat transfer through the

penetration seal assembly by measuring

the cold-side temperature. As such,

‘‘noncombustibility,’’ as defined in

ASTM–136, ‘‘Standard Test Method for

Behavior of Materials in a Vertical Tube

Furnace at 750 °C,’’ is not a necessary

requirement for an adequate fire barrier

or a penetration seal that is part of this

barrier. Penetration seal assemblies,

when properly tested, qualified, and

installed, meet this requirement as a fire

(heat) resistant material. In fire

protection engineering design, this can

be thought of as analogous to the

National Fire Protection Association

(NFPA) Life Safety Code, NFPA 101,