Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 184 / Monday, September 23, 2024 / Notices 77513 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System. 

Michele Taylor Fennell, 

Associate Secretary of the Board. 

[FR Doc. 2024–21683 Filed 9–20–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention 

Fees for Cruise Ship Operational 

Sanitation, Construction, and 

Renovation Inspections 

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC), Department of Health 

and Human Services (HHS). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention (CDC), within 

the Department of Health and Human 

Services (HHS) announces fees for 

vessel sanitation inspections for fiscal 

year (FY) 2025. These inspections are 

conducted by HHS/CDC’s Vessel 

Sanitation Program (VSP). VSP helps 

the cruise line industry fulfill its 

responsibility for developing and 

implementing comprehensive sanitation 

programs to minimize the risk for 

environmentally associated illnesses 

and hazards. Every vessel that has a 

foreign itinerary and carries 13 or more 

passengers is subject to twice-yearly 

unannounced operations inspections 

and, when necessary, reinspection. 

DATES: These fees apply to inspections 

conducted from October 13, 2024, 

through September 30, 2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

CAPT Luis Rodriguez, Chief, Vessel 

Sanitation Program, National Center for 

Environmental Health, Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 

Buford Highway NE, MS 106–6, Atlanta, 

Georgia 30341–3717; phone: 800–323– 

2132; email: vsp@cdc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Background 

HHS/CDC established the Vessel 

Sanitation Program (VSP) in the 1970s 

as a cooperative activity with the cruise 

ship industry. VSP helps the cruise ship 

industry prevent and control the 

introduction and spread of 

environmentally associated illnesses 

and hazards on cruise ships. VSP 

operates under the authority of the 

Public Health Service Act (Section 361 

of the Public Health Service Act; 42 

U.S.C. 264, ‘‘Control of Communicable 

Diseases’’). Regulations found at 42 CFR 

71.41 (Foreign Quarantine— 

Requirements Upon Arrival at U.S. 

Ports: Sanitary Inspection; General 

Provisions) state that carriers arriving at 

U.S. ports from foreign areas are subject 

to sanitary inspections to determine 

potential rodent, insect, or other vermin 

infestations; contaminated food or 

water; or other sanitary conditions 

requiring measures to prevent 

introduction or spread of communicable 

diseases. 

The FY 2025 fee schedule reflects 

increases to cover costs to operate and 

improve the program. Travel expenses 

and other costs have increased, and 

larger ships and more complex features 

mean more inspectors are needed for 

each inspection. Fees charged for 

inspections also support many 

additional VSP services beyond 

inspections (plan reviews, equipment 

reviews, technical assistance, 

epidemiological investigations, and 

outbreak response activities). VSP will 

continue to enhance customer service to 

cruise lines and shipyards as well as 

public health efforts onboard by offering 

additional value-added services 

requested by industry partners such as 

modernization of VSP’s data systems to 

increase functionality and efficiency 

and updates to VSP training platforms. 

Additionally, the fee schedule will be 

restructured from seven categories to 

four categories. This new structure 

addresses comments from industry in 

July 2019 and more accurately reflects 

the number of inspectors and inspectorhours needed to perform an inspection. 

The fee schedule for sanitation 

inspections of passenger cruise ships by 

VSP was first published in the Federal 

Register on November 24, 1987 (52 FR 

45019). HHS/CDC began collecting fees 

on March 1, 1988. The fee schedule was 

most recently published in the Federal 

Register on August 14, 2023 (88 FR 

55048). This notice announces fees for 

inspections conducted during FY 2025 

(beginning on October 13, 2024, through 

September 30, 2025). The fee schedule 

for FY 2025 is presented in Appendix A. 

The following formula will be used to 

determine the fees: 

Total cost of VSP = Total cost of 

operating the program, such as 

administration, travel, staffing, 

sanitation inspections, and outbreak 

response. 

Weighted number of annual 

inspections = Total number of ships and 

inspections per year accounting for 

vessel size, number of inspectors 

needed for vessel size, travel logistics to 

conduct inspections, and vessel location 

and arrivals in U.S. jurisdiction per 

year. 

Fee 

The fee schedule (Appendix A) 

applies to inspections conducted from 

October 13, 2024, through September 

30, 2025. 

Applicability 

The fees will apply to all passenger 

cruise vessels for which inspections are 

conducted as part of HHS/CDC’s VSP. 

Noah Aleshire, 

Chief Regulatory Officer, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention. 

Appendix A 

FEE SCHEDULE FOR EACH VESSEL SIZE

Vessel size (GT 1) 

Operational 

inspection 2 fee 

(US$) 

Construction and 

renovation 

inspection 3 fee 

(US$) 

Tier 1 (<30,000 GT) ..................................................................................................................................... 8,073 16,146 

Tier 2 (30,001–110,000 GT) ........................................................................................................................ 16,146 32,292 

Tier 3 (110,001–180,000 GT) ...................................................................................................................... 32,292 64,584 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICESEN23SE24.013</GPH>

Total cost of VSP 

Average cost per inspection = Weighted number of annual inspections 
77514 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 184 / Monday, September 23, 2024 / Notices 

FEE SCHEDULE FOR EACH VESSEL SIZE—Continued 

Vessel size (GT 1) 

Operational 

inspection 2 fee 

(US$) 

Construction and 

renovation 

inspection 3 fee 

(US$) 

Tier 4 (>180,001 GT) ................................................................................................................................... 64,584 129,168 

1Gross tonnage in cubic feet, as shown in Lloyd’s Register of Shipping (https://www.lr.org/en/). 2Operations inspections and re-inspections involve the same procedures and require the same amount of time, so they are charged at the 

same rates. 3 Construction and renovation inspections require at least twice the amount of time as operations inspections, so they are charged double the 

rates. 

[FR Doc. 2024–21786 Filed 9–20–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4163–18–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[Document Identifiers: CMS–10170 and 

CMS–10156] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Submission for OMB 

Review; Comment Request 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, Health and Human 

Services (HHS). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing 

an opportunity for the public to 

comment on CMS’ intention to collect 

information from the public. Under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), federal agencies are required to 

publish notice in the Federal Register 

concerning each proposed collection of 

information, including each proposed 

extension or reinstatement of an existing 

collection of information, and to allow 

a second opportunity for public 

comment on the notice. Interested 

persons are invited to send comments 

regarding the burden estimate or any 

other aspect of this collection of 

information, including the necessity and 

utility of the proposed information 

collection for the proper performance of 

the agency’s functions, the accuracy of 

the estimated burden, ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected, and the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology to 

minimize the information collection 

burden. 

DATES: Comments on the collection(s) of 

information must be received by the 

OMB desk officer by October 23, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. 

To obtain copies of a supporting 

statement and any related forms for the 

proposed collection(s) summarized in 

this notice, please access the CMS PRA 

website by copying and pasting the 

following web address into your web 

browser: https://www.cms.gov/ 

Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/ 

PaperworkReductionActof1995/PRAListing. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

William Parham at (410) 786–4669. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) 

(44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), federal agencies 

must obtain approval from the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for each 

collection of information they conduct 

or sponsor. The term ‘‘collection of 

information’’ is defined in 44 U.S.C. 

3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and 

includes agency requests or 

requirements that members of the public 

submit reports, keep records, or provide 

information to a third party. Section 

3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)) requires federal agencies 

to publish a 30-day notice in the 

Federal Register concerning each 

proposed collection of information, 

including each proposed extension or 

reinstatement of an existing collection 

of information, before submitting the 

collection to OMB for approval. To 

comply with this requirement, CMS is 

publishing this notice that summarizes 

the following proposed collection(s) of 

information for public comment: 

1. Type of Information Collection 

Request: Revision of a currently 

approved collection; Title of 

Information Collection: Retiree Drug 

Subsidy Payment Request and 

Instructions; Use: Under the Medicare 

Prescription Drug, Improvement, and 

Modernization Act of 2003 and 

implementing regulations at 42 CFR part 

423 subpart R plan sponsors (e.g., 

employers, unions) who offer 

prescription drug coverage meeting 

specified criteria to their qualified 

covered retirees are eligible to receive a 

28% subsidy for allowable drug costs, 

through the Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) 

Program. Section 423.886 describes the 

payment methods, including the 

provision of necessary information. The 

information provided in the payment 

request provides CMS with the 

information needed to pay RDS 

sponsors the subsidy. 

The application process for the RDS is 

a completely electronic process (100%). 

The basis for the decision for adopting 

this means of collection was to 

maximize efficiency. The only instance 

when hard copy/paper applications can 

be submitted is when the RDS Center is 

experiencing technical difficulties. The 

Plan Sponsor completes and submits the 

RDS application (including the Plan 

Sponsor’s Authorized Representative’s 

electronic signature) on-line, via the 

secure RDS Secure website, which is 

accessed at https://www.rds.cms.

hhs.gov. Form Number: CMS–10170 

(OMB control number: 0938–0977); 

Frequency: Yearly; Affected Public: 

Private; Business or other for-profits, 

and Not-for Profits; Number of 

Respondents: 1,245; Number of 

Responses: 1,245; Total Annual Hours: 

187,995. (For questions regarding this 

collection, contact Ivan Iveljic at 410– 

786–3312 or Ivan.iveljic@cms.hhs.gov.) 

2. Type of Information Collection 

Request: Revision of a currently 

approved collection; Title of 

Information Collection: Retiree Drug 

Subsidy (RDS) Application and 

Instructions ; Use: Under § 1860D–22 of 

the Social Security Act (Act), added by 

the Medicare Prescription Drug, 

Improvement, and Modernization Act of 

2003 (MMA) and implementing 

regulations at 42 CFR part 423 subpart 

R, Plan Sponsors (e.g., employers or 

unions) who offer prescription drug 

coverage to their qualified covered 

retirees are eligible to receive a 28% 

subsidy for allowable drug costs. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES