[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 119 (Tuesday, June 20, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 38179-38182]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15494]


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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.

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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 
Sec. 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
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Average cost to      Cost to facilities under     Change in user fee
                                      facilities at hourly     new flat rate user fees         collections
                                         rate user fees      ---------------------------------------------------
     Type of pet food facility     --------------------------
                                      Initial      Renewed      Initial      Renewed      Initial      Renewed
                                      approval     approval     approval     approval     approval     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.

[[Page 38180]]



   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]         [(404.75+289)/2]           88   $33,803.00   $30,525.00
                                = $384.13                = $346.88
Rendering facilities..........  [(376.75+272.75)/2]      [(404.75+289)/2]          148    48,063.00    51,337.50
                                = $324.75                = $346.88
Blending facilities...........  [(436.25+316)/2]         [(404.75+289)/2]            7     2,428.13     2,428.13
                                = $376.13                =$346.88
Digest facilities.............  [(390.75+213.75)/2]      [(404.75+289)/2]           12     3,627.00     4,162.50
                                = $302.25                = $346.88
    Total collections using     .......................  ......................  .....    87,921.13    88,453.13
     the two different methods
     (A and B).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 Sec. 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:


Sec. 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 Sec. 130.8, paragraph (a), the table is revised to read as 
follows:


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

[[Page 38181]]

 
    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  $208.50 per application.
     when facility inspection is required.
    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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ This 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.
\2\ For 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 Sec. 130.11 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 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 Secs. 130.50 and 130.51.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Service                              User fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Embryo collection center inspection and      $278.50 for all inspections
 approval.                                    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       $977.00 for all costs of
 level three laboratories.                    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).
------------------------------------------------------------------------



[[Page 38182]]

    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