Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 176 / Wednesday, September 11, 2024 / Notices 73635 

Application; and, Public Engagement 

and Education. 

The agenda and other meeting 

materials will be made available on the 

OEAB website at https://oeab.noaa.gov/. 

Status: The meeting will be open to 

the public via remote access. View the 

agenda on the OEAB website to confirm 

access information and the public 

comment period schedule. 

The OEAB expects that public 

statements at its meetings will not be 

repetitive of previously submitted 

verbal or written statements. In general, 

each individual or group making a 

verbal presentation will be limited to 

three minutes. The Designated Federal 

Officer must receive written comments 

by Sept. 30, 2024, to provide sufficient 

time for OEAB review. Written 

comments received after Sept. 30, 2024, 

will be distributed to the OEAB but may 

not be reviewed prior to the meeting 

date. Comments should be submitted to 

Designated Federal Officer 

David.Turner@NOAA.gov. 

Special Accommodations: Requests 

for sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to the 

Designated Federal Officer by Sept. 30, 

2024. 

David Holst, 

Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, 

Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2024–20432 Filed 9–10–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–KA–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE278] 

Adjustment of Fees for Seafood 

Inspection Services 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of fee schedule. 

SUMMARY: The NMFS Seafood 

Inspection Program (SIP) is notifying 

program participants that its fee 

schedule for fiscal year 2025 will 

remain as established on November 1, 

2022. 

DATES: The fee schedule applies to 

services rendered as of October 1, 2024, 

until notified otherwise. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steven Wilson, Office of International 

Affairs, Trade, and Commerce, 301– 

427–8350 or at steven.wilson@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

operates a fee-for-service Seafood 

Inspection Program under the 

authorities of the Agricultural Marketing 

Act of 1946, as amended, the Fish and 

Wildlife Act of 1956, and the 

Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970. The 

regulations implementing the SIP are 

contained in 50 CFR parts 260 and 261. 

The SIP offers inspection, grading, and 

certification services, including the use 

of official quality grade marks which 

indicate that specific products have 

been federally inspected. Those wishing 

to participate in the program must 

request the services and submit specific 

compliance information. Since 1992, 

NMFS implemented inspection services 

based on guidelines recommended by 

the National Academy of Sciences, 

known as Hazard Analysis Critical 

Control Point (HACCP). 

Under the implementing regulations 

for the SIP, fees are reviewed at least 

annually to ascertain that the hourly 

fees charged are adequate to recover the 

costs of the services rendered. Any 

necessary adjustments to fees are made 

in accordance with the requirements of 

50 CFR 260.81 and are notified to 

program participants as stipulated at 50 

CFR 260.70. This Federal Register 

notice serves to inform program 

participants of the fee schedule, which 

remains unchanged. 

SIP costs used for the calculation of 

user fees include all relevant direct and 

indirect costs to the program, and 

applicable administrative overhead and 

surcharges. SIP fees must be set to 

promote full cost recovery of the 

program absent other appropriations. 

SIP costs include all field operations, 

program administrative overhead, and 

management, and include expenses for 

labor for inspectors, facilities, 

information technology infrastructure, 

and other operational costs. SIP fees are 

set to recover those costs based on 

revenue projections from expected 

billable service hours and the number of 

certificates requests. Forecasts of 

demand for services use historical data 

on actual billed services that are 

adjusted annually for inflation, known 

events that might affect the predicted 

output of billable services, and 

seasonality of when forecasted services 

will take place throughout the year. 

NMFS will assess its fees as outlined 

in this notice, which will apply until 

notified otherwise. Fees will be charged 

to contract and non-contract customers 

requesting services as listed below. The 

cost of other applicable services 

rendered will be recovered through fee 

collection using the base rate of $238 

per hour. 

Fees and Charges for the U.S. 

Department of Commerce Seafood 

Inspection Program 

The per hour fees and charges for 

fishery products inspection services are 

not being revised and will remain as 

established on November 1, 2022, for 

fiscal year 2025 and will be assessed as 

follows. Any travel associated with a 

billable service will be an additional 

charge. 

Contract Rates 

• Regular time: Services provided 

during any 8-hour shift. 

• Overtime: Services provided 

outside the inspector’s normal work 

schedule. 

• In addition to any hourly service 

charge, a night differential fee equal to 

10 percent of the employee’s hourly 

salary will be charged for each hour of 

service provided after 6 p.m. and before 

6 a.m. A guarantee of payment is 

required for all contracts equal to 3 

months of service or $10,000, whichever 

is greater. 

Non-Contract Rates 

• Regular time: Services provided 

within the inspector’s normal work 

schedule, Monday through Friday. 

• Overtime: Services provided 

outside the inspector’s normal work 

schedule. 

• Any services under contract in 

excess of the contracted hours will be 

charged at the non-contract rate. 

TABLE 1—CONTRACT AND NONCONTRACT HOURLY RATES

Contract Rates: 

Regular .......................... $238 

Overtime ........................ 357 

Sundays & Holidays ...... 476 

All Non-Contract Rates: 

Regular Time ................. 357 

Overtime ........................ 536 

Sundays & Holidays ...... 714 

Certificates 

All certificate requests, whether or not 

a product inspection was conducted, 

will be billed at a set flat rate of $97 per 

request. 

Additional information about, and 

applications for, Program services and 

fees may be obtained from NMFS (see 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section). 

Dated: September 5, 2024. 

Alexa Cole, 

Director, Office of International Affairs, 

Trade, and Commerce, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–20558 Filed 9–10–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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