This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

88697 

Vol. 89, No. 217 

Friday, November 8, 2024 

1To view the proposed rule, final rule, and the 

comments we received, go to www.regulations.gov. 

Enter APHIS–2021–0052 in the Search field. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2023–0058] 

Veterinary Services User Fees 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) is 

announcing its proposed adjusted user 

fee rates for the costs of providing 

certain goods and services, including 

veterinary diagnostic goods and services 

and veterinary services for imports and 

exports of live animals and animal 

products. This includes the basis for any 

proposed adjusted fee change. This 

action is necessary because the 

regulations provide that APHIS will 

issue such a notice. This action would 

ensure that the fees charged more 

closely align with the costs of providing 

the goods or services. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

we receive on or before December 9, 

2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS– 

2023–0058 in the Search field. Select 

the Documents tab, then select the 

Comment button in the list of 

documents. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2023–0058, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

2C–10.16, Unit 25, 4700 River Road, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Any comments we receive on this 

docket may be viewed at regulations.gov 

or in our reading room which is located 

in room 1620 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) 799–7039 

before coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on the user fee activities 

covered by this notice, contact Ms. Lisa 

Slimmer, User Fee Financial Team 

Manager, Veterinary Services Money 

Management, 920 Main Campus Drive, 

Raleigh, NC 27606; (919) 414–7205. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in 9 CFR part 130 

(referred to below as the regulations or 

the user fee regulations), cover user fees 

to reimburse the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

for the costs of providing veterinary 

diagnostic services and import/export 

related services for live animals, animal 

products and byproducts, poultry, birds, 

germplasm, organisms, and vectors. 

These user fees are authorized by 

section 2509(c) of the Food, Agriculture, 

Conservation, and Trade Act (FACT 

Act) of 1990, as amended (21 U.S.C. 

136a(c)), which provides that the 

Secretary of Agriculture may, among 

other things, prescribe regulations and 

collect fees to recover the costs of 

providing import/export related services 

for animals, animal products and 

byproducts, birds, germplasm, 

organisms, and vectors, and for 

veterinary diagnostics relating to the 

control and eradication of 

communicable diseases of livestock or 

poultry within the United States. 

Since fiscal year 1992, APHIS has 

received no directly appropriated funds 

to cover the cost of certain veterinary 

diagnostics or to provide import/export 

related services for animals, animal 

products and byproducts, birds, 

germplasm, organisms, and vectors. Our 

ability to provide these services 

depends on user fees. User fees are 

associated with providing services for 

live animal, animal product, bird, and 

germplasm imports and exports and the 

user fees fund, among other things, 

quarantine services, the processing of 

import permit applications, port of entry 

inspections, inspections and approvals 

of import/export facilities and 

establishments, endorsements of export 

certificates, and services related to 

emergency situations that arise during 

the export or import process. 

On August 1, 2023, APHIS published 

a final rule 1 in the Federal Register that 

revised the regulations (88 FR 49994– 

50002, Docket No. APHIS–2021–0052). 

This rule removed tables providing the 

individual fees from the regulations and 

instead indicated that they are posted 

on the following website: 

www.aphis.usda.gov/business-services/ 

vs-fees. It also provided that, on an 

annual basis, APHIS would propose 

changes to the fee rates through 

publication of a notice in the Federal 

Register. 

This is the first such notice. Below, 

we provide a general overview of the 

factors that led most of our proposed 

adjusted fees to increase, then provide 

a summary of the cost components for 

our fees, as set forth in the revised 

regulations. In this discussion, we 

provide three examples to demonstrate 

the fee calculations. Then, we proceed 

table by table, sequentially, for each 

table set forth in the previous 

regulations. In each table, the first 

column sets forth the current fee and the 

second column sets forth the proposed 

adjusted fee. 

Overview of Factors Leading to 

Proposed Adjusted Fee Increases 

As we forecasted in the proposed rule 

(see footnote 1) on which the August 

2023 final rule was based, most rates 

will change and increase. The increase 

in fees within the tables throughout this 

notice are based on several factors 

including: Time, inflation, increase in 

subject matter expert workload, a shift 

in the level of work complexity, and 

trade and the general economy. As we 

stated in that same proposed rule, this 

is primarily because the current fees 

were established in 2011 and 2012 using 

the best available 2009 data. The actual 

costs of providing the services have 

increased in the intervening decade. 

This increase in costs pertains not only 

to direct costs, but also to indirect costs 

associated with the services. As noted in 

our proposed rule, the 2011 and 2012 

fees did not anticipate the high level of 

information technology investment 

needed to meet customer demand to 

conduct business with APHIS’ 

Veterinary Services (VS). Additionally, 


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the capital required to keep our facilities 

operational is subject to the same 

inflationary pressures as the general 

economy. 

Another factor impacting fee classes is 

an increased level of effort and expertise 

associated with providing certain 

services. Changing trade requirements 

in the intervening years have resulted in 

additional complexities in the work in 

this field, such as the issuance of export 

health certificates. For example, many 

trading partners (importing countries) 

have historically accepted VS forms 

with minimal health information. These 

VS forms contained all health 

information on one page. Also, the use 

of forms allowed information to be 

presented in a standardized way, 

making review of certificates a more 

consistent process across importing 

countries and species. Over the past 

years, many countries have changed 

their import requirements and now 

require country- and species-specific 

health certificates for the export of live 

animals from the United States. These 

health certificates vary widely in terms 

of information they contain, the 

requirements they cite, and the type of 

certificate that can be used. Most are 

two or more pages long, and all 

information must be reviewed and 

verified for each animal or shipment 

being exported. This has increased the 

level of effort needed to complete the 

work. It also means that the subject 

matter expertise needed to complete the 

work is much greater now than 

previously as a result of these growing 

complexities. 

Finally, as we also noted in the 

proposed rule, on which the August 

2023 final rule was based, the Office of 

Management and Budget circular A–25 

requires user fees to be sufficient to 

recover the full cost to the Federal 

Government of providing the service. 

Calculations include imputed costs; 

these imputed costs are outside of 

APHIS’ control. Imputed costs are the 

costs incurred by the U.S. Department of 

Labor, U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management, the U.S. Department of 

State (State Department), and the 

Department of Justice in order to 

provide retirement, health, life 

insurance, worker’s compensation, 

judgment fund, and other related 

benefits to the Agency and employees 

who provide the services covered by the 

fees. These costs have gone up, and, as 

noted above, must be factored into the 

fee setting. 

Fee Amount Calculations 

We have summarized the fee amount 

calculation formulas below. In addition 

to the formulas, we have provided three 

examples to demonstrate application of 

the formulas. 

Paragraph (a) of § 130.2 of the revised 

regulations provides that, with limited 

exceptions, APHIS will calculate user 

fees as follows: 

• APHIS will prorate the total 

inspection, certification, or laboratory 

service program personnel direct pay 

(on board and in hiring process 

including benefits) for the previous 

fiscal year to each fee based upon the 

direct time factor percentage of 

employee’s average time to perform and 

complete each fee code process and 

then multiply by the next year’s 

percentage of cost-of-living increase. 

• APHIS will prorate total direct 

operating costs for the previous fiscal 

year based upon the direct time factor 

percentage of employee’s average time 

to perform and complete each fee code 

process to each fee and then multiply by 

the anticipated percentage of inflation 

for the next year. 

• APHIS will add estimates for 

Program, Agency, and Department 

support costs, imputed costs, and 

reserves by applying a percentage based 

on most recent information to the sum 

of the direct pay plus direct operating 

costs. 

• APHIS will round calculated fees 

up to the next $0.25 for all fees less than 

$10 or round up to the nearest dollar for 

all fees greater than $10. 

Additional discussion on APHIS’ 

calculations of the proposed adjusted 

fees in this notice is below: 

The prior year (2023) costs are 

obtained from the official financial 

systems of record. As part of our 

accounting procedures, we maintain 

separate accounting hierarchies to 

record costs that can be charged to each 

program (e.g., Import Export and 

Veterinary Diagnostics). Costs are those 

things on which an organization spends 

its budget, such as salaries and benefits 

for employees, rent, equipment, travel, 

and so on. We are required to capture 

the full cost of the services that we 

provide. 

As discussed in our August 1, 2023, 

final rule, Import Export and Veterinary 

Diagnostics projected program costs will 

include: 

• Direct pay (including benefits). The 

wage labor costs (on board and in the 

hiring process), including benefits, for 

employees who specifically support and 

provide the required service. 

• Direct operating costs. Costs 

attributed to travel and transportation 

for personnel; materials, supplies, and 

other necessary items; training; general 

office supplies; rent; facility 

maintenance; equipment purchase and 

maintenance; utilities; contractual 

services; and information system 

operations, maintenance, and 

development. 

• Consumer price index. The measure 

of the average change over time in 

prices paid by urban consumers for a 

market basket of consumer goods and 

services, as determined by the Bureau of 

Labor Statistics annually. 

• Cost of living. The adjusted annual 

rate used to determine the cost of 

maintaining a certain standard of living 

based on the economic assumptions in 

the Office of Management and Budget’s 

Presidential Economic Assumptions. 

• Imputed costs. Office of Workers’ 

Compensation costs from the 

Department of Labor; costs of employee 

leave earned in a prior fiscal year and 

used in the current fiscal year; Office of 

Personnel Management and Department 

of State (State Department) costs to 

provide retirement, health, and life 

insurance benefits to employees; 

unemployment compensation costs; and 

Department of Justice judgment fund 

costs. 

• Program, Agency, and Department 

support. Indirect or direct costs of the 

program, including supporting services 

provided to the industry. 

• Reserve. Funds above expected 

obligations that are required to 

effectively manage uncertainties in 

demand and timing to ensure sufficient 

operating funds in cases of bad debt, 

customer insolvency, fluctuations in 

activity volumes, information 

technology development costs, cash 

flow, facilities capital needs, or 

fluctuations in activity volumes caused 

by unforeseen global and national 

events. 

Reserve 

As discussed in our October 3, 2022, 

proposed rule, and reiterated in the 

August 1, 2023, final rule, the reserve 

would be calculated each year based on 

the forecasted needs identified during 

the annual fee setting session by 

estimating 25 percent or 90 days of 

annual expenditures adding a prorated 

component of forecasted IT and 

facilities capital needs and investments, 

and offsetting that sum by the existing 

amount in the reserve. 

Therefore, we estimate the reserve 

component costs annually as follows: 

At the time each year that we 

calculate our proposed user fee rates, we 

estimate cash flow needs by estimating 

25 percent or 90 days of annual 

expenditures, whichever is greater. 

We forecast information technology 

and facilities capital needs and 

investments, including any major 

purchases or improvement of equipment 

or systems, for the next 5 fiscal years, 


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and assign an estimated date by year at 

which we anticipate these costs to be 

actualized. Based on the expected time 

of cost actualization within that 5-year 

forecast, we will add a component of 

that cost to the above cash flow needs. 

Finally, this sum of expenses calculated 

will be offset by the existing amount in 

the reserve, and the difference to be 

collected is calculated for each user fee. 

Reserve levels will be set at a level 

meant to reflect the forecasted needs, as 

articulated above, but are monitored and 

adjusted annually as needs or costs 

change. We intend to closely monitor 

the operations and operating 

environment including demand, costs 

changes, administrative policies, 

investment needs, and the economic 

environment closely and propose 

adjustments, as needed, in our fees 

annually to ensure an adequate reserve 

balance to ensure cash flow and capital 

planning needs are met. 

Capital costs included in the reserve 

calculation are items such as facility 

design, development and maintenance 

costs, equipment, and other items as 

needed to ensure facilities and 

equipment are kept at acceptable 

standards for both Import Export and 

Veterinary Diagnostics. Plans are 

reviewed annually and forecasted for 5 

years as costs are gathered for our 

annual update. Facilities, equipment, 

and other shared items that may house 

or support both user fee and non-user 

fee functions are shared proportionately. 

The cost model only includes those 

costs attributable to the user fee 

services. The total capital costs included 

in this update are $2,228,707.50 for 

Import Export and $1,350,000.00 for 

Veterinary Diagnostics to ensure 

funding is available as costs are 

actualized. 

Information technology costs 

included in the reserve calculation are 

also projected for the following 5 years 

and include items such as systems 

modernization, particularly for trade 

modernization systems, billing system 

replacement and other user fee related 

operational systems enhancements or 

maintenance. Technology costs that may 

support both user fee and non-user fee 

functions are shared proportionately 

based upon the most appropriate driver 

of the costs. The total information 

technology costs included in this update 

is $6,461,071.38 for Import Export to 

ensure funding is available as costs are 

actualized. There are no planned 

information technology development or 

maintenance user fee expenses for 

Veterinary Diagnostics at this time. 

The reserve percentage to be applied 

to recover the costs derived is expressed 

as a percentage (total reserve target 

divided by the total of prior year 

expenses including vacancies plus cost 

of living and consumer price index 

costs). To allocate the identified reserve 

costs per service, a rate of 25.69 percent 

and 18.32 percent was derived for 

Import Export and Veterinary 

Diagnostics respectively. 

Then, to ensure full cost recovery, we 

identified and added an appropriate 

amount of imputed costs. These are 

costs borne by other Federal agencies 

(such as the U.S. Treasury and the 

Office of Personnel Management) in 

support of the user fee programs. We 

used percentage of full time equivalent 

as the basis to identify the portion of 

these costs to attribute to the Import 

Export and Veterinary Diagnostics 

programs. 

General Formula 

The Veterinary Services User Fee cost 

model structure is developed in 

Microsoft Excel using cost allocation by 

direct time factors to each service 

provided. To determine the current 

costs for the general formula, of Import 

Export and Veterinary Diagnostic 

services, we first calculated the actual 

and projected costs of the current 

programs using the models. Tables A 

through D below set out examples of the 

calculations for certain fees. The costs 

for the general formula model are shown 

in table A. 

TABLE A—GENERAL FORMULA MODEL PROJECTED COSTS

Cost category Import export Veterinary diagnostics 

Fiscal Year 2023 Actual Costs by Category With Future Projected Costs by Program for General Fee Formula 

(rounded to two decimal points) 

Salary and Benefits Prior Year (PY) 2023 ............................................................................................ $28,624,842.48 $4,214,611.00 

Operating Costs PY 2023 ...................................................................................................................... 6,476,340.71 2,525,556.00 

Future projected costs: 

Staffing and benefits full year ................................................................................................................ 5,183,454.49 604,664.81 

Cost of Living adjustment (COLA) (5.2% multiplied by the sum of 2023 salary and benefits and future salary and benefits) .................................................................................................................... 1,758,031.44 250,602.37 

Consumer price index (CPI) (3.7% multiplied by the sum of 2023 operating costs) ........................... 239,624.61 93,445.58 

Reserve shared costs (estimated target to collect expressed as a percentage of prior year expenses, COLA and CPI is 25.69% and 18.32% for import export and veterinary diagnostics respectively) .......................................................................................................................................... 10,862,184.92 1,408,757.00 

Imputed Costs (estimated target to collect expressed as a percentage of prior year expenses salary 

and benefits, future staffing and COLA is 25.69% and 18.32% per activity for import export and 

veterinary diagnostics respectively) ................................................................................................... 3,427,788.13 580,751.96 

Sub-total Expenses ........................................................................................................................ 56,572,266.78 9,678,388.72 

Program, Agency, Department Support (19% of sub-total expenses) .................................................. 10,748,730.69 1,838,893.86 

Total Projected Program Costs ............................................................................................... 67,320,997.47 11,517,282.58 

The differing proposed adjusted fees 

are the result of the average level of 

effort identified to complete each 

service, for which a user fee is assessed, 

referred to as the direct time factor in 

minutes. To determine the direct time 

factor in minutes for each service, we 

conducted labor surveys for each of the 

organizations providing the services. 

The level of effort is a good indicator of 

resources consumed. Two examples of 

the general formula are shown in table 

B. 


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TABLE B—GENERAL FORMULA FEE CALCULATION

Step Import export Veterinary diagnostics 

Example: Service provided ............................................................................................ Slaughter Animals (except poultry and including ruminants) 

moving to Canada Or 

Mexico.

Complement Fixation Test.1

1. Direct Time Factor per service (in minutes) ............................................................ 35.75 .............................. 9.50. 

2. Total Prior Year Volume for service ........................................................................ 1,727.00 ......................... 55,555.00. 

3. Annual Direct minutes for service (total prior year volume, step 2, multiplied by 

direct time factor per service step 1).

61,740.25 ....................... 527,768.00. 

4. Total Direct Time Factor minutes per program ....................................................... 34,491,538.00 ................ 2,143,306.00. 

5. Percent of Direct Labor Minutes (Annual Direct Minutes, step 3, for service divided by total direct time factor minutes, step 4).0.18% ............................. 24.62%. 

6. Total Direct Labor Costs (includes salary and benefits and future staffing and 

benefits) for service (Percent of direct labor minutes, step 5, multiplied by total 

labor costs of salary and benefits PY 2023 plus Future staffing and benefits (Import Export is $28,624,842,48 plus 5,183,454.49 and Veterinary Diagnostics is 

4,214,611 plus $604,664.81).

$60,517.24 ..................... $1,186,698.48. 

7. Per share labor for service (total direct labor costs step 7, divided by the prior 

year volume for the service, step 2).

$35.04 ............................ $21.36. 

8. Cost of living adjustment (5.2% multiplied by the Per Share Labor for service, 

step 7).

$1.82 .............................. $1.11. 

9. Total Direct Labor costs per service (step 7 plus step 8) ....................................... $36.86 ............................ $22.47. 

10. Total Direct Operating Costs (percent of direct labor costs step 5 multiplied by 

total operating costs for Import Export of $6,476,340.71 and for Veterinary 

Diagnostics of $2,525,556.00).

$11,592.72 ..................... $621,892.91. 

11. Per share operating costs for service (total direct operating costs step 10 divided 

by prior year volume step 2).

$6.71 .............................. $11.19. 

12. Per Share consumer price index (CPI) for service (2023 CPI of 3.7% multiplied 

by the Per Share Operating Costs for service, step 11).

$0.25 .............................. $0.41. 

13. Total Operating costs per service (Total operating costs per service, step 11 

plus Per share CPI for service, step 12).

$6.96 .............................. $11.61. 

14. Sub-Total of total operating and labor costs per service, step 9, plus step 13 ...... $43.83 ............................ $34.08. 

15. Reserve shared costs (25.69% and 18.32% multiplied by the Sub-Total in step 

14 for Import Export and Veterinary Diagnostics respectively).

$11.26 ............................ $6.24. 

16. Imputed shared costs (9.638% and 11.45% multiplied by the Sub-Total in step 9 

for Import Export and Veterinary Diagnostics respectively).

$3.55 .............................. $2.57. 

17. Sub-Total of Direct Labor, Direct Op Costs with imputed and reserve shared 

costs (step 9 plus step 13 plus step 15 plus step 16).

$58.64 ............................ $42.89. 

18. Program, Agency & Departmental support shared costs (19% of Sub-total of Direct Labor, Direct Op Costs with imputed and reserve shared costs step 17).$11.14 ............................ $8.15. 

19. Total of Direct Labor, Operating Costs with imputed, reserve and program, agency & department support shared costs (step 17 plus step 18).$69.78 ............................ $51.04. 

20. New fee calculated is above $10 so it is rounded to the next whole dollar ........... $70.00 ............................ $52.00.2

1The complement fixation test (CFT) is a classical immunological assay used to detect the presence of specific antibodies or antigens in a 

serum. 2The table is rounded to two decimal or percentage places. 

Alternate Fee Structure 

Paragraph (b) of § 130.2 provides an 

alternate fee structure in instances when 

there is no identifiable volume in the 

previous year, when the fee is rarely 

charged, or when APHIS cannot readily 

identify level of effort. In such 

instances, we will calculate the fee 

based on the last available historic data, 

including inflation, program, agency, 

department and support costs, imputed 

costs, and reserve. 

Examples of this calculation are the 

fee for the housing, care, feed, and 

handling of miniature horses while in 

import-related quarantine and for Latex 

Agglutination. 

There was no identifiable volume for 

the prior year and no identifiable level 

of effort upon which to base salary and 

benefits expenses for future years. As 

table C indicates below, we begin with 

the current fee. To that we add the 

intervening inflation of 36 percent 

representing inflation from 2012 to 2023 

to arrive at a new base fee. To ensure 

full costs, imputed, reserve, and 

program, agency and department 

support costs are added as a percentage 

of the new base fee. The components are 

summed to arrive at a final fee. The final 

fee is then rounded to the next whole 

dollar if it is greater than $10. This is 

demonstrated in table C. 

TABLE C—IMPORT EXPORT AND VETERINARY DIAGNOSTICS ALTERNATE FEE STRUCTURE CALCULATION

Service description 

Import export Veterinary 

diagnostics 

Miniature 

horses/head/day Latex 

agglutination 

Current Fee ........................................................................................................................................................ $97.00 $18.00 


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TABLE C—IMPORT EXPORT AND VETERINARY DIAGNOSTICS ALTERNATE FEE STRUCTURE CALCULATION—Continued 

Service description 

Import export Veterinary 

diagnostics 

Miniature 

horses/head/day Latex 

agglutination 

Inflation 2012–2023 (36% of current fee) .......................................................................................................... 34.92 6.48 

New base fee (current fee plus inflation adjustment) ....................................................................................... 131.92 24.48 

Total Imputed costs shared per service (9.64% & 11.45% percent multiplied by the new base fee respectively for Import Export and Veterinary Diagnostics) ..................................................................................... 12.71 2.80 

Reserve costs shared per service (25.69% & 18.32% percent multiplied by the new base fee respectively 

for Import Export and Veterinary Diagnostics) .............................................................................................. 33.89 4.48 

Program, Agency & Department support costs shared per service (19% of new base fee) ........................... 25.06 4.65 

Sub-Total new base fee plus imputed, plus reserve and plus program, agency & departmental costs 

shared per service ......................................................................................................................................... 203.59 36.42 

New fee is above $10 so it is rounded to the next whole dollar ...................................................................... 204.00 37.00 

Animal Import Center Space 

Paragraph (c) of § 130.2 provides that 

APHIS will calculate fees for exclusive 

use of space in animal import centers, 

as follows: 

• APHIS will calculate fees by using 

direct employee average time (with 

benefits) and adding a prorated portion 

of currently identifiable expenses 

(facilities, rent, support cost, and admin 

support costs), program, agency, 

department and support expenses, 

imputed costs, and reserve. 

• APHIS will combine the costs to 

determine the monthly cost of providing 

the service at a single location within 

the animal import center. 

• APHIS will calculate the costs of 

the other locations within the animal 

import center based on the square 

footage of the location. 

The typical staffing for barn services 

includes maintenance workers, facility 

supervisor, animal health technicians 

(AHT), supervisory AHT, and 

Veterinary Medical Officers (VMO). 

Time surveys and follow up discussions 

quantified level of effort providing 

services at the barn from which direct 

labor costs were calculated. 

Administrative personnel costs 

supporting all animal import center 

services (such as Veterinarian in charge, 

administrative office, program assistant 

and other AHT) were allocated to the 

barn costs based upon the percentage 

full time equivalent for the animal 

import center. The administrative 

personnel provide oversight and 

support to the animal import center 

including the barn needs. Operating 

costs required for barn operation and 

support were analyzed over a 2-year 

period of time to ensure all costs were 

gathered as some costs may be biennial. 

Costs such as rent, utilities, travel, 

equipment, and supplies or other such 

costs which may support both user fee 

and non-user fee functions are shared 

proportionately by percentage of full 

time equivalent or square footage as 

appropriate. The cost model barn rate 

calculation only includes those costs 

attributable to the user fee services 

provided. Reserve, imputed, and 

program, agency and departmental 

shared costs were added to the base. 

Once all monthly costs are derived for 

Newburg (barn A), they are further 

broken down to cost per square foot for 

the square footage of barn A. This cost 

per square foot of barn A is then applied 

to the appropriate square footage of 

barns B and C to arrive at their monthly 

fee. An example of Newburg Barn A 

costs is shown in table D below. 

TABLE D—NEWBURG BARN A RATES

Service description Barn A rates 

per month 

Direct labor costs ........................................................................................................................................................................... $30,032.23 

Operating costs .............................................................................................................................................................................. 33,792.31 

Total Direct Costs .......................................................................................................................................................................... 63,824.54 

Total Imputed costs shared per activity (9.637% of direct labor costs) ........................................................................................ 2,894.21 

Total Reserve cost shared (25.69% percent of total direct costs) ................................................................................................ 16,396.52 

Total Program, Agency & Department support costs shared (19% of total direct costs) ............................................................. 12,126.66 

Allocated Administrative support costs .......................................................................................................................................... 9,126.72 

Total Monthly costs for Barn A, Newburg (total direct costs plus imputed, plus reserve, plus program, agency and department and plus allocated administrative costs) ........................................................................................................................... 104,368.67 

New fee calculated is above 10 so it is rounded to the next whole dollar ................................................................................... 104,369.00 

Hourly Rate and Minimum User Fees 

(Import Export) 

Finally, paragraph (d) of § 130.2 

indicates that APHIS will charge an 

hourly rate-based user fee for services 

listed in § 130.4 of the revised 

regulations. Examples of services 

charged the hourly rate include 

obtaining samples required to be tested, 

either to obtain import permits or to 

ensure compliance with import permits, 

and inspecting means of conveyance 

used to export animals or birds. 

As noted above, APHIS charges an 

hourly rate-based user fee for certain 

import- or export-related veterinary 

services. These services are currently 

listed in § 130.4(a)(1) through (18) of the 

regulations, except those services 

covered by flat rate user fees elsewhere 

in part 130. Prior to the August 2023 

final rule, these fees were set forth in 

§ 130.30 of the regulations. Tables 1 

through 25 below set out the current 

and proposed adjusted fees for hourly 

rates and services provided. The current 

hourly fee as of October 1, 2012, and 

proposed hourly fee rates are listed in 

table 1 below. 


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TABLE 1—HOURLY RATE AND MINIMUM USER FEES IMPORT EXPORT

Hourly rate Current Proposed 

adjusted fees 

Per hour ................................................................................................................................................................... $132.00 $166.00 

Per quarter hour ...................................................................................................................................................... 33.00 42.00 

Per service minimum fee ......................................................................................................................................... 40.00 51.00 

Overtime Hourly Rate 

Paragraph (b) of § 130.4 currently 

provides there is an additional amount 

charged hourly to perform the services 

listed in the section on a Sunday, on a 

holiday, or at any time outside the 

normal tour of duty for the employee 

providing the service. Prior to the 

August 2023 final rule, this overtime 

hourly rate had been set forth in 

§ 130.30 of the regulations. The current 

hourly fee as of October 1, 2012, and 

proposed overtime hourly rates are 

listed in table 2 below. 

TABLE 2—OVERTIME HOURLY RATE

Overtime rates 

(outside the employee’s normal tour of duty) Current Proposed fee 

Premium hourly rate Monday through Saturday and holidays 

Per hour ................................................................................................................................................................... $156.00 $196.00 

Per quarter hour ...................................................................................................................................................... 39.00 49.00 

Premium hourly rate for Sundays 

Per hour ................................................................................................................................................................... 176.00 221.00 

Per quarter hour ...................................................................................................................................................... 44.00 56.00 

User Fees 

APHIS charges user fees for services 

rendered by an APHIS representative for 

each animal or bird receiving standard 

housing, care, feed, and handling while 

quarantined in an APHIS-owned or 

operated animal import center or 

quarantine facility. Prior to the August 

2023 final rule, these fees were set forth 

in § 130.2 of the regulations. The current 

fee as of October 1, 2012, and proposed 

fee rates are listed in table 3 below. Each 

user fee listed in the table is assessed 

per animal or bird quarantined by 

APHIS. 

TABLE 3—ANIMAL OR BIRD DAILY USER FEE

Animal or bird Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Birds (excluding ratites and pet birds imported in accordance with part 93 of this subchapter) 

0–250 grams ............................................................................................................................................................ $3.00 $5.00 

251–1,000 grams ..................................................................................................................................................... 9.25 10.00 

Over 1,000 grams .................................................................................................................................................... 21.00 30.00 

Domestic or zoo animals (except equines, birds, and poultry) 

Bison, bulls, camels, cattle, or zoo animals ............................................................................................................ 162.00 341.00 

All others, including, but not limited to, alpacas, llamas, goats, sheep, and swine ............................................... 43.00 69.00 

Equines (including zoo equines, but excluding miniature horses) 

1st through 3rd day (fee per day) ........................................................................................................................... 429.00 586.00 

4th through 7th day (fee per day) ........................................................................................................................... 310.00 196.00 

8th and subsequent days (fee per day) .................................................................................................................. 264.00 196.00 

Miniature horses ...................................................................................................................................................... 97.00 204.00 

Poultry (including zoo poultry) 

Doves, pigeons, quail .............................................................................................................................................. 5.75 9.25 

Chickens, ducks, grouse, guinea fowl, partridge, pea fowl, pheasants .................................................................. 10.00 16.00 

Large poultry and large waterfowl, including, but not limited to, gamecocks, geese, swans, and turkeys ............ 24.00 51.00 

Ratites 

Chicks (less than 3 months old) .............................................................................................................................. 15.00 32.00 

Juveniles (3 months through 10 months old) .......................................................................................................... 22.00 47.00 

Adults (11 months old or older) ............................................................................................................................... 43.00 91.00 


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APHIS also charges user fees for birds 

or poultry, including zoo birds or 

poultry, receiving nonstandard housing, 

care, or handling to meet special 

requirements while quarantined in an 

APHIS-owned or operated Animal 

Import Center or quarantine facility. 

Prior to the August 2023 final rule, these 

fees were also set forth in § 130.2 of the 

regulations. The current fee as of 

October 1, 2012, and proposed adjusted 

fees are listed in table 4 below. The user 

fees listed in table 4 are assessed for 

each bird or poultry quarantined by 

APHIS. Special requirements may be 

requested by the importer or required by 

an APHIS representative. Certain 

conditions or traits, such as pregnancy 

or aggression, may necessitate special 

requirements for certain birds or 

poultry. 

TABLE 4—BIRD OR POULTRY (NONSTANDARD HOUSING, CARE, OR HANDLING) DAILY USER FEE

Bird weight Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Birds 0–250 grams and doves, pigeons and quail .................................................................................................. $9.25 $14.00 

Birds 251–1,000 grams and poultry such as chickens, ducks, grouse, guinea fowl, partridge, pea fowl, and 

pheasants ............................................................................................................................................................. 21.00 28.00 

Birds over 1,000 grams and large poultry and large waterfowl, including, but not limited to gamecocks, geese, 

swans, and turkeys .............................................................................................................................................. 40.00 51.00 

User Fees for Exclusive Use of Space at 

APHIS Animal Import Centers 

An importer may request to 

exclusively occupy a space at an APHIS 

animal import center. If this occurs, 

APHIS charges for the use of the space. 

Prior to the August 2023 final rule, these 

fees were set forth in § 130.3 of the 

regulations. The current fee as of 

October 1, 2012, and proposed user fee 

for spaces at APHIS animal import 

centers are listed in table 5 below. 

TABLE 5—ANIMAL IMPORT CENTER MONTHLY USER FEE

Newburgh, NY1 Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Space A 5,396 ft2 (503.1 m2) .................................................................................................................................. $94,249.00 $104,369.00 

Space B 8,903 ft2 (827.1 m2) .................................................................................................................................. 155,504.00 172,201.00 

Space C 905 ft2 (84.1 m2) ....................................................................................................................................... 15,807.00 17,504.00 

1Square foot (f2); square meter (m2). 

User Fees for Processing Import Permit 

Applications 

APHIS charges user fees for any 

service rendered by an APHIS 

representative for processing 

applications for permits to import 

certain animals and animal products 

(using VS forms 16–3 and 17–129). Prior 

to the August 2023 final rule, these fees 

were set forth in § 130.4 of the 

regulations. The current fees as of 

October 1, 2012, and proposed adjusted 

fees are listed in table 6 below. 

TABLE 6—USER FEES FOR PROCESSING IMPORT PERMIT APPLICATIONS

Service Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Import compliance assistance 

Simple (4 hours or less) ............................................... Per shipment ................................................................ $111.00 $249.00 

Complicated (more than 4 hours) ................................ Per shipment ................................................................ 565.00 762.00 

Processing an application for a permit to import live animals, animal products or by products, organisms, vectors, or germ plasm 

(embryos or semen) or to transport organisms or vectors 1

Initial permit .................................................................. Per application .............................................................. 150.00 303.00 

Amended permit ........................................................... Per amended application .............................................. 75.00 176.00 

Renewed permit 2 ......................................................... Per application .............................................................. 97.00 176.00 

Processing an application for a permit to import fetal 

bovine serum when facility inspection is required.

Per application .............................................................. 512.00 1,075.00 

1 Using Veterinary Services Form 16–3, ‘‘Application for Permit to Import or Transport Controlled Material or Organisms or Vectors,’’ or Veterinary Services Form 17–129, ‘‘Application for Import or In Transit Permit (Animals, Animal Semen, Animal Embryos, Birds, Poultry, or Hatching 

Eggs).’’ 2Permits to import germ plasm and live animals are not renewable. 

User Fees for Inspection of Live 

Animals at Land Border Ports Along 

the United States-Mexico Border 

APHIS charges user fees for any 

service rendered by an APHIS 

representative for live animals 

presented for importation into or entry 

into the United States through a land 

border port along the United StatesMexico border. Prior to the August 2023 

final rule, these fees were set forth in 

§ 130.6 of the regulations. The current 

fees as of October 1, 2012, and proposed 

adjusted fees are listed in table 7 below. 


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TABLE 7—USER FEES FOR INSPECTION OF LIVE ANIMALS AT LAND BORDER PORTS ALONG THE UNITED STATES-MEXICO

BORDER

Type of live animal Current per 

head user fee 

Proposed 

adjusted per 

head user fee 

Any ruminants (including breeder ruminants) not covered below ........................................................................... $14.00 $11.00 

Feeder ...................................................................................................................................................................... 4.00 8.25 

Horses, other than slaughter ................................................................................................................................... 70.00 288.00 

In-bond or in-transit ................................................................................................................................................. 9.25 20.00 

Slaughter .................................................................................................................................................................. 6.00 13.00 

User Fees for Import or Entry Services 

for Live Animals at Land Border Ports 

Along the United States-Canada Border 

APHIS charges user fees for any 

service rendered by an APHIS 

representative for live animals 

presented for importation into or entry 

into the United States through a land 

border port along the United StatesCanada border. Prior to the August 2023 

final rule, these fees were set forth in 

§ 130.7 of the regulations. The current 

fees as of October 1, 2012, and proposed 

adjusted fees are listed in table 8 below. 

TABLE 8—USER FEES FOR IMPORT OR ENTRY SERVICES FOR LIVE ANIMALS AT LAND BORDER PORTS ALONG THE UNITED

STATES-CANADA BORDER

Type of live animal Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Animals being imported into the United States: Breeding animals (Grade animals, except horses) 

Sheep and goats ....................................................................................... Per head .......................................... $1.00 $2.25 

Swine ......................................................................................................... Per head .......................................... 1.25 2.00 

All others .................................................................................................... Per head .......................................... 5.25 17.00 

Feeder animals 

Cattle (not including calves) ...................................................................... Per head .......................................... 2.50 2.75 

Sheep and calves ...................................................................................... Per head .......................................... 1.00 2.25 

Swine ......................................................................................................... Per head .......................................... 0.50 0.50 

Horses (including registered horses) other than slaughter and in-transit Per head .......................................... 46.00 49.00 

Poultry (including eggs), imported for any purpose .................................. Per load ........................................... 80.00 88.00 

Registered animals, all types (except horses) .......................................... Per head .......................................... 9.75 11.00 

Slaughter animals, all types (except poultry) ............................................ Per load ........................................... 40.00 79.00 

Animals transiting 1 the United States 

Cattle .......................................................................................................... Per head .......................................... 2.50 11.00 

Sheep and goats ....................................................................................... Per head .......................................... 0.50 1.25 

Swine ......................................................................................................... Per head .......................................... 0.50 1.75 

Horses and all other animals ..................................................................... Per head .......................................... 11.00 118.00 

1The user fee in this section will be charged for in-transit authorizations at the port where the authorization services are performed. 

User Fees for Other Services 

APHIS charges user fees for services 

rendered by an APHIS representative for 

certain other services that are not 

specifically addressed elsewhere in the 

regulations. Prior to the August 2023 

final rule, these fees were set forth in 

§ 130.8 of the regulations. The current 

user fees as of October 1, 2012, and 

proposed adjusted fees are listed in in 

table 9 below. 

TABLE 9—USER FEES FOR OTHER SERVICES

Service Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Germ plasm being exported, Embryo 1

Up to 5 donor pairs .................................................................................... Per certificate .................................. $132.00 $163.00 

Each additional group of donor pairs, up to 5 pairs per group on the 

same certificate.

Per group of donor pairs ................. 59.00 100.00 

Germ plasm being exported, Semen 1

Semen ........................................................................................................ Per certificate .................................. 81.00 171.00 


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TABLE 9—USER FEES FOR OTHER SERVICES—Continued 

Service Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Release from export agricultural hold 

Simple (2 hours or less) ............................................................................ Per release ...................................... 111.00 118.00 

Complicated (more than 2 hours) .............................................................. Per release ...................................... 286.00 601.00 

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 hourly user fee in § 130.4 will apply. 

User Fees for Pet Birds 

APHIS charges user fees for pet birds 

of U.S. origin returning to the United 

States, except pet birds of U.S. origin 

returning from Canada to home 

quarantine. Prior to the August 2023 

final rule, these fees were set forth in 

§ 130.10 of the regulations. The current 

fees as of October 1, 2012, and proposed 

adjusted fees are listed in table 10 

below. 

TABLE 10—USER FEES FOR PET BIRDS

Service Current per lot 

fee 

Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Pet birds which have been out of the United States 60 days or less .................................................................... $172.00 $362.00 

Pet birds which have been out of the United States more than 60 days ............................................................... 409.00 938.00 

Pet Birds Quarantined in an Animal 

Import Center or Other APHIS-Owned 

or Supervised Quarantine Facility (Fee 

Includes Standard Care, Feed, and 

Handling) 

APHIS charges user fees for each pet 

bird quarantined in an animal import 

center or other APHIS-owned or 

supervised quarantine facility. The 

current user fees as of October 1, 2012, 

and proposed adjusted fees are listed in 

table 11 below. These user fees include 

standard care, feed, and handling. Based 

on the information provided to APHIS 

personnel, APHIS personnel at the 

Animal Import Center or other APHISowned or -supervised quarantine facility 

will determine the appropriate number 

of birds that should be housed per 

isolette. Additionally, if the importer 

requests additional services, then the 

user fees for those services will be 

calculated at the hourly rate user fee 

listed pursuant to § 130.4, for each 

employee required to perform the 

service. 

TABLE 11—PET BIRDS QUARANTINED IN AN ANIMAL IMPORT CENTER OR OTHER APHIS-OWNED OR SUPERVISED

QUARANTINE FACILITY

Number of birds in isolette Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

1 ............................................................................................................................................................................... $15.00 $22.00 

2 ............................................................................................................................................................................... 18.00 24.00 

3 ............................................................................................................................................................................... 21.00 26.00 

4 ............................................................................................................................................................................... 24.00 30.00 

5 or more ................................................................................................................................................................. 29.00 32.00 

User Fees for Inspecting and Approving 

Import/Export Facilities and 

Establishments 

APHIS charges user fees for the 

inspection of various import and export 

facilities and establishments. Prior to 

the August 2023 final rule, these fees 

were set forth in § 130.11 of the 

regulations. The current user fees as of 

October 1, 2012, and proposed adjusted 

fees are listed in table 12 below. These 

user fees do not apply to inspection 

activities covered in § 130.3. They also 

do not apply to biosecurity level two 

laboratories, which are charged the 

hourly rate, in § 130.4. 

TABLE 12—USER FEES FOR INSPECTING AND APPROVING IMPORT/EXPORT FACILITIES AND ESTABLISHMENTS

Service Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Embryo collection center inspection and approval (all inspections required during the 

year for facility approval).

Per year .................... $604.00 767.00 

Inspection for approval of biosecurity level three labs (all inspections related to approving the laboratory for handling one defined set of organisms or vectors).Per inspection .......... 1,554.00 3262.00 

Inspection for approval of slaughter establishment 

Initial approval (all inspections) ........................................................................................ Per year .................... 593.00 938.00 

Renewal (all inspections) .................................................................................................. Per year .................... 514.00 703.00 


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TABLE 12—USER FEES FOR INSPECTING AND APPROVING IMPORT/EXPORT FACILITIES AND ESTABLISHMENTS—Continued 

Service Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Inspection of approved establishments, warehouses, and facilities under 9 CFR parts 94 through 96 

Approval (compliance agreement) (all inspections for first year of 3-year approval) ...... Per year .................... 633.00 747.00 

Renewal (all inspections for second and third years of 3-year approval) ........................ Per year .................... 366.00 513.00 

User Fees for Foreign Animal Disease 

Diagnostics Laboratory (FADDL) 

Veterinary Diagnostics 

APHIS charges user fees for diagnostic 

reagents provided by FADDL. Prior to 

the August 2023 final rule, these fees 

were set forth in § 130.14 of the 

regulations. The current fees as of 

October 1, 2006, and proposed adjusted 

fees are listed in table 13 below. 

TABLE 13—USER FEES FOR FOREIGN ANIMAL DISEASE DIAGNOSTICS LABORATORY (FADDL) VETERINARY DIAGNOSTICS

Reagent Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Bovine antiserum, any agent ............................................................................................ 1 mL ......................... $165.00 $334.00 

Caprine antiserum, any agent .......................................................................................... 1 mL ......................... 202.00 409.00 

Cell culture antigen/microorganism .................................................................................. 1 mL ......................... 111.00 225.00 

Equine antiserum, any agent ............................................................................................ 1 mL ......................... 204.00 413.00 

Fluorescent antibody conjugate ........................................................................................ 1 mL ......................... 179.00 363.00 

Guinea pig antiserum, any agent ..................................................................................... 1 mL ......................... 200.00 405.00 

Monoclonal antibody ......................................................................................................... 1 mL ......................... 243.00 492.00 

Ovine antiserum, any agent .............................................................................................. 1 mL ......................... 193.00 391.00 

Porcine antiserum, any agent ........................................................................................... 1 mL ......................... 167.00 338.00 

Rabbit antiserum, any agent ............................................................................................. 1 mL ......................... 196.00 397.00 

APHIS charges user fees for veterinary 

diagnostic tests performed at FADDL. 

Prior to the August 2023 final rule, these 

fees were set forth in paragraph (b) of 

§ 130.14. The current fees as of October 

1, 2006, and proposed adjusted fees are 

listed in table 14 below. 

TABLE 14—USER FEES FOR CERTAIN VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC TESTS PERFORMED AT FADDL 

Test Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Agar gel immunodiffusion ................................................................................................. Test .......................... $33.00 67.00 

Card .................................................................................................................................. Test .......................... 18.00 37.00 

Complement fixation ......................................................................................................... Test .......................... 40.00 81.00 

Direct immunofluorescent antibody .................................................................................. Test .......................... 25.00 51.00 

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay .............................................................................. Test .......................... 29.00 60.00 

Fluorescent antibody neutralization (classical swine fever) ............................................. Test .......................... 215.00 436.00 

Hemagglutination inhibition ............................................................................................... Test .......................... 63.00 128.00 

Immunoperoxidase ............................................................................................................ Test .......................... 32.00 65.00 

Indirect fluorescent antibody ............................................................................................. Test .......................... 39.00 79.00 

In-vitro safety .................................................................................................................... Test .......................... 630.00 618.00 

In-vivo safety ..................................................................................................................... Test .......................... 5,509.00 11,147.00 

Latex agglutination ............................................................................................................ Test .......................... 26.00 53.00 

Tube agglutination ............................................................................................................ Test .......................... 30.00 61.00 

Virus isolation (oesophageal/pharyngeal) ......................................................................... Test .......................... 199.00 403.00 

Virus isolation in embryonated eggs ................................................................................ Test .......................... 383.00 775.00 

Virus isolation, other ......................................................................................................... Test .......................... 171.00 178.00 

Virus neutralization ........................................................................................................... Test .......................... 58.00 118.00 

APHIS charges user fees for other 

veterinary diagnostic tests performed at 

FADDL. Prior to the August 2023 final 

rule, these fees were set forth in 

paragraph (c) of § 130.14. The current 

fees as of October 1, 2006, and proposed 

adjusted fees are listed in table 15 

below. 

TABLE 15—USER FEES FOR OTHER VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES PERFORMED AT FADDL 

Veterinary diagnostic service Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Bacterial isolation .............................................................................................................. Test .......................... $123.00 $249.00 


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TABLE 15—USER FEES FOR OTHER VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES PERFORMED AT FADDL—Continued 

Veterinary diagnostic service Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Hourly user fee services 1 ................................................................................................. Hour .......................... 492.00 996.00 

Hourly user fee services—Quarter hour ........................................................................... Quarter hour ............. 123.00 249.00 

Infected cells on chamber slides or plates ....................................................................... Slide ......................... 53.00 108.00 

Reference animal tissues for immunohistochemistry ....................................................... Set ............................ 187.00 379.00 

Sterilization by gamma radiation ...................................................................................... Can ........................... 1,923.00 3,891.00 

Training (school or technical assistance) ......................................................................... Per person per day .. 1,006.00 2036.00 

Virus titration ..................................................................................................................... Test .......................... 123.00 249.00 

1For all veterinary diagnostic services for which there is no flat rate user fee, the hourly rate user fee will be calculated for the actual time required to provide the service. 

User Fees for Veterinary Diagnostic 

Isolation and Identification Tests 

Performed at the National Veterinary 

Services Laboratories (NVSL) 

(Excluding FADDL) or Other 

Authorized Site 

APHIS charges user fees for veterinary 

diagnostic isolation and identification 

tests performed at NVSL (excluding 

FADDL) or other authorized sites. Prior 

to the August 2023 final rule, these fees 

were set forth in § 130.15 of the 

regulations. The current fees as of 

October 1, 2011, and proposed fee rates 

are listed in table 16 below. 

TABLE 16—USER FEES FOR VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION TESTS PERFORMED AT NVSL 

(EXCLUDING FADDL) OR OTHER AUTHORIZED SITE

Test Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Bacterial identification, automated .................................................................................... Isolate ....................... $58.00 $124.00 

Bacterial identification, non-automated ............................................................................. Isolate ....................... 98.00 199.00 

Bacterial isolation .............................................................................................................. Sample ..................... 40.00 81.00 

Bacterial serotyping, all other ........................................................................................... Isolate ....................... 58.00 118.00 

Bacterial serotyping, Pasteurella multocida ...................................................................... Isolate ....................... 20.00 42.00 

Bacterial serotyping, Salmonella ...................................................................................... Isolate ....................... 40.00 97.00 

Bacterial toxin typing ......................................................................................................... Isolate ....................... 131.00 404.00 

Bacteriology requiring special characterization ................................................................ Test .......................... 101.00 215.00 

DNA fingerprinting ............................................................................................................. Test .......................... 64.00 430.00 

DNA probe ........................................................................................................................ Test .......................... 89.00 181.00 

Fluorescent antibody ......................................................................................................... Test .......................... 20.00 42.00 

Mycobacterium identification (biochemical) ...................................................................... Isolate ....................... 125.00 253.00 

Mycobacterium identification (gas chromatography) ........................................................ Procedure ................. 105.00 213.00 

Mycobacterium isolation, animal inoculations .................................................................. Submission ............... 900.00 1,822.00 

Mycobacterium isolation, all other .................................................................................... Submission ............... 165.00 334.00 

Mycobacterium paratuberculosis isolation ........................................................................ Submission ............... 79.00 160.00 

Phage typing, all other ...................................................................................................... Isolate ....................... 46.00 94.00 

Phage typing, Salmonella enteritidis ................................................................................ Isolate ....................... 26.00 53.00 

APHIS charges user fees for virology 

identification tests performed at NVSL 

(excluding FADDL) or other authorized 

sites. Prior to the August 2023 final rule, 

these fees were also set forth in § 130.15 

of the regulations. The current fees as of 

October 1, 2011, and proposed fee rates 

are listed in table 17 below. 

TABLE 17—USER FEES FOR VIROLOGY IDENTIFICATION TESTS PERFORMED AT NVSL (EXCLUDING FADDL) OR OTHER

AUTHORIZED SITE

Test Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Fluorescent antibody tissue section ................................................................................. Test .......................... $31.00 $63.00 

Virus isolation .................................................................................................................... Test .......................... 52.00 108.00 

User Fees for Veterinary Diagnostic 

Serology Tests Performed at NVSL or at 

Authorized Sites 

APHIS charges user fees for veterinary 

diagnostic serology tests performed at 

NVSL or at authorized sites. Prior to the 

August 2023 final rule, these fees were 

set forth in § 130.16 of the regulations. 

The current fees as of October 1, 2011, 

and proposed fee rates are listed in table 

18 below. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
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TABLE 18—USER FEES FOR VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC SEROLOGY TESTS PERFORMED AT NVSL OR AT AUTHORIZED

SITES

Test Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Brucella ring (BRT) ........................................................................................................... Test .......................... $40.00 $84.00 

Brucella ring, heat inactivated (HIRT) .............................................................................. Test .......................... 40.00 81.00 

Brucella ring, serial (Serial BRT) ...................................................................................... Test .......................... 59.00 120.00 

Buffered acidified plate antigen presumptive ................................................................... Test .......................... 8.00 17.00 

Card .................................................................................................................................. Test .......................... 4.50 8.75 

Complement fixation ......................................................................................................... Test .......................... 18.00 52.00 

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay .............................................................................. Test .......................... 18.00 49.00 

Indirect fluorescent antibody ............................................................................................. Test .......................... 16.00 52.00 

Microscopic agglutination—includes up to 5 serovars ..................................................... Sample ..................... 26.00 60.00 

Microscopic agglutination—each serovar in excess of 5 serovars .................................. Sample ..................... 4.75 9.75 

Particle concentration fluorescent immunoassay (PCFIA) ............................................... Test .......................... 39.00 79.00 

Plate .................................................................................................................................. Test .......................... 7.75 17.00 

Rapid automated presumptive .......................................................................................... Test .......................... 7.25 15.00 

Rivanol .............................................................................................................................. Test .......................... 7.75 16.00 

Tube agglutination ............................................................................................................ Test .......................... 7.75 17.00 

APHIS charges user fees for virology 

serology tests performed at NVSL 

(excluding FADDL) or at authorized 

sites. Prior to the August 2023 final rule, 

these fees were also set forth in § 130.16 

of the regulations. The current fees as of 

October 1, 2011, and proposed fee rates 

are listed in table 19 below. 

TABLE 19—USER FEES FOR VIROLOGY SEROLOGY TESTS PERFORMED AT NVSL (EXCLUDING FADDL) OR AT

AUTHORIZED SITES

Test Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Agar gel immunodiffusion ................................................................................................. Test .......................... $18.00 $33.00 

Complement fixation ......................................................................................................... Test .......................... 18.00 52.00 

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay .............................................................................. Test .......................... 18.00 49.00 

Hemagglutination inhibition ............................................................................................... Test .......................... 16.00 52.00 

Indirect fluorescent antibody ............................................................................................. Test .......................... 16.00 52.00 

Latex agglutination ............................................................................................................ Test .......................... 18.00 37.00 

Peroxidase linked antibody ............................................................................................... Test .......................... 17.00 35.00 

Plaque reduction neutralization ........................................................................................ Test .......................... 19.00 54.00 

Rabies fluorescent antibody neutralization ....................................................................... Test .......................... 50.00 102.00 

Virus neutralization ........................................................................................................... Test .......................... 14.00 52.00 

User Fees for Other Veterinary 

Diagnostic Laboratory Tests Performed 

at NVSL or at Authorized Sites 

APHIS charges user fees for veterinary 

diagnostics tests performed at the 

Pathobiology Laboratory at NVSL 

(excluding FADDL) or at authorized 

sites. Prior to the August 2023 final rule, 

these fees were set forth in § 130.17 of 

the regulations. The current fees as of 

October 1, 2011, and proposed fee rates 

are listed in table 20 below. 

TABLE 20—USER FEES FOR VETERINARY DIAGNOSTICS TESTS PERFORMED AT THE PATHOBIOLOGY LABORATORY AT

NVSL (EXCLUDING FADDL) OR AT AUTHORIZED SITES

Test Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Aflatoxin quantitation ......................................................................................................... Test .......................... $33.00 $67.00 

Aflatoxin screen ................................................................................................................ Test .......................... 31.00 63.00 

Agar gel immunodiffusion spp. identification .................................................................... Test .......................... 14.00 29.00 

Antibiotic (bioautography) quantitation ............................................................................. Test .......................... 72.00 146.00 

Antibiotic (bioautography) screen ..................................................................................... Test .......................... 130.00 264.00 

Antibiotic inhibition ............................................................................................................ Test .......................... 72.00 146.00 

Arsenic .............................................................................................................................. Test .......................... 19.00 39.00 

Ergot alkaloid screen ........................................................................................................ Test .......................... 72.00 146.00 

Ergot alkaloid confirmation ............................................................................................... Test .......................... 94.00 191.00 

Feed microscopy ............................................................................................................... Test .......................... 72.00 146.00 

Fumonisin only .................................................................................................................. Test .......................... 40.00 81.00 

Gossypol ........................................................................................................................... Test .......................... 107.00 217.00 

Mercury ............................................................................................................................. Test .......................... 158.00 320.00 

Metals screen .................................................................................................................... Test .......................... 48.00 98.00 

Metals single element confirmation .................................................................................. Test .......................... 14.00 29.00 

Mycotoxin: aflatoxin-liver ................................................................................................... Test .......................... 130.00 264.00 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 217 / Friday, November 8, 2024 / Notices 88709 

TABLE 20—USER FEES FOR VETERINARY DIAGNOSTICS TESTS PERFORMED AT THE PATHOBIOLOGY LABORATORY AT

NVSL (EXCLUDING FADDL) OR AT AUTHORIZED SITES—Continued 

Test Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Mycotoxin screen .............................................................................................................. Test .......................... 52.00 106.00 

Nitrate/nitrite ...................................................................................................................... Test .......................... 72.00 146.00 

Organic compound confirmation ....................................................................................... Test .......................... 96.00 195.00 

Organic compound screen ................................................................................................ Test .......................... 165.00 334.00 

Parasitology ...................................................................................................................... Test .......................... 31.00 60.00 

Pesticide quantitation ........................................................................................................ Test .......................... 144.00 292.00 

Pesticide screen ................................................................................................................ Test .......................... 66.00 134.00 

pH ...................................................................................................................................... Test .......................... 29.00 59.00 

Plate cylinder .................................................................................................................... Test .......................... 107.00 217.00 

Selenium ........................................................................................................................... Test .......................... 48.00 98.00 

Silicate/carbonate disinfectant .......................................................................................... Test .......................... 72.00 146.00 

Temperature disks ............................................................................................................ Test .......................... 142.00 288.00 

Toxicant quantitation, other .............................................................................................. Test .......................... 120.00 243.00 

Toxicant screen, other ...................................................................................................... Test .......................... 36.00 73.00 

Vomitoxin only ................................................................................................................... Test .......................... 58.00 118.00 

Water activity .................................................................................................................... Test .......................... 36.00 73.00 

Zearaleone quantitation .................................................................................................... Test .......................... 58.00 118.00 

Zearaleone screen ............................................................................................................ Test .......................... 31.00 63.00 

User Fees for Veterinary Diagnostic 

Reagents Produced at NVSL or Other 

Authorized Sites 

APHIS charges user fees for 

bacteriology reagents produced by the 

Diagnostic Bacteriology Laboratory at 

NVSL (excluding FADDL) or other 

authorized sites. Prior to the August 

2023 final rule, these fees were set forth 

in § 130.18 of the regulations. The 

current fees as of October 1, 2011, and 

proposed fee rates are listed in table 21 

below. 

TABLE 21—USER FEES FOR VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC REAGENTS PRODUCED AT NVSL OR OTHER AUTHORIZED SITES

Reagent Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Anaplasma card test antigen ........................................ 2 mL .............................................................................. $103.00 $209.00 

Anaplasma card test kit without antigen ...................... Kit .................................................................................. 139.00 282.00 

Anaplasma CF antigen ................................................. 2 mL .............................................................................. 47.00 96.00 

Anaplasma stabilate ..................................................... 4.5 mL ........................................................................... 188.00 404.00 

Avian origin bacterial antiserums ................................. 1 mL .............................................................................. 52.00 215.00 

Bacterial agglutinating antigens other than brucella 

and salmonella pullorum.

5 mL .............................................................................. 59.00 140.00 

Bacterial conjugates ..................................................... 1 mL .............................................................................. 105.00 108.00 

Bacterial ELISA antigens .............................................. 1 mL .............................................................................. 32.00 65.00 

Bacterial or protozoal antiserums, all other ................. 1 mL .............................................................................. 66.00 146.00 

Bacterial reagent culture 1 ............................................ Culture .......................................................................... 79.00 242.00 

Bacterial reference culture 2 ......................................... Culture .......................................................................... 249.00 645.00 

Bacteriophage reference culture .................................. Culture .......................................................................... 188.00 381.00 

Bovine serum factor ..................................................... 1 mL .............................................................................. 19.00 39.00 

Brucella abortus CF antigen ......................................... 60 mL ............................................................................ 165.00 350.00 

Brucella agglutination antigens, all other ..................... 60 mL ............................................................................ 165.00 334.00 

Brucella buffered plate antigen .................................... 60 mL ............................................................................ 188.00 404.00 

Brucella canis tube antigen .......................................... 25 mL ............................................................................ 124.00 264.00 

Brucella card test antigen (packaged) ......................... Package ........................................................................ 98.00 199.00 

Brucella card test kit without antigen ........................... Kit .................................................................................. 119.00 $248.00 

Brucella cells ................................................................ Gram ............................................................................. 20.00 41.00 

Brucella cells, dried ...................................................... Pellet ............................................................................. 6.25 13.00 

Brucella ring test antigen .............................................. 60 mL ............................................................................ 263.00 527.00 

Brucella rivanol solution ............................................... 60 mL ............................................................................ 32.00 65.00 

Dourine CF antigen ...................................................... 1 mL .............................................................................. 97.00 597.00 

Dourine stabilate ........................................................... 4.5 mL ........................................................................... 116.00 235.00 

Equine and bovine origin babesia species antiserums 1 mL .............................................................................. 139.00 334.00 

Equine negative control CF antigen ............................. 1 mL .............................................................................. 293.00 593.00 

Flazo-orange ................................................................. 3 mL .............................................................................. 14.00 29.00 

Glanders CF antigen .................................................... 1 mL .............................................................................. 84.00 170.00 

Hemoparasitic disease CF antigens, all other ............. 1 mL .............................................................................. 590.00 1,194.00 

Leptospira transport medium ........................................ 10 mL ............................................................................ 4.75 9.75 

Monoclonal antibody ..................................................... 1 mL .............................................................................. 103.00 209.00 

Mycobacterium spp. old tuberculin ............................... 1 mL .............................................................................. 26.00 53.00 

Mycobacterium spp. PPD ............................................. 1 mL .............................................................................. 20.00 41.00 

Mycoplasma hemagglutination antigens ...................... 5 mL .............................................................................. 197.00 430.00 

Negative control serums ............................................... 1 mL .............................................................................. 20.00 43.00 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
88710 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 217 / Friday, November 8, 2024 / Notices 

TABLE 21—USER FEES FOR VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC REAGENTS PRODUCED AT NVSL OR OTHER AUTHORIZED SITES— 

Continued 

Reagent Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Rabbit origin bacterial antiserum .................................. 1 mL .............................................................................. 56.00 114.00 

Salmonella pullorum microagglutination antigen .......... 5 mL .............................................................................. 17.00 35.00 

Stabilates, all other ....................................................... 4.5 mL ........................................................................... 730.00 1,478.00 

1A reagent culture is a bacterial culture that has been subcultured one or more times after being tested for purity and identity. It is intended for 

use as a reagent with a diagnostic test such as the leptospiral agglutination test. 2A reference culture is a bacterial culture that has been thoroughly tested for purity and identity. It should be suitable as a master seed for future cultures. 

APHIS charges user fees for virology 

reagents produced by the Diagnostic 

Virology Laboratory at NVSL (excluding 

FADDL) or at authorized sites. Prior to 

the August 2023 final rule, these fees 

were set forth in § 130.18 of the 

regulations. The current user fees as of 

October 1, 2011, and proposed fee rates 

are listed in table 22 below. 

TABLE 22—USER FEES FOR VIROLOGY REAGENTS

Reagent Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Antigen, except avian influenza and chlamydia psittaci antigens, any ............................ 2 mL ......................... $67.00 $140.00 

Avian antiserum except avian influenza antiserum, any .................................................. 2 mL ......................... 53.00 135.00 

Avian influenza antigen, any ............................................................................................. 2 mL ......................... 36.00 76.00 

Avian influenza antiserum, any ......................................................................................... 6 mL ......................... 113.00 242.00 

Bovine or ovine serum, any .............................................................................................. 2 mL ......................... 139.00 280.00 

Cell culture ........................................................................................................................ Flask ......................... 165.00 683.00 

Chlamydia psittaci spp. of origin monoclonal antibody panel .......................................... Panel ........................ 101.00 205.00 

Conjugate, any .................................................................................................................. 1 ml .......................... 80.00 167.00 

Diluted positive control serum, any .................................................................................. 2 mL ......................... 27.00 57.00 

Equine antiserum, any ...................................................................................................... 2 mL ......................... 49.00 103.00 

Monoclonal antibody ......................................................................................................... 1 mL ......................... 110.00 242.00 

Other spp. antiserum, any ................................................................................................ 1 mL ......................... 53.00 108.00 

Porcine antiserum, any ..................................................................................................... 2 mL ......................... 115.00 242.00 

Porcine tissue sets ............................................................................................................ Tissue set ................. 161.00 326.00 

Positive control tissues, all ............................................................................................... 2 cm2 section ........... 66.00 134.00 

Rabbit origin antiserum ..................................................................................................... 1 mL ......................... 56.00 114.00 

Reference virus, any ......................................................................................................... 0.6 mL ...................... 197.00 645.00 

Viruses (except reference viruses), chlamydia psittaci agent or chlamydia psittaci antigen, any.0.6 mL ...................... 33.00 70.00 

User Fees for Other Veterinary 

Diagnostic Services or Materials 

Provided at NVSL (Excluding FADDL) 

APHIS charges user fees for other 

veterinary diagnostic services or 

materials available from NVSL 

(excluding FADDL). Prior to the August 

2023 final rule, these fees were set forth 

in § 130.19 of the regulations. The 

current fees as of October 1, 2011, and 

proposed fee rates are listed in table 23 

below. 

TABLE 23—USER FEES FOR OTHER VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES OR MATERIALS PROVIDED AT NVSL (EXCLUDING

FADDL) 

Service Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Antimicrobial susceptibility test ......................................................................................... Isolate ....................... $114.00 $242.00 

Avian safety test ............................................................................................................... Test .......................... 4,180.00 8,636.00 

Check tests, culture .......................................................................................................... Kit 1 ........................... 189.00 774.00 

Check tests, serology ....................................................................................................... Kit 1 ........................... 394.00 774.00 

Fetal bovine serum safety test ......................................................................................... Verification ................ 1,160.00 2,419.00 

Hourly user fees 2

Hour .................................................................................................................................. Hour .......................... 112.00 143.00 

Quarter hour ...................................................................................................................... Quarter Hour ............ 28.00 36.00 

Minimum ............................................................................................................................ ................................... 33.00 43.00 

Manual, brucellosis culture ............................................................................................... 1 copy ....................... 125.00 253.00 

Manual, tuberculosis Culture (English or Spanish) .......................................................... 1 copy ....................... 188.00 381.00 

Manual, Veterinary mycology ........................................................................................... 1 copy ....................... 188.00 381.00 

Manuals or standard operating procedure (SOP), all other ............................................. 1 copy ....................... 37.00 75.00 

Manuals or SOP, per page ............................................................................................... 1 page ...................... 2.75 5.75 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 217 / Friday, November 8, 2024 / Notices 88711 

TABLE 23—USER FEES FOR OTHER VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES OR MATERIALS PROVIDED AT NVSL (EXCLUDING

FADDL)—Continued 

Service Unit Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Training (school or technical assistance) ......................................................................... Per person per day .. 362.00 753.00 

1Any reagents required for the check test will be charged separately. 

2For veterinary diagnostic services for which there is no flat user fee the Hourly rate user fee will be calculated for the actual time required to 

provide the service. 

User Fees for Endorsing Export 

Certificates 

APHIS charges user fees for the 

services provided for the review and 

endorsement of export documents or 

health certificates that do not require 

the verification of tests or vaccinations 

(other than rabies vaccination). Prior to 

the August 2023 final rule, these fees 

were set forth in § 130.20 of the 

regulations. The current fees as of 

October 1, 2012, and proposed fee rates 

are listed in table 24 below. The user 

fees apply to each export document or 

health certificate endorsed for the 

following types of animals, birds, or 

animal products, regardless of the 

number of animals, birds, or animal 

products covered by the certificate. 

TABLE 24—USER FEES FOR ENDORSING EXPORT HEALTH CERTIFICATES

Certificate categories Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

Animal and nonanimal products .............................................................................................................................. $51.00 $101.00 

Hatching eggs .......................................................................................................................................................... 48.00 113.00 

Poultry, including slaughter poultry ......................................................................................................................... 48.00 113.00 

Ruminants, except slaughter ruminants moving to Canada or Mexico .................................................................. 52.00 67.00 

Slaughter animals (except poultry but including ruminants) moving to Canada or Mexico ................................... 56.00 70.00 

Other endorsements or certifications ...................................................................................................................... 38.00 101.00 

APHIS charges user fees for the 

endorsement of export health 

certificates that require the verification 

of tests or vaccinations. Prior to the 

August 2023 final rule, these fees were 

set forth in § 130.20 of the regulations. 

The current fees as of October 1, 2012, 

and proposed fee rates are listed in table 

25 below. The user fees apply to each 

export health certificate endorsed for 

animals and birds, depending on the 

number of animals or birds covered by 

the certificate and the number of tests or 

vaccinations required. However, as 

noted in § 130.3 there will be a 

maximum user fee of 12 times the 

hourly rate user fee. 

TABLE 25—USER FEES FOR THE ENDORSEMENT OF EXPORT HEALTH CERTIFICATES THAT REQUIRE THE VERIFICATION OF

TESTS OR VACCINATIONS

Number 1 of tests or vaccinations and number of animals or birds on the certificate Current fee Proposed 

adjusted fee 

1–2 tests or vaccinations 

Nonslaughter horses to Canada, first horse ........................................................................................................... $60.00 $100.00 

Nonslaughter horses to Canada, each additional horse ......................................................................................... 7.00 58.00 

Other animals or birds, first animal ......................................................................................................................... 121.00 160.00 

Other animals or birds, each additional animal ....................................................................................................... 7.00 10.00 

3–6 tests or vaccinations 

First animal .............................................................................................................................................................. 150.00 206.00 

Each additional animal ............................................................................................................................................ 12.00 18.00 

7 or more tests or vaccinations 

First animal .............................................................................................................................................................. 173.00 275.00 

Each additional animal ............................................................................................................................................ 14.00 21.00 

1 Rabies vaccinations are not included in this number. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
88712 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 217 / Friday, November 8, 2024 / Notices 

1To view the notice, supporting documents, and 

comments we received, go to https://

www.regulations.gov/document/APHIS-2024-0014- 

0001. 

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

1622 and 8301–8317; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 

136a; 31 U.S.C. 3701, 3716, 3717, 3719, 

and 3720A; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of 

November 2024. 

Michael Watson, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–25826 Filed 11–7–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2024–0014] 

Decision To Authorize the Importation 

of Fresh Hass Avocado From 

Guatemala Into the United States 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public of 

our decision to authorize the 

importation of fresh Hass avocado 

(Persea americana var. Hass) fruit from 

Guatemala into the United States. Based 

on the findings of a pest risk analysis, 

which we made available to the public 

for review and comment, we have 

determined that the application of one 

or more designated phytosanitary 

measures will be sufficient to mitigate 

the risks of introducing or disseminating 

plant pests or noxious weeds via the 

importation of fresh Hass avocado fruit 

from Guatemala. 

DATES: The commodity covered by this 

notice may be authorized for 

importation after November 8, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Esther Serrano, Regulatory Policy 

Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and 

Compliance, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737; 

(954) 699–4504. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under the regulations in ‘‘Subpart L— 

Fruits and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56– 

1 through 319.56–12, referred to below 

as the regulations), the Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

of the United States Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) prohibits or 

restricts the importation of fruits and 

vegetables into the United States from 

certain parts of the world to prevent the 

introduction and dissemination of plant 

pests. 

Section 319.56–4 contains a 

performance-based process for 

approving the importation of fruits and 

vegetables that, based on the findings of 

a pest risk analysis (PRA), can be safely 

imported subject to one or more of the 

five designated phytosanitary measures 

listed in paragraph (b) of that section. 

Under that process, APHIS proposes to 

authorize the importation of a fruit or 

vegetable into the United States if, based 

on findings of a PRA, we determine that 

the measures can mitigate the plant pest 

risk associated with the importation of 

that fruit or vegetable. APHIS then 

publishes a notice in the Federal 

Register announcing the availability of 

the PRA that evaluates the risks 

associated with the importation of a 

particular fruit or vegetable. Following 

the close of the 60-day comment period, 

APHIS will issue a subsequent Federal 

Register notice announcing whether or 

not we will authorize the importation of 

the fruit or vegetable subject to the 

phytosanitary measures specified in the 

notice. 

In accordance with that process, on 

March 27, 2024, APHIS published a 

notice 1 in the Federal Register (89 FR 

21233–21234, Docket No. APHIS–2024– 

0014) in which we announced the 

availability, for review and comment, of 

a PRA that evaluated the risks 

associated with the importation of fresh 

Hass avocado (Persea americana var. 

Hass) fruit from Guatemala into the 

United States. We also made available 

an economic effects assessment, or EEA, 

which contextualized the possible 

economic impacts associated with the 

notice. 

We solicited comments on the notice 

for 60 days, ending on May 28, 2024. 

We received 50 comments by that date. 

The comments were from growers, 

domestic and Guatemalan grower 

associations, importers, exporters, a 

business in the restaurant industry, a 

restaurant industry association, the 

national plant protection organization 

(NPPO) of Guatemala, and private 

individuals. 

The issues raised by the commenters 

are addressed below. 

Multiple comments expressed general 

concern about pest risk. Commenters 

were particularly concerned about the 

risk of introducing Heilipus lauri and 

Stenoma catenifer. 

Our PRA evaluated the risks 

associated with the importation of fresh 

Hass avocado fruit from Guatemala into 

the United States. We determined that 

the phytosanitary measures of the 

systems approach outlined in the risk 

management document (RMD) are 

sufficient to mitigate the associated pest 

risks, including Heilipus lauri and 

Stenoma catenifer. These measures 

include pest-free places of production, 

orchard sanitation, packinghouse 

measures, and commercial 

consignments, in conjunction with 

inspection and the issuance of a 

phytosanitary certificate by the NPPO of 

Guatemala. The commenters provided 

no scientific evidence contradicting the 

conclusions of our pest risk analysis. 

Several commenters requested that we 

conduct an updated physical survey of 

potential pests in Guatemala. 

A physical, biological census (a 

survey whose intent is to discover a 

diverse range of taxa in a given 

geographic area) is not part of our 

methodology of writing pest risk 

assessments. The pest risk assessment is 

based on port-of-entry pest interception 

data, information from the government 

of Guatemala, and current scientific 

literature relevant to pests that are 

known to feed on Hass avocado and that 

occur in Guatemala. APHIS is unaware 

of, and the commenter does not 

mention, any scientific literature 

documenting any new pests in 

Guatemala since the pest risk 

assessment was developed in 2022. We 

therefore believe that the pest risk 

assessment accounts for all known pests 

relevant to the pathway of avocados 

from Guatemala. 

Multiple comments suggested that we 

require mandatory quarantine or 

fumigation for avocados from Guatemala 

imported into the United States. 

APHIS has determined that the 

systems approach outlined in the RMD, 

which is based on pest-free places of 

production, orchard sanitation, 

packinghouse measures, and 

commercial consignments, in 

conjunction with inspection and the 

issuance of a phytosanitary certificate 

by the NPPO of Guatemala, will 

effectively mitigate the pests associated 

with fresh Hass avocado fruit imports 

from Guatemala into the United States. 

The commenters provided no 

scientifically based evidence 

contradicting our determinations of the 

efficacy of the systems approach. 

Therefore, we disagree that mandatory 

quarantine or fumigation are necessary 

for avocados from Guatemala imported 

under the systems approach. 

Multiple comments questioned the 

efficacy of a systems approach by 

claiming that, in the past, pests, 

including those unknown at the time, 

such as persea mite and avocado thrips, 

have come to California from Mexico 

and South America despite the 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1