Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules 24473

for records. However, an agency is

required to provide a record in a form

or format specified by a requester, if the

record is readily reproducible by the

agency in the form or format requested.

Creation of records may be undertaken

voluntarily if the agency determines this

action to be in the public interest or the

interest of USDA.

§ 1.22 Authentication.

When a request is received for an

authenticated copy of a document

which the agency determines to make

available to the requesting party, the

agency shall cause a correct copy to be

prepared and sent to the Office of the

General Counsel which shall certify the

same and cause the seal of the

Department to be affixed, except that the

Hearing Clerk in the Office of

Administrative Law Judges may

authenticate copies of documents in the

records of the Hearing Clerk and that the

Director of the National Appeals

Division may authenticate copies of

documents in the records of the

National Appeals Division.

§ 1.23 Records in formal adjudication

proceedings.

Records in formal adjudication

proceedings are on file in the Hearing

Clerk’s office, Office of Administrative

Law Judges, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250, and

shall be made available to the public.

§ 1.24 Preservation of records.

Agencies shall preserve all

correspondence relating to the requests

it receives under this subpart, and all

records processed pursuant to such

requests, until such time as the

destruction of such correspondence and

records is authorized pursuant to Title

44 of the United States Code, and

appropriate records disposition

authority granted by NARA. Under no

circumstances shall records be sent to a

Federal Records Center, transferred to

the permanent custody of NARA, or

destroyed while they are the subject of

a pending request, appeal, or civil

action under the FOIA.

§ 1.25 Implementing regulations for the

Office of the Secretary and the Office of

Communications

(a) For the Office of the Secretary and

for the Office of Communications, the

regulations required by § 1.3 are as

follows:

(1) Records available for public

inspection and copying may be obtained

in Room 536–A, Jamie L. Whitten

Federal Building, USDA, Washington,

DC 20250 during the hours of 9 a.m. to

5 p.m. by prior appointment;

(2) Any indexes and supplements

which are maintained in accordance

with the requirements of 5 U.S.C.

552(a)(2) and § 1.5(b) will also be

available in Room 536–A, Jamie L.

Whitten Federal Building, USDA,

Washington, DC 20250 during the hours

of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.;

(3) The person authorized to receive

Freedom of Information Act requests

and to determine whether to grant or

deny such requests is the FOIA Officer,

Office of Communications, USDA,

Washington, DC 20250;

(4) The official authorized to receive

appeals from denials of FOIA requests

and to determine whether to grant or

deny such appeals is the Director of

Communications, Office of

Communications, USDA, Washington,

DC 20250.

(b) The organization and functions of

the Office of the Secretary and the

Office of Communications is as follows:

(1) The Office of the Secretary

provides the overall policy guidance

and direction of the activities of the

Department of Agriculture. Departmentwide policy statements and

announcements are made from this

office.

(2) The Office of the Secretary

consists of the Secretary, Deputy

Secretary, Under Secretaries, Assistant

Secretaries, and other staff members.

(3) In the absence of the Secretary and

the Deputy Secretary, responsibility for

the operation of the Department of

Agriculture is as delegated at part 2,

subpart A of this title.

(4) The Office of Communications

provides policy direction, review, and

coordination of public information

programs of the Department of

Agriculture. The Office of

Communications has responsibility for

maintaining the flow of information to

the mass communications media,

various constituency groups, and the

general public.

(5) The Office of Communications is

headed by the Director of

Communications. In the Director’s

absence, the Office of Communications

is headed by the Deputy Director.

* * * * *

Done at Washington, DC this 13 day of

April, 1998.

Dan Glickman,

Secretary of Agriculture.

[FR Doc. 98–10432 Filed 5–1–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

9 CFR Part 130

[Docket No. 94–115–1]

RIN 0579–AA70

Veterinary Diagnostic Services User

Fees

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: We are proposing to revise

user fees for veterinary diagnostic

services to reflect changes in operating

costs and changes in calculations. In

addition, we are proposing to add new

user fees to cover the costs of additional

veterinary diagnostic services. In

addition, we propose to reorganize these

user fees by type of service and location

where the service is provided, and to

group reagents into categories. We are

also proposing to revise user fees for the

use of animal import centers operated

by the Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, and to add new user

fees for new spaces. These actions are

necessary to ensure that we recover our

costs. The Food, Agriculture,

Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, as

amended, authorizes us to set and

collect these user fees.

DATES: Consideration will be given only

to comments received on or before July

6, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and

three copies of your comments to

Docket 94–115–1, Regulatory Analysis

and Development, PPD, APHIS, suite

3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118,

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. Please state

that your comments refer to Docket No.

94–115–1. Comments received may be

inspected at USDA, room 1141, South

Building, 14th Street and Independence

Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between

8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through

Friday, except holidays. Persons

wishing to inspect comments are

requested to call ahead on (202) 690–

2817 to facilitate entry into the

comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

information concerning services

provided for live animals and germ

plasm, contact Dr. Gary S. Colgrove,

Chief Staff Veterinarian, National Center

for Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700

River Road Unit 38, Riverdale, MD

20737–1231; (301) 734–3294.

For information concerning services

provided for veterinary diagnostics,

contact Dr. James E. Pearson, Director,
24474 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules

National Veterinary Services

Laboratories, VS, APHIS, P.O. Box 844,

Ames, IA 50010; (515) 239–8266.

For information concerning program

operations for Veterinary Services,

contact Ms. Louise Lothery, Director,

Veterinary Services Resource

Management Staff, APHIS, 4700 River

Road Unit 44, Riverdale, MD 20737–

1231; (301) 734–7517.

For information concerning rate

development of the proposed user fees,

contact Ms. Donna Ford, Section Head,

Financial Systems and Services Branch,

Budget and Accounting Division,

APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 54,

Riverdale, MD 20737–1232; (301) 734–

8351.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

User Fees Authorized Under the Farm

Bill

The Food, Agriculture, Conservation

and Trade Act of 1990, as amended

(referred to below as the Farm Bill),

authorizes the Secretary to prescribe

regulations and collect fees to reimburse

the Secretary for the cost of carrying out

the provisions of the Federal Animal

Quarantine Laws that relate to the

importation, entry, and exportation of

animals, articles, or means of

conveyance (sec. 2509(c)(1) of the Farm

Bill). The Farm Bill also authorizes the

Secretary of Agriculture, among other

things, to prescribe regulations and

collect fees to recover the costs of

veterinary diagnostics relating to the

control and eradication of

communicable diseases of livestock or

poultry within the United States (sec.

2509(c)(2) of the Farm Bill).

User fees to reimburse the Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

for the costs of providing veterinary

diagnostic services and import-and

export-related services for live animals

and birds and animal products are

contained in 9 CFR part 130 (the

regulations).

Regulations Proposed in This Document

We propose to revise the user fees for

certain veterinary diagnostic services,

including certain diagnostic tests,

reagents, and other veterinary diagnostic

materials and services. Operating costs

have increased since these user fees

were established in a final rule

published in the Federal Register on

September 1, 1993 (58 FR 38954–38961,

Docket No. 91–021–5). Therefore, the

user fees need to be revised to reflect the

increases. Additional reviews of these

user fees show that some of the original

estimates did not include enough direct

labor hours and that the direct labor

calculations need to be revised to

accurately reflect the costs of providing

services. In reexamining our user fees,

we believe that a comprehensive

overhaul of the Veterinary Diagnostics

user fees would more accurately recover

our costs and provide clarity and ease

of use for customers needing to look up

user fees for our tests and other services.

As discussed below, this overhaul

would include reorganizing the

presentation of user fees in the

regulations, grouping reagents into

simpler categories, implementing new

user fees, and revising all of the existing

Veterinary Diagnostic user fees.

The proposed user fees increase by

varying amounts based on how close the

existing user fee is to our actual costs.

Some user fees required modest

adjustments while others required large

increases. These proposed changes are

based on recalculating user fees to

include adequate direct labor hours and

use average laboratory employee salaries

to calculate direct labor costs. The

amount of the change proposed varies

based on individual tests and services;

therefore, the amount of the changes

varies. Overall, we do not expect these

proposed changes to significantly

impact users. In most cases, the

historical volume, associated with the

tests and services for which we propose

significant increases, is small.

In addition, we are proposing to add

new user fees for other veterinary

diagnostic services we provide. We

continue to provide new services as

required. We need to add user fees for

services that we have added since the

veterinary diagnostic user fees were first

established. In addition, we believe that

we need to add user fees for specific

services which may be required or

requested and for which there are

currently no specific user fees. These

new user fees are discussed in detail

later in this document.

We are proposing two changes in the

organization of user fees for veterinary

diagnostics. First, we would reorganize

the user fees by type of service and

location where the service is provided.

Second, we would group diagnostic

reagents into categories. These changes

are discussed in detail later in this

document.

Additionally, we propose to revise

user fees for the use of APHIS-operated

animal import centers, to cover the costs

for birds or poultry requiring

nonstandard housing, care, or handling

and to more accurately reflect the space

utilization. For example, expenses for

offices and hallways would be included

in the overhead portion of the user fee

calculation, instead of the user fee

portion available to the animals, which

is higher than the overhead portion of

the user fees. We propose to add new

user fees for the use of new spaces at the

APHIS animal import center in

Newburgh, NY. We propose to revise

the user fees specified in § 130.8 for

import compliance assistance and

release from agricultural hold to more

accurately reflect the cost of the services

we provide. We also propose

miscellaneous changes to the user fee

regulations to eliminate duplication,

add clarity, and incorporate provisions

of the Debt Collection Improvement Act

of 1996.

Veterinary Diagnostics

Veterinary diagnostics is the work

performed in a laboratory to determine

if a disease-causing organism or

chemical agent is present in body

tissues or cells and, if so, to identify

those organisms or agents. Services in

this category include: (1) Performing

laboratory tests and providing

diagnostic reagents and other veterinary

diagnostic materials and services at the

National Veterinary Services

Laboratories’ (NVSL) Foreign Animal

Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (FADDL)

at Greenport, NY, and (2) performing

identification, serology, and

pathobiology tests and providing

veterinary diagnostic reagents and other

materials and services at NVSL at Ames,

IA. Diagnostic reagents are biological

materials used in diagnostic tests to

detect disease agents or antibodies by

causing an identifiable reaction. We also

consider sterilization by gamma

radiation to be a veterinary diagnostics

service. Other miscellaneous veterinary

diagnostic services include, but are not

limited to, providing check tests, test

kits, manuals, standard operating

procedures, and training.

We have reviewed the user fees that

we charge for these services and have

determined that we need to revise the

amount of these user fees to reflect

changes in costs and to recover the full

cost of providing veterinary diagnostic

services. We are also proposing to add

new user fees to cover all veterinary

diagnostic services. All of the proposed

veterinary diagnostic user fees are listed

below by type of service.

Currently, the Veterinary Diagnostic

user fees are contained in §§ 130.14–

130.18 of the regulations. The

regulations separately list user fees for

tests at NVSL and FADDL; reference

assistance tests at NVSL; diagnostic

reagents at NVSL; diagnostic reagents,

slide sets, and tissue sets at NVSL and

FADDL; and sterilization by gamma

radiation. The proposed regrouping of

tests into identification, serology, or

pathobiology tests and the regrouping of
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules 24475

reagents by bacteriology or virology type

will be much easier for customers and

the laboratories to reference. Due to the

differences between requirements for

tests being performed at NVSL and

FADDL, we believe that user fees for

these tests and services should be listed

by location. In this proposal, all FADDL

fees are listed in a single section (9 CFR

130.14). In addition, reference

assistance tests are tests performed at

NVSL, and the regulations currently

unnecessarily duplicate these user fees.

Therefore, we believe that all NVSL

tests should be listed together.

In order to clarify, simplify, and

eliminate redundancy, we are proposing

to reorganize the veterinary diagnostic

user fees into the following sections.

Proposed § 130.14 would include user

fees for laboratory tests, reagents, and

other veterinary diagnostics services we

perform at FADDL. Proposed § 130.15

would include user fees for laboratory

tests we perform to isolate and identify

pathogenic agents at the Diagnostic

Bacteriology Laboratory (DBL) and at

the Diagnostic Virology Laboratory

(DVL) at NVSL. Proposed § 130.16

would include user fees for laboratory

tests we perform as part of serology

testing at DBL and DVL at NVSL.

Proposed § 130.17 would include user

fees for toxicological and other tests

performed by the Pathobiology

Laboratory (PL) at NVSL. Proposed

§ 130.18 would include user fees for

diagnostic reagents we provide from

NVSL. Proposed § 130.19 would include

user fees for other veterinary diagnostics

services we provide at NVSL (e.g., check

tests, test kits, manuals, standard

operating procedures, and training).

Currently, § 130.49 specifies

exemptions to user fees for veterinary

diagnostic services listed in §§ 130.14

through 130.18. These exemptions

would still apply to all of our veterinary

diagnostic services. Therefore, we

propose to revise § 130.49 to specify that

the exemptions apply to veterinary

diagnostic services listed in §§ 130.14

through 130.19.

Components of Proposed User Fees

The user fees proposed in this

document are based on fiscal year 1998

salaries, more accurate estimates of the

average number of direct labor hours

required to provide each service, and

average salaries for the laboratory where

the work is performed. The proposed

user fees have been calculated to

recover the full costs for tests,

diagnostic reagents, and other veterinary

diagnostic services. These costs include

direct labor, administrative support,

premium costs (if any), Agency

overhead costs, and Departmental

charges. These components are

described below.

We propose to charge a specific dollar

amount for each service we provide;

that is, each test we perform or each

diagnostic reagent or other veterinary

diagnostic service we provide. We have

attempted to minimize the cost of our

services, thereby keeping APHIS user

fees at the lowest possible level. If, in

the future, a user requests a test,

diagnostic reagent, or other veterinary

diagnostic material or service that is not

on the list, we would charge the

proposed hourly user fee for the amount

of time required to perform the service,

calculated to the nearest quarter of an

hour.

Each user fee varies based on the

direct labor hours required to perform

the test or provide the diagnostic

reagent or other veterinary diagnostic

material or service. For example, the

time spent by laboratory personnel to

prepare a sample and conduct and read

the test would be part of the direct labor

hours for testing a tissue sample for

disease-causing organisms. In cases

where a test is performed for more than

one disease, it may take different

amounts of time for each disease. Those

times have been averaged to calculate

the user fee. We have carefully

calculated all of our proposed user fees

to correctly reflect the direct labor hours

required for each test, reagent, or

service. We took into account variations

in the time needed to provide a service

by determining the average time

necessary.

Direct labor costs are the average

salary and benefit costs of the laboratory

employees performing the service

multiplied by the direct labor hours

required. Average costs were used to

calculate direct labor costs because we

have determined that it is more accurate

to use the average salary for the

laboratory employees to calculate the

user fee. Currently, some veterinary

diagnostics user fees are based on salary

and benefit costs for a specific employee

at the laboratory. We have determined

that this does not accurately reflect the

cost of providing services, because in

many cases various employees at

different salaries may perform part or all

of a test or service. The calculations for

these proposed user fees are consistent

with the calculations used for the other

user fees throughout 9 CFR part 130.

Administrative support costs are

incurred at the local level, that is, at the

laboratories. They include clerical and

administrative activities; direct

materials; indirect labor hours; travel

and transportation for personnel,

supplies, equipment, and other

necessary items; training; legal counsel;

general supplies for offices, washrooms,

cleaning, etc.; contractual services;

grounds maintenance; and utilities.

Direct materials include the cost of any

materials needed to conduct the test or

provide the diagnostic reagent, slide set,

tissue set, or service. For example,

direct materials for conducting a

laboratory test include, but are not

limited to, glassware, chemicals, and

other supplies necessary to perform the

test. These direct materials are included

in administrative support costs because

they are standard laboratory supplies

and not purchased solely for a specific

test. Indirect labor hours include

supervision of personnel and time spent

doing necessary work that is not directly

connected with a test, diagnostic

reagents, or other veterinary diagnostic

material or service, such as equipment

repair. Contractual services may

include, but are not limited to, guard

service and maintenance. Some

administrative support items may or

may not be contractual, depending on

local circumstances. For example, trash

pickup may be provided as a utility or

a contractual service. However, the costs

are all administrative support. Utilities

include water, telephone, electricity,

natural and propane gas, heating and

diesel oil. The costs of administrative

support are applied as a percentage of

the base direct labor amount. At NVSL,

administrative support is 113 percent of

direct labor, and, at FADDL,

administrative support is 625 percent of

direct labor.

Premium costs are expenses that are

incurred solely for a specific test or

service. For example, certain tests

require expensive reagents in addition

to the direct labor time and laboratory

materials included in administrative

support costs. Premium costs required

for the proposed flat rate user fees have

already been included in the

calculations. Any premium costs

required for hourly rate user fees would

be added to the calculated user fee. For

example, the polymerase chain reaction

test would be performed for an hourly

rate user fee, and any applicable

royalties for this test would be added to

the calculated hourly rate user fee.

Agency overhead is the pro-rata share,

attributable to a particular diagnostic

reagent, material, or veterinary

diagnostic service, of the management

and support costs for all Agency

activities at the regional level and

above. Also included are the costs of

providing budget and accounting

services, management support at the

headquarters and regional level,

including the Administrator’s office,

and personnel services, public
24476 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules

information services, and liaison with

Congress. Departmental charges are APHIS’s

share, expressed as a percentage of the

total cost, of services provided centrally

by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Services the Department provides

centrally include the Federal telephone

service; mail; National Finance Center

processing of payroll, billing,

collections, and other money

management; unemployment

compensation; Office of Workers

Compensation Programs; and central

supply for storing and issuing

commonly used supplies and

Departmental forms. The Department

informs APHIS as to how much the

agency owes for these services. We have

included a pro-rata share of these

Departmental charges, as attributed to a

particular test, diagnostic reagent, or

other veterinary diagnostic material or

service, in our user fee calculations.

Rounding

When we first adopted user fees, we

determined that it was reasonable that

our user fees for veterinary diagnostic

services should be rounded up to the

nearest quarter. This is necessary to

ensure that we collect enough revenue

to cover the costs of providing these

services. If we were to round down,

many user fees would be lower than the

cost of the service. As we do not have

a reserve fund, there would be no

immediate funds for us to draw on to

make up the deficiency. We have considered changing the

rounding of user fees from rounding up

to the nearest quarter to rounding up to

the nearest dollar to make

administration less burdensome and to

simplify collections and accounting. We

realize that rounding to the next whole

dollar would add to the balance of

overall user fees collected. The

magnitude of this additional amount

varies by user fee category, and would

vary similarly in fees we intend to

propose in the future, if the same

technique were used. We would

monitor the effects of rounding to the

next whole dollar on the balances in the

account and propose adjustments in the

fees as necessary. We invite comments

specifically addressing the advantages

and disadvantages of this rounding

technique. Such a change in our

approach to rounding would be

reflected in future APHIS user fee

rulemaking.

Calculation of Proposed User Fees

The basic steps in the calculation, for

each particular service, are: (1) Calculate

direct labor costs by determining the

average amount of direct labor required

to perform the service and multiply the

average direct labor hours by the

average salary and benefit costs for

laboratory employees; (2) calculate the

pro-rata share of administrative support;

(3) determine the premium costs (if

any); (4) calculate the pro-rata share of

Agency overhead and Departmental

charges, respectively; (5) add all costs;

and (6) round total cost up to the nearest

quarter. The result of these calculations is a

user fee that covers the total cost to

perform a particular test or provide a

particular veterinary diagnostic material

or service one time, rounded up to the

nearest quarter. We have individually calculated costs

for each veterinary diagnostic test and

service based on the formula shown in

Table 1, FY 98 User Fee Calculations.

As is the case with all APHIS user

fees, we intend to review, at least

annually, the user fees proposed in this

document. We will publish any

necessary adjustments in the Federal

Register.

FADDL Costs Compared to NVSL Costs

Readers may note that our proposed

user fees for tests performed at FADDL

are higher than our proposed user fees

for the same tests performed at NVSL.

Both FADDL and NVSL work with

infectious and contagious disease

agents. However, FADDL, which is

isolated from the United States

mainland, is designed to work

specifically with highly infectious

diseases exotic to the United States.

Because of this, special biosecurity

measures are required at FADDL that are

not required at NVSL. As a result,

FADDL operating costs are higher than

NVSL operating costs. The higher

FADDL operating costs are incorporated

into the Administrative support costs; in

addition to the typical administrative

support costs, FADDL, as a high-tech

facility requiring special biosecurity

measures, generates additional, higher

expenses. Primarily, the rent for the

facility is significantly higher than for a

standard laboratory. In addition, since

FADDL must be located on an island, all

employees and supplies must be

transported by boat to the facility,

therefore, high transportation expenses

are included. The user fees we are

proposing reflect this difference in

costs.

TABLE 1.—FY 98 USER FEE CALCULATIONS

[Example using one hour of direct labor]

User fee component

Laboratory

NVSL

FADDL

DVL DBL PL

Laboratory average grade and step for salary ................................................................. GS10–5 GS9–4 GS12–5 GS11–4

Hourly salary rate ............................................................................................................. $18.97 $16.33 $24.72 $20.30

+Benefits (calculated as a % of salary) ........................................................................... $4.15 $3.58 $5.41 $4.44

= Average laboratory salary and benefits ........................................................................ $23.12 $19.91 $30.13 $24.74

x Direct labor time (in hours) ............................................................................................ 1 1 1 1

= Direct labor costs (salary and benefits) ........................................................................ $23.12 $19.91 $30.13 $24.74

+ Administrative support costs1 (113% of direct labor at NVSL, 625% of direct labor at

FADDL) ......................................................................................................................... $26.13 $22.50 $34.05 $154.63

+ Premium costs (if any) .................................................................................................. $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Subtotal 1 ............................................................................................................... $49.25 $42.21 $64.18 $179.37

+ Agency overhead (16.15% of subtotal 1) ..................................................................... $7.95 $6.85 $10.37 $28.97

Subtotal 2 ............................................................................................................... $57.20 $49.26 $74.55 $208.34

+ Departmental charges (5.55% of subtotal 2) ................................................................ $3.17 $2.73 $4.14 $11.46
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules 24477

TABLE 1.—FY 98 USER FEE CALCULATIONS—Continued

[Example using one hour of direct labor]

User fee component

Laboratory

NVSL

FADDL

DVL DBL PL

Subtotal 3 2 ............................................................................................................ $60.37 $51.99 $78.69 $219.80

+ Rounding up to the nearest $0.25 ................................................................................ $0.13 $0.01 $0.06 $0.20

User fee ................................................................................................................. $60.50 $52.00 $78.75 $220.00

1For every $1 incurred in direct labor at NVSL, another $1.13 is incurred in administrative support costs. For every $1 incurred in direct labor

at FADDL, another $6.25 is incurred in administrative support costs. 2 If the total direct labor time used produced more than one unit, then Subtotal 3 would be divided by the total number of units produced at this

point. For example, when diagnostic reagents are produced, more than one unit of the reagent is produced in a batch, i.e., it takes approximately

54 hours to produce a batch of 200 individual 1 ml units of glanders CF antigen. Therefore, the subtotal would be divided by 200 to estimate the

cost for a 1 ml unit.

Discounts

Currently, in §§ 130.14, 130.15, and

130.16 we discount user fees for the

second and subsequent tests with

multiple antigens performed on the

same submission at FADDL and NVSL

for the following tests: Complement

fixation, hemagglutination inhibition,

and virus neutralization. For example,

in §§ 130.14 and 130.16, the user fee for

a complement fixation test at NVSL is

$9.00 for the first test performed on a

sample and $2.00, or $1.80 (20 percent

of $9.00) rounded up to the nearest

quarter of a dollar, for the second and

each subsequent complement fixation

test on the same sample. As explained

below, we are proposing to revise these

discounts by (1) eliminating the

discounts for tests performed at FADDL,

(2) eliminating the discounts when the

tests are performed for certain diseases,

and (3) revising the way the discounts

are applied. In addition, we propose to

add discounts for several tests.

We have reviewed the costs for tests

at FADDL that are currently listed in

§ 130.15 and have determined that, due

to differences in workload, each

subsequent test performed on a sample

at FADDL costs the same as the first test.

The discounted user fees have not

recovered the full costs for tests

performed at FADDL, and we propose to

eliminate discounts at FADDL that are

currently listed in § 130.15.

We have reviewed the costs for tests

at NVSL (other than FADDL) that are

currently listed in §§ 130.14 and 130.16

and have determined that the current

discounts do not recover the full costs

of performing the tests. For example,

testing related to equine piroplasmosis,

bovine plasmosis, dourine, and glanders

require monoclonal antibodies that are

expensive to produce. Because it costs

as much to do each subsequent test, we

do not recover our actual costs when we

discount tests for these diseases. In

addition, a certain amount of time and

effort is required to prepare reagents and

appropriate controls to conduct the first

10 of any of the other tests for which

discounts are offered in §§ 130.14 and

130.16. Once the reagents and controls

have been prepared for the first 10 tests,

less time and effort is necessary to test

additional samples and the costs are

lower for each additional test. Because

we discount the second and additional

tests, the discounted user fees do not

cover our actual costs to perform these

tests. Therefore, we propose to eliminate

the discount for testing related to equine

piroplasmosis, bovine plasmosis,

dourine, and glanders, and to revise the

discounts for the other tests to apply to

the 11th and subsequent tests of the

same type on the same sample. The

discounted user fee for the 11th and

subsequent tests would be 20 percent of

the proposed user fee for each

subsequent test on the same submission

by the same submitter for the same test

and antigen. For example, the user fee

for the fluorescent antibody test is

$9.75, and the discounted user fee

would be $2.00, or $1.95 (20 percent of

$9.75) rounded up to the nearest quarter

of a dollar.

We have determined that several

additional tests performed at NVSL may

be appropriate for discounts. Therefore,

in proposed §§ 130.15(a) and 130.16 we

propose to add discounts for fluorescent

antibody, indirect fluorescent antibody,

and peroxidase linked antibody tests.

The discounted user fee for the 11th and

subsequent tests would be 20 percent of

the proposed user fee for each

subsequent test on the same submission

by the same submitter for the same test

and antigen.

Hourly Rate Veterinary Diagnostic User

Fees

We propose to add an hourly rate user

fee for FADDL and NVSL to §§ 130.14(c)

and 130.19, respectively. These hourly

rate user fees would be used for services

that do not have an identified flat rate

user fee (for example, tests and reagents

that are not available now and those

services whose costs would be more

accurately represented by an hourly rate

user fee instead of a flat rate). For

example, a per slide flat rate user fee for

a polymerase chain reaction test would

not take into account the differences in

the time required based on the number

of slides. Using an hourly rate user fee

for the polymerase chain reaction test

would more accurately reflect the time

required to perform the test. Therefore,

the hourly rate user fee would be

charged.

The hourly rate user fees would be

based on the actual time required to

render the service calculated to the

nearest quarter of an hour. Any

applicable premium costs for hourly

rate user fees would be added to the

calculated user fee. For example, the

polymerase chain reaction test would be

performed for an hourly rate user fee

and any applicable royalties.

In addition, we propose to remove the

current flat rate user fee in §§ 130.14,

130.15, and 130.16 for histopathology

and apply the hourly rate user fee to

histopathology tests. We believe that the

hourly rate user fee would provide a

more accurate user fee based on the

amount of time it takes to perform the

test versus the flat rate user fee based on

the number of slides that are tested. We

believe that this change to an hourly

rate user fee would allow for economies

of scale and therefore, lower charges for

tests requiring multiple slides.
24478 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules

Restructured CFR Sections

For clarity, simplicity, and ease of

use, we are proposing to reorganize the

veterinary diagnostic user fees in the

regulations. Currently, the regulations

list a separate user fee for each

veterinary diagnostic test, reagent, and

service. These user fees are currently

grouped in the following manner: Tests

related to the importation or exportation

of animals or birds at NVSL or FADDL

(§§ 130.14 and 130.15); reference

assistance testing for a veterinarian,

State animal health official, or

university to establish or confirm a

diagnosis (§ 130.16); reagents, slide sets,

and tissue sets at NVSL or FADDL

(§ 130.17); and sterilization by gamma

radiation (§ 130.18).

We are proposing to revise the

veterinary diagnostic user fee sections to

group the user fees based on the type of

service and the location where the

service is provided. Currently, some of

the veterinary diagnostic user fees are

grouped by type of service and location.

We propose to group all of the

veterinary diagnostic user fees first by

location and second by type of test or

service.

We believe that we no longer need to

separately distinguish reference

assistance testing as is currently done in

§ 130.16 because these tests can be

performed for reasons other than to

establish or confirm a diagnosis for a

veterinarian, State animal health

official, or university. Regardless of the

reason APHIS conducts the test, the user

fee would be the same. Therefore, we no

longer need to duplicate these user fees

in a separate section for reference

assistance testing. User fees for bacterial

identification tests and toxicology tests,

which are currently listed only as

reference assistance tests, would be

incorporated into proposed §§ 130.15

and 130.17, respectively. Because we

would no longer separate reference

assistance testing, we also propose to

remove the definition for reference

assistance testing.

As explained earlier, there are

inherent differences between work that

may be performed at FADDL and work

that may be performed at NVSL or other

authorized import sites (for example,

handling foreign diseases). Therefore,

we propose to group all FADDL user

fees together. Currently, FADDL user

fees are included in §§ 130.15, 130.16,

130.17, and 130.18. We propose to

incorporate all FADDL user fees into a

new § 130.14. The FADDL user fees

would be grouped by reagents, tests, and

other veterinary diagnostic services.

Currently, all NVSL user fees are

listed in §§ 130.14, 130.16, and 130.17.

We propose to group all NVSL

veterinary diagnostic user fees by type

of test: Identification tests (proposed

§ 130.15), serology tests (proposed

§ 130.16), and other tests (proposed

§ 130.17). The reagents would also be

grouped by the type of reagent:

Bacteriology and virology (proposed

§ 130.18). Within these reagent groups,

we would change the reagent user fees

from the current user fee for each

individual reagent to a user fee for each

category of reagent. These reagent

categories are determined by the

composition of the reagent and the

application for the reagent. Finally, we

propose to group the remaining other

veterinary diagnostic services together

(proposed § 130.19).

Comparison of Proposed Veterinary

Diagnostic User Fees With Current User

Fees

The following comparison tables

show the proposed changes from the

current user fees, including the change

in the dollar amount and the percentage

change. When we proposed a new name

for a user fee, the table lists the current

name for comparison purposes. In

addition, the reagent comparison tables

list the specific current reagents that are

combined into the proposed reagent

categories.

FADDL Reagent User Fees

Table 2 shows the user fees proposed

in § 130.14(a) for FADDL reagents. We

propose to implement three new user

fees for FADDL reagents. In addition, we

propose to move nine user fees for

FADDL reagents that are currently listed

in § 130.17(b) of the regulations into

§ 130.14(a). These nine reagents would

be grouped into seven reagent

categories. All of these user fees would

increase.

Table 2. User Fees for FADDL Reagents (Proposed § 130.14(a))

Proposed reagent Proposed

user fee Unit Current userfee

Change in user fee

Amount Percent

Bovine antiserum, any agent ................................................................ $80.00 1 ml ............. ...................... .................... ....................

(was Bovine antiserum, any agent) ............................................... .................... ..................... $2.50 $77.50 3100

(was Foot-and-mouth disease anti-VIAA serum) .......................... .................... ..................... 5.00 75.00 1500

Caprine antiserum, any agent ............................................................... 97.50 1 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Cell culture antigen/microorganism ....................................................... 63.75 1 ml ............. ...................... .................... ....................

(was ASF-immunosmophoresis antigen) ....................................... .................... ..................... 60.75 3.00 5

(was FMD virus associated antigen) ............................................. .................... ..................... 36.75 27.00 73

Equine antiserum, any agent ................................................................ 100.50 1 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Fluorescent antibody conjugate ............................................................ 120.25 1 ml ............. 48.50 71.75 148

Monoclonal antibody (was Monoclonal antibodies, mouse ascitic

fluid).

122.75 1 ml ............. 14.75 108.00 732

Other spp. antiserum, any agent (was Anti-FMD antigen, guinea pig

origin).

104.50 1 ml ............. 12.75 91.75 720

Ovine antiserum, any agent .................................................................. 94.25 1 ml ............. 2.00 92.25 4613

Porcine antiserum, any agent (was Swine antiserum, any agent) ....... 81.25 1 ml ............. 2.00 79.25 3963

Rabbit antiserum, any agent ................................................................. 98.50 1 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

FADDL Veterinary Diagnostic Tests User Fees

Table 3 shows the user fees proposed in § 130.14(b) for FADDL veterinary diagnostic tests. We propose to implement

five new user fees for FADDL veterinary diagnostic tests. We propose to move 12 of the user fees currently listed

in § 130.15(a) of the regulations into § 130.14(b). On average, most of these user fees would increase by less than

20 percent.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules 24479

TABLE 3.—USER FEES FOR FADDL VETERINARY DIAGNOSTIC TESTS (PROPOSED § 130.14(B))

Proposed veterinary diagnostic test Proposed

user fee Unit Current userfee

Change in user fee

Amount Percent

Agar gel immunodiffusion ..................................................................... $14.75 Test ............. $13.50 $1.25 9

Card ....................................................................................................... 8.25 Test ............. 0

Complement fixation ............................................................................. 33.00 Test ............. 30.50 2.50 8

Direct immunofluorescent antibody ....................................................... 11.00 Test ............. 9.50 1.50 16

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay .................................................. 12.75 Test ............. 11.00 1.75 16

Fluorescent antibody neutralization (hog cholera) ................................ 96.00 Test ............. 22.00 74.00 336

Hemagglutination inhibition ................................................................... 27.75 Test ............. 0

Immunoperoxidase ................................................................................ 18.25 Test ............. 0

Indirect fluorescent antibody ................................................................. 23.25 Test ............. 21.50 1.75 8

In-vitro safety ......................................................................................... 299.50 Test ............. 0

In-vivo safety ......................................................................................... 4,345.75 Test ............. 4,177.00 168.75 4

Latex agglutination ................................................................................ 11.00 Test ............. 9.25 1.75 19

Tube agglutination ................................................................................. 14.00 Test ............. 0

Virus isolation in embryonated eggs ..................................................... 176.00 Test ............. 163.75 12.25 7

Virus isolation (oesophageal/pharyngeal) ............................................. 88.25 Test ............. 80.00 8.25 10

Virus isolation, other ............................................................................. 84.50 Test ............. 77.75 6.75 9

Virus neutralization ................................................................................ 25.75 Test ............. 22.00 3.75 17

FADDL Other Veterinary Diagnostics

Table 4 shows the user fees proposed in § 130.14(c) for other veterinary diagnostics provided at FADDL. We propose

to implement new user fees for three tests and a new hourly user fee for other FADDL veterinary diagnostics for

which there are no identified flat rate user fees or for which an hourly user fee is more appropriate. In addition,

we propose to move four user fees currently listed in §§ 130.17(a) and (b) and 130.18 of the regulations into § 130.14(c).

On average, these user fees would increase between 20 and 35 percent.

TABLE 4.—USER FEES FOR FADDL OTHER VETERINARY DIAGNOSTICS (PROPOSED § 130.14(C))

Other veterinary diagnostics Proposed

user fee Unit Current userfee

Change in user fee

Amount Percent

Bacterial isolation .................................................................................. $55.00 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Hourly user fee services ....................................................................... 220.00 Hour ............ 0 .................... ....................

55.00 Quarter Hour 0 .................... ....................

Infected cells on chamber slides or plates (was ASF—slide set for direct fluorescent antibody test).31.00 Slide ............ 23.00 8.00 35

Reference animal tissues for immunohistochemistry (was ASF and

Hog Cholera tissue sets).

94.25 set ............... 76.75 17.50 23

Sterilization by gamma radiation ........................................................... 530.00 can .............. 427.75 102.25 24

Training (school or technical assistance) ............................................. 450.00 Per person

per day.

0

Virus Titration ........................................................................................ 55.00 Test ............. 0

Bacteriology Isolation and/or Identification Tests

Table 5 shows the user fees proposed in § 130.15(a) for bacteriology isolation and/or identification tests. We propose

to implement 19 new user fees for bacteriology isolation and/or identification tests. In addition, we propose to move

seven user fees that are currently listed in § 130.16(a) of the regulations into § 130.15(a). On average, these user fees

would increase by less than 10 percent.

TABLE 5.—USER FEES FOR BACTERIOLOGY ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION TESTS (PROPOSED § 130.15(a))

Proposed bacteriology isolation or identification test Proposed

user fee Unit Current userfee

Change in user fee

Amount Percent

Bacterial identification, automated (was Bacterial identification/isolation, routine).$16.00 Isolate .......................... $15.00 $1.00 7

Bacterial identification, non-automated ................................. 61.25 Isolate .......................... 0 .................... ....................

Bacterial isolation (was Bacterial identification/isolation,

routine).

16.00 Sample ........................ 15.00 1.00 7

Bacterial serotyping, all other ............................................... 30.75 Isolate .......................... 0 .................... ....................

Bacterial serotyping, Pasteurella multocida .......................... 7.50 Isolate .......................... 0 .................... ....................

Bacterial serotyping, Salmonella (was Salmonella

serotyping).

21.25 Isolate .......................... 20.00 1.25 6

Bacterial toxin typing ............................................................. 91.50 Isolate .......................... 0 .................... ....................

Bacteriology requiring special characterization .................... 27.00 Test ............................. 25.00 2.00 8

DNA fingerprinting ................................................................. 36.50 Test ............................. 0 .................... ....................
24480 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules

TABLE 5.—USER FEES FOR BACTERIOLOGY ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION TESTS (PROPOSED § 130.15(a))—Continued

Proposed bacteriology isolation or identification test Proposed

user fee Unit Current userfee

Change in user fee

Amount Percent

DNA probe ............................................................................ 29.50 Test ............................. 0 .................... ....................

Fluorescent antibody ............................................................. 9.75 Test ............................. 0 .................... ....................

Leptospira culturing (was Leptospira cultures) ..................... 27.00 Sample ........................ 25.00 2.00 8

Leptospira serotyping ............................................................ 80.50 Isolate .......................... 75.00 5.50 7

Mycobacterium avian serotyping .......................................... 157.50 Isolate .......................... 0 .................... ....................

Mycobacterium identification (biochemicals) ........................ 63.25 Isolate .......................... 0 .................... ....................

Mycobacterium identification (gas chromatography) ............ 26.50 Procedure .................... 0 .................... ....................

Mycobacterium isolation, animal inoculations ...................... 520.50 Submission .................. 0 .................... ....................

Mycobacterium isolation, all other ........................................ 105.50 Submission .................. 0 .................... ....................

Mycobacterium paratuberculosis isolation ............................ 26.50 Submission .................. 0 .................... ....................

Mycology culture identification .............................................. 52.75 Isolate .......................... 0 .................... ....................

Mycology/fungus culture or isolation .................................... 26.50 Sample ........................ 0 .................... ....................

Mycoplasma identification ..................................................... 26.25 Isolate .......................... 0 .................... ....................

Mycoplasma isolation ............................................................ 26.25 Sample ........................ 0 .................... ....................

Phage typing, Salmonella enteritidis (was Phage typing) .... 10.75 Isolate .......................... 10.00 0.75 8

Phage typing, all other .......................................................... 26.50 Isolate .......................... 0 .................... ....................

Plasmid typing ....................................................................... 26.50 Isolate .......................... 25.00 1.50 6

Warburg ................................................................................ 316.50 Isolate .......................... 0 .................... ....................

Virology Identification Tests

Table 6 shows the user fees proposed in § 130.15(b) for virology identification tests. We propose to implement

a new user fee for virology identification tests. In addition, we propose to move two user fees that are currently

listed in § 130.16(a) of the regulations into § 130.15(b). On average, these user fees would increase by less than 10

percent.

TABLE 6.—USER FEES FOR VIROLOGY IDENTIFICATION TESTS (PROPOSED § 130.15(b))

Proposed virology identification test Proposed

user fee Unit Current userfee

Change in user fee

Amount Percent

Fluorescent antibody tissue section ...................................................... $18.25 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Virus isolation (except for Newcastle disease virus) ............................ 31.50 Test ............. 29.75 1.75 6

Virus isolation for Newcastle disease virus .......................................... 15.25 Test ............. 14.00 1.25 9

Bacteriology Serology Tests

Table 7 shows the user fees proposed in § 130.16(a) for bacteriology serology tests. We propose to implement seven

new user fees for bacteriology serology tests. In addition, we propose to move 11 user fees that are currently listed

in § 130.14(a) of the regulations into § 130.16(a). On average, most of these user fees would increase by less than

15 percent.

TABLE 7.—USER FEES FOR BACTERIOLOGY SEROLOGY TESTS (PROPOSED § 130.16(a))

Proposed bacteriology serology test Proposed

user fee Unit Current userfee

Change in user fee

Amount Percent

Brucella milk ELISA .......................................................................... $15.75 Test ............. 0 ...................... ......................

Brucella ring (BRT) ........................................................................... 10.50 Test ............. 0 ...................... ......................

Brucella ring, heat inactivated (HIRT) ............................................... 10.50 Test ............. 0 ...................... ......................

Brucella ring, serial (serial BRT) ....................................................... 15.75 Test ............. 0 ...................... ......................

Buffered acidified plate antigen presumptive .................................... 4.00 Test ............. 3.50 0.50 14.29

Card ................................................................................................... 2.00 Test ............. 2.00 0.00 0

Complement fixation ......................................................................... 9.00 Test ............. 9.00 0.00 0

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, all other ............................... 4.75 Test ............. 4.75 0.00 0

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for dourine, glanders, or

piroplasmosis.

9.00 Test ............. 4.75 4.25 89

Indirect fluorescent antibody ............................................................. 9.75 Test ............. 9.00 0.75 8

Mercaptoethanol ................................................................................ 4.00 Test ............. 3.50 0.50 14

Microscopic agglutination—includes up to 5 serovars ..................... 11.00 Sample ........ 10.00 1.00 10

Mycology/fungus serology ................................................................. 10.50 Test ............. 0 ...................... ......................

Particle concentration fluorescent immuno assay (PCFIA) .............. 18.25 Test ............. 0 ...................... ......................

Plate .................................................................................................. 4.00 Test ............. 3.50 0.50 14

Rapid automated presumptive .......................................................... 4.25 Test ............. 0 ...................... ......................

Rivanol .............................................................................................. 4.00 Test ............. 3.75 0.25 7

Tube agglutination ............................................................................. 4.00 Test ............. 3.50 0.50 14
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules 24481

Virology Serology Tests

Table 8 shows the user fees proposed

in § 130.16(b) for virology serology tests.

We propose to implement two new user

fees for virology serology tests. In

addition, we propose to move eight user

fees that are currently listed in

§ 130.14(a) of the regulations into

§ 130.16(b). On average, these user fees

would increase by less than 10 percent.

TABLE 8.—USER FEES FOR VIROLOGY SEROLOGY TESTS (PROPOSED § 130.16(b))

Proposed virology serology test Proposed

user fee Unit Current userfee

Change in user fee

Amount Percent

Agar gel immunodiffusion ..................................................................... $5.00 Test ............. $4.75 $0.25 5

Complement fixation ............................................................................. 9.00 Test ............. 9.00 0.00 0

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay .................................................. 4.75 Test ............. 4.75 0.00 0

Hemagglutination inhibition ................................................................... 7.50 Test ............. 7.50 0.00 0

Indirect fluorescent antibody ................................................................. 9.75 Test ............. 9.00 0.75 8

Latex agglutination ................................................................................ 5.00 Test ............. 4.75 0.25 5

Peroxidase linked antibody ................................................................... 9.75 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Plaque reduction neutralization (was Plaque neutralization) ................ 7.75 Test ............. 7.50 0.25 3

Rabies fluorescent antibody neutralization ........................................... 26.50 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Virus neutralization ................................................................................ 7.75 Test ............. 7.50 0.25 3

Pathobiology Tests

Table 9 shows the user fees proposed

in § 130.17 for pathobiology tests. We

propose to implement 23 new user fees

for pathobiology tests. In addition, we

propose to move 11 user fees that are

currently listed in §§ 130.14(a) and

130.16(a) of the regulations into

§ 130.17. On average, most of these user

fees would increase between 5 and 15

percent.

TABLE 9.—USER FEES FOR PATHOBIOLOGY LABORATORY TESTS (PROPOSED § 130.17(a))

Proposed pathobiology laboratory test Proposed

user fee Unit Current userfee

Change in user fee

Amount Percent

Aflatoxin quantitation ............................................................................. $20.50 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Aflatoxin screen ..................................................................................... 11.25 Test ............. ...................... .................... ....................

Agar gel immunodiffusion spp. identification ........................................ 6.25 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Antibiotic (bioautography) quantitation .................................................. 25.00 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Antibiotic (bioautography) screen ......................................................... 50.00 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Antibiotic inhibition ................................................................................ 25.25 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Arsenic .................................................................................................. 6.75 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Ergot alkaloid screen ............................................................................ 25.25 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Ergot alkaloid confirmation .................................................................... 33.00 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Feed microscopy ................................................................................... 25.25 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Fumonisin only ...................................................................................... 20.50 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Gossypol ............................................................................................... 37.75 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Mercury ................................................................................................. 56.00 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Metals screen (was ICP metals—screen) ............................................ 29.75 Test ............. 26.25 3.50 13

Metals single element confirmation (was ICP metals—confirmation) .. 6.75 Test ............. 6.00 0.75 13

Mycotoxin: aflatoxin-liver ....................................................................... 82.25 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Mycotoxin screen .................................................................................. 34.00 Test ............. 30.75 3.25 11

Nitrate/nitrite .......................................................................................... 25.00 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Organic compound confirmation (was GC/MS organic compound—

confirmation).

34.00 Test ............. 31.00 3.00 10

Organic compound screen (was GC/MS organic compound—screen) 114.75 Test ............. 106.50 8.25 8

Parasitology ........................................................................................... 19.25 Test ............. 17.00 2.25 13

Pesticide quantitation ............................................................................ 51.25 Test ............. 47.50 3.75 8

Pesticide screen .................................................................................... 38.00 Test ............. 34.25 3.75 11

pH test ................................................................................................... 10.00 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Plate cylinder ......................................................................................... 37.75 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Selenium ............................................................................................... 33.25 Test ............. 30.50 2.75 9

Silicate/carbonate disinfectant .............................................................. 25.00 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Temperature disks ................................................................................ 50.25 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Toxicant quantitation, other ................................................................... 42.25 Test ............. 39.75 2.50 6

Toxicant screen, other .......................................................................... 25.00 Test ............. 39.75 ¥14.75 ¥37

Vomitoxin only ....................................................................................... 20.75 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Water activity ......................................................................................... 12.50 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Zearaleone quantitation ........................................................................ 20.50 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Zearaleone screen ................................................................................ 11.25 Test ............. 0 .................... ....................

Diagnostic Bacteriology Reagents

Table 10 shows the user fees proposed in § 130.18(a) for diagnostic bacteriology reagents. We propose to implement

33 new user fees for reagent categories. In addition, we propose to move 11 user fees that are currently listed in
24482 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules

§ 130.17(a) of the regulations into § 130.18(a). All of these proposed reagent categories include changes in the amount

of the user fee.

TABLE 10.—USER FEES FOR DIAGNOSTIC BACTERIOLOGY REAGENTS (PROPOSED § 130.18(a))

Proposed reagent Proposed

user fee Unit Current userfee

Change in user fee

Amount Percent

Anaplasma card test antigen ............................................................ $34.00 2 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Anaplasma card test kit without antigen ........................................... 105.50 Kit ................ 0 .................... ....................

Anaplasma CF antigen ..................................................................... 17.00 2 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Anaplasma stabilate .......................................................................... 67.25 4.5 ml .......... 0 .................... ....................

Avian origin bacterial antiserums, mycoplasma ............................... 11.50 1 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Avian origin bacterial antiserums, all other (was Pasteurella antiserum).17.75 1 ml ............. 10.00 7.75 78

Bacterial agglutinating antigens other than brucella and salmonella

pullorum.

30.50 5 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Bacterial conjugates (was Lepto FA conjugate) ............................... 36.00 1 ml ............. 19.25 16.75 87

Bacterial disease CF antigens, all other (was Brucella ovis antigen).8.50 1 ml ............. 2.25/1 ml

(5.50/2 ml)

6.25 278

Bacterial ELISA antigens .................................................................. 9.50 1 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Bacterial or protozoal antiserums, all other ...................................... 7.25 1 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Bacterial reagent cultures (was Leptospira and Pasteurella antigens).21.25 Culture ........ 20.00 1.25 ¥125

Bacterial reference culture ................................................................ 63.25 Culture ........ 0 .................... ....................

Bacteriophage reference culture ....................................................... 63.25 Culture ........ 0 .................... ....................

Bovine serum factor .......................................................................... 1.25 2 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Brucella abortus CF antigen ............................................................. 34.00 60 ml ........... 0 .................... ....................

Brucella agglutination antigens, all other .......................................... 34.00 60 ml ........... 0 .................... ....................

Brucella buffered plate antigen ......................................................... 50.00 60 ml ........... 0 .................... ....................

Brucella canis tube antigen (was Brucella canis antigen) ................ 30.50 25 ml ........... 103.13/25 ml

(8.25/2 ml)

¥72.63 ¥70

Brucella card test antigen (packaged) .............................................. 19.50 Package ...... 0 .................... ....................

Brucella card test kit without antigen ................................................ 70.25 Kit ................ 0 .................... ....................

Brucella cells ..................................................................................... 5.25 Gram ........... 0 .................... ....................

Brucella cells, dried ........................................................................... 2.00 Pellet ........... 0 .................... ....................

Brucella ring test antigen .................................................................. 72.75 60 ml ........... 0 .................... ....................

Brucella rivanol solution .................................................................... 8.75 60 ml ........... 0 .................... ....................

Dourine CF antigen ........................................................................... 17.50 1 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Dourine stabilate ............................................................................... 34.75 4.5 ml .......... 0 .................... ....................

Equine and bovine origin hemoparasitic antiserums ........................ 21.25 1 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Equine negative control CF antigen ................................................. 171.25 1 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Equine origin glanders antiserum ..................................................... 18.25 1 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Flazo-orange (was Lepto FA Flazo-orange) ..................................... 6.25 3 ml ............. 6.00 0.25 4

Glanders CF antigen ......................................................................... 17.50 1 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Hemoparasitic disease CF antigens, all other .................................. 158.25 1 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Leptospira transport medium ............................................................ 3.25 10 ml ........... 3.00 0.25 8

Monoclonal antibody ......................................................................... 37.50 1 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Mycobacterium spp. Old tuberculin (was Johnin OT) ...................... 3.75 1 ml ............. 6.125/1 ml

(12.25 /2 ml)

¥2.38 ¥39

Mycobacterium spp. PPD (was Johnin PPD) ................................... 3.25 1 ml ............. 5.38/1 ml

(10.75/2 ml)

¥2.13 ¥40

Mycoplasma hemagglutination antigens ........................................... 105.50 5 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Negative control serums ................................................................... 4.00 1 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Other spp. antiserum, any ................................................................ 32.75 1 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Rabbit origin bacterial antiserums (was Leptospira antiserum) ....... 14.25 1 ml ............. 2.25/1 ml

(4.50/2 ml)

12.00 533

Salmonella pullorum microagglutination antigen .............................. 6.25 5 ml ............. 0 .................... ....................

Stabilates, all other ........................................................................... 258.25 4.5 ml .......... 0 .................... ....................

Diagnostic Virology Reagents

Table 11 shows the user fees proposed in § 130.18(b) for diagnostic virology reagents. We propose to implement

seven new user fees for reagent categories. In addition, we propose to move 125 user fees that are currently listed

in § 130.17(a) of the regulations into § 130.18(b). The individual user fees for these 126 reagents would be reorganized

into 12 reagent categories. All of these current user fees for reagents would change.

TABLE 11.—USER FEES FOR DIAGNOSTIC VIROLOGY REAGENTS (PROPOSED § 130.18(b))

Proposed reagent Proposed

user fee Unit Current userfee

Change in user fee

Amount Percent

Antigen, except avian influenza and chlamydia psittaci

antigens, any.

$41.50 2 ml ............................. .......................... .................... ....................
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules 24483

TABLE 11.—USER FEES FOR DIAGNOSTIC VIROLOGY REAGENTS (PROPOSED § 130.18(b))—Continued

Proposed reagent Proposed

user fee Unit Current userfee

Change in user fee

Amount Percent

(was Avian adenovirus 127, paramyxovirus-2,

paramyxovirus-3; and Newcastle disease antigens).

.................... ..................................... $39.50 $2.00 5

(was Contagious ecthyma CF antigen) ..................... .................... ..................................... 14.00 /2 ml

(7.00/1 ml)

27.50 196

(was Infectious bursal disease antigen) .................... .................... ..................................... 16.00 /2 ml

(8.00/1 ml)

25.50 159

Avian antiserum except avian influenza antiserum, any .. 23.00 2 ml ............................. .......................... .................... ....................

(was Avian adenovirus 127, encephalomyelitis,

paramyxovirus-2, and paramyxovirus-3; Duck viral

enteritis; Infectious bronchitis virus, bursal disease, and laryngotracheitis; Newcastle disease;

and Psittacine herpes virus (standard)

antiserums).

.................... ..................................... 21.75 1.25 6

(was Chlamydia psittaci antiserum) ........................... .................... ..................................... 43.50/2 ml

(21.75/1 ml)

¥20.50 ¥47

Avian influenza antigen, any ............................................. 9.25 2 ml ............................. 8.75 0.50 6

Avian influenza antiserum, any ......................................... 53.75 6 ml ............................. 51.00/6 ml 2.75 5

Bovine or ovine serum, any .............................................. 88.00 2 ml ............................. .......................... .................... ....................

(was Bluetongue; Bovine coronavirus, herpes virus

type 1, herpes virus type 2, herpes virus type 4,

papular stomatitis, parvovirus, respiratory

syncytial virus, rotavirus, and viral diarrhea;

Epizootic hemorrhagic disease; and

Parainfluenza-3 antiserums).

.................... ..................................... 83.50 4.50 5

(was Contagious ecthyma antiserum) ....................... .................... ..................................... 5.25/2 ml 82.75 1576

Cell culture ........................................................................ 20.00 Flask ............................ 0 .................... ....................

Chlamydia psittaci spp. of origin monoclonal antibody

panel.

47.25 Panel ........................... 0 .................... ....................

Conjugate, any .................................................................. 20.25 1 ml ............................. .......................... .................... ....................

(was Bluetongue; Bovine coronavirus, herpes virus

type 1, herpes virus type 2, herpes virus type 4,

papular stomatitis, parvovirus, respiratory

syncytial virus, rotavirus, viral diarrhea; Chlamydia

psittaci; Contagious ecthyma; Encephalomyo-carditis; Epizootic hemorrhagic disease;

Hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis;

Parainfluenza-3; Porcine adenovirus (AV),

parvovirus (PPV), reovirus, and rotavirus; Swine

influenza, and Transmissible gastroenteritis conjugates).

.................... ..................................... 19.25 1.00 5

(was Duck viral enteritis conjugate) .......................... .................... ..................................... 31.25 ¥11.00 ¥35

(was Equine adenovirus, Equine herpes type 1, and

Psittacine herpes virus conjugates).

.................... ..................................... 24.00 ¥3.75 ¥16

Diluted positive control serum, any .................................. 6.75 2 ml ............................. .......................... .................... ....................

(was Encephalomyo-carditis; Hemagglutinating

encephalomyelitis; Parainfluenza-3; Porcine

parvovirus (PPV), and rotavirus; Swine influenza;

and Transmissible gastroenteritis positive control

serums).

.................... ..................................... 6.25 0.50 8

(was Bovine herpes virus type 1, and type 2,

parvovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and viral diarrhea positive control serums).

.................... ..................................... 4.50 2.25 50

Equine antiserum, any ...................................................... 12.25 2 ml ............................. .......................... .................... ....................

(was Equine adenovirus, herpes type 1, herpes type

2, and herpes type 3 antiserums).

.................... ..................................... 11.50 0.75 7

(was Equine influenza antiserum) ............................. .................... ..................................... 21.75 ¥9.50 ¥44

(was Equine viral arteritis antiserum) ........................ .................... ..................................... 19.30/2 ml

(48.25/5 ml)

¥7.05 ¥37

Hog Cholera tissue sets ................................................... 81.50 Tissue set .................... 76.75 4.75 6.19

Monoclonal antibody ......................................................... 37.50 1 ml ............................. 0 .................... ....................

Other spp. antiserum, any ................................................ 32.75 1 ml ............................. 0 .................... ....................

Porcine antiserum, any (was Encephalomyo-carditis;

Hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis; Porcine

adenovirus (AV), parvovirus (PPV), reovirus, and

rotavirus; Swine influenza; and Transmissible

gastroenteritis antiserums).

60.50 2 ml ............................. 57.50 3.00 5

Positive control tissues, all ............................................... 4.25 2 cm2 section .............. 0 .................... ....................

Rabbit origin antiserums ................................................... 14.25 1 ml ............................. 0 .................... ....................

Reference virus, any ......................................................... 63.50 0.6 ml .......................... 0 .................... ....................
24484 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules

TABLE 11.—USER FEES FOR DIAGNOSTIC VIROLOGY REAGENTS (PROPOSED § 130.18(b))—Continued

Proposed reagent Proposed

user fee Unit Current userfee

Change in user fee

Amount Percent

Viruses (except reference viruses), chlamydia psittaci

agent, or chlamydia psittaci antigen, any.

5.50 0.6 ml .......................... .......................... .................... ....................

(was Avian encephalomyelitis, paramyxovirus-2,

paramyxovirus-3, and reovirus; Bluetongue; Bovine coronavirus, herpes type 1, type 2, and type

4, papular stomatitis, parvovirus, respiratory

syncytial, rotavirus, and viral diarrhea; Chlamydia

psittaci agent; Contagious ecthyma; Duck viral enteritis; Encephalomyo-carditis; Epizootic hemorrhagic disease; Equine adenovirus, herpes type 1,

type 2, and type 3, influenza, and viral arteritis;

Hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis; Infectious

bursal disease; Infectious laryngotracheitis; Newcastle disease; Parainfluenza-3; Porcine

adenovirus (AV), parvovirus (PPV), reovirus, and

rotavirus; Psittacine herpes; Quail bronchitis;

Swine influenza; and Transmissible gastroenteritis

viruses).

.................... ..................................... 5.25 0.25 5

(was Chlamydia psittaci antigen) ............................... .................... ..................................... 3.15/0.6 ml

(5.25/1 ml)

2.35 75

(was Infectious bronchitis virus) ................................ .................... ..................................... 4.50 1.00 22

Other Veterinary Diagnostics

Table 12 shows the user fees proposed in § 130.19 for other veterinary diagnostics. We propose to implement 13

new user fees and a new hourly user fee for other NVSL veterinary diagnostics for which there are no identified

flat rate user fees or for which an hourly user fee is more appropriate. In addition, we propose to move a user fee

that is currently listed in § 130.8(a) of the regulations into § 130.19.

TABLE 12.—USER FEES FOR OTHER VETERINARY DIAGNOSTICS (PROPOSED § 130.19)

Proposed other veterinary diagnostics services Proposed

user fee Unit Current userfee

Change in user fee

Amount Percent

Antimicrobial susceptibility test ............................................. $30.50 Isolate .......................... 0 .................... ....................

Avian safety test ................................................................... 2701.75 Test ............................. 0 .................... ....................

Check tests, anaplasma complement fixation ...................... 132.00 Kit ................................ 0 .................... ....................

Check tests, culture .............................................................. 88.00 Kit ................................ 0 .................... ....................

Check tests, serology, all other ............................................ 125.75 Kit ................................ 0 .................... ....................

Fetal bovine serum safety test (was fetal bovine serum

sample verification).

673.50 Verification .................. 666.00 7.50 1

Hourly user fee services ....................................................... 56.00 Hour ............................ 56.00 0.00 0

Quarter hour .......................................................................... 14.00 Quarter hour ................ 14.00 0.00 0

Minimum ................................................................................ 16.50 Minimum ...................... 16.50 0.00 0

Manual, Brucellosis complement fixation ............................. 13.00 Manual ........................ 0 .................... ....................

Manual, Brucellosis culture ................................................... 52.75 Manual ........................ 0 .................... ....................

Manual, Tuberculosis culture (English or Spanish) .............. 79.25 Manual ........................ 0 .................... ....................

Manual, Veterinary mycology ............................................... 105.50 Manual ........................ 0 .................... ....................

Manual, Anaplasmosis, Johne’s disease, mycoplasma

hyopnuemonia, piroplasmosis, dourine, or glanders.

21.25 Manual ........................ 0 .................... ....................

Manuals or standard operating procedure (SOP), All other 13.25 Manual or SOP copy .. 0 .................... ....................

Manuals or SOP, per page ................................................... 2.00 Page ............................ 0 .................... ....................

Training (school or technical assistance) ............................. 120.00 Per person per day ..... 0 .................... ....................

Definitions (§ 130.1)

We propose to add a definition for

APHIS representative to the regulations.

This term is defined and used

throughout subchapter D, which covers

the exportation and importation of

animals (including poultry) and animal

products. Currently, the terms APHIS

animal health technician and APHIS

veterinarian are defined in § 130.1. The

term animal health technician is used in

§ 130.3 in reference to services provided

at APHIS animal import centers. The

term APHIS veterinarian is used in

§ 130.20 in reference to inspection

services provided in conjunction with

endorsements of export health

certificates. For consistency, we propose

to replace the terms APHIS animal

health technician and APHIS

veterinarian with APHIS representative.

The proposed definition would read as

follows: ‘‘An individual, including, but

not limited to animal health technicians

and veterinarians, authorized by the

Administrator to perform the services

for which the user fees in this part are

charged.’’ Because an APHIS

representative would cover APHIS

animal health technicians and APHIS

veterinarians, we propose to remove

those definitions.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules 24485

We propose to revise the definition

for export health certificate. Currently,

the definition specifies that an APHIS

veterinarian endorses the export health

certificate. In some cases an APHIS

representative who is not a veterinarian

may be able to endorse an export health

certificate. For example, export health

certificates for animal products may not

require the endorsement of an APHIS

veterinarian. Therefore, we propose to

change APHIS veterinarian to APHIS

representative in the definition for

export health certificate. Currently, the

definition for export health certificate

covers only animals or birds. Based on

an importing country’s requirements, an

export health certificate may be required

for animal products, organisms, and

vectors as well as animals and birds.

Therefore, we propose to expand the

definition to read as follows: ‘‘An

official document that, as required by

the importing country, is endorsed by

an APHIS representative and states that

animals, animal products, organisms,

vectors, or birds to be exported from the

United States were found to be healthy

and free from evidence of

communicable diseases and pests.’’

We propose to add new definitions for

nonstandard care and handling and

nonstandard housing. Currently, § 130.2

includes user fees for birds in

nonstandard housing or receiving

nonstandard care and handling at

APHIS animal import centers.

Nonstandard housing, care, and

handling are defined in § 130.2(b) and

(c). For consistency, we propose to

move these definitions to § 130.1.

We propose to revise the definition of

pet birds. Currently, the definition only

covers birds that are imported. User fees

may apply to pet birds that are exported,

as for example, when another country

requires an export health certificate for

a pet bird. Therefore, we propose to

extend the definition to include both

importation and exportation. In

addition, currently the definition of pet

birds excludes only ratites. We believe

that hatching eggs should also be

excluded from consideration as pet

birds. Therefore, we propose to add

hatching eggs to the exceptions in the

definition. The proposed definition

would read as follows: Birds, except

hatching eggs and ratites, that are

imported or exported for the personal

pleasure of their individual owners and

are not intended for resale.

As discussed above, we believe we no

longer need to separately identify

reference assistance tests from other

veterinary diagnostics tests. Therefore,

we propose to remove the definition for

reference assistance testing.

User Fees for Animal Import Centers

(§ 130.2)

Currently, § 130.2 specifies the user

fees for animals and birds quarantined

in APHIS animal import centers.

Currently, § 130.2(a) specifies the

applicable user fees. Currently,

§§ 130.2(b) through 130.2(e) address

nonstandard housing, nonstandard care

and handling, nonstandard feed, and

reservation fees, respectively. As

discussed above under definitions, we

propose to move the definitions for

nonstandard care, handling, and

housing from § 130.2(b) and (c) to

§ 130.1. We have reviewed these user

fees and are proposing several user fee

changes and several nonsubstantive

changes as described below.

Our review showed that we are not

recovering our full costs for

quarantining zoo animals in APHIS

animal import centers. We have

determined that our costs for

quarantining zoo animals is equivalent

to our costs for quarantining domestic

animals. Therefore, we propose to

combine the user fees for domestic and

zoo animals. The user fees for domestic

animals would remain the same;

however, the user fee for zoo animals

would increase from $32.25 to $56.50

per day. In addition, we would revise

the list of domestic animals to correct an

error by eliminating the word ‘‘buffalo’’

and adding the word ‘‘bulls’’. The list

currently includes the word ‘‘bison’’

which covers buffalo. Bulls were

inadvertently omitted. We propose to

remove the separate listing for zoo

animals.

Our review showed that we are not

recovering our full costs for

quarantining large birds or poultry

receiving nonstandard care, handling, or

housing in APHIS animal import

centers. We believe that we need to

increase this user fee to recover our

costs; however, smaller birds and

poultry receiving nonstandard care,

handling, or housing in APHIS animal

import centers do not cost as much to

quarantine. Therefore, we propose

separate user fees for birds or poultry

requiring nonstandard care, handling, or

housing based on the size of the bird or

the type of poultry. Birds that are less

than or equal to 250 grams, doves,

pigeons, and quail would be charged

$3.25 per day. This user fee would be

less than the current user fee for birds

and poultry. Birds that are between 251

and 1,000 grams, chickens, ducks,

grouse, guinea fowl, partridges, pea

fowl, and pheasants would be charged

$7.50 per day. This user fee would

remain the same for birds and would be

less than the current user fee for

poultry. Birds that are more than 1,000

grams, large poultry, and large

waterfowl, including, but not limited to,

game cocks, geese, swans, and turkeys,

would be charged $14.00 per day. This

user fee would be more than the current

user fee for birds and poultry. In

addition, we propose to move these user

fees for nonstandard care, handling, and

housing into a separate section

(proposed § 130.2(b)) to replace the

current sections defining nonstandard

housing (§ 130.2(b)) and nonstandard

care and handling (§ 130.2(c)).

As a result of these proposed changes,

we would redesignate current § 130.2(d)

on nonstandard feed as proposed

§ 130.2(c). We also propose to make

nonsubstantive edits to the text.

Currently, § 130.2(e) specifies that a

reservation fee paid by the importer

under part 93 of this chapter will be

applied to the APHIS user fee due for

animals or birds quarantined in an

animal import center operated by

APHIS. Sections 130.2 and 130.3 both

list user fees for animals or birds

quarantined in animal import centers

operated by APHIS. Therefore,

§ 130.2(e) should apply to the user fees

in §§ 130.2 and 130.3. We believe that

the reservation fees reference would be

more appropriate in proposed

§ 130.50(b), which addresses associated

charges. Therefore, we propose to move

§ 130.2(e) into proposed § 130.50(b)(1).

User Fees for Exclusive Use of Animal

Import Centers (§ 130.3)

We reviewed our user fees for the

exclusive use of APHIS animal import

centers and have determined that we

should change the way we calculate the

user fees listed for the buildings in

Newburgh, NY, and add a user fee for

a new building, also in Newburgh, NY.

Currently, the published dimensions

represent the outside building

dimensions. These measurements

include office space, bathrooms, utility,

and storage areas. We believe that the

costs for those items should be included

in the administrative support cost

factor. Therefore, we recalculated the

dimensions for spaces A and B and have

recalculated the user fees based on the

proposed dimensions. Space A would

be $43,102.00 per month for 5,396 sq. ft.

(503.1 sq. m.), rather than $47,609.00

per month for 5,904 sq. ft. (248.5 sq. m.).

Space B would be $71,118.50 per month

for 8,903 sq. ft. (827.1 sq. m.), rather

than $78,555.00 per month for 9,742 sq.

ft. (905 sq. m.). In addition, we propose

to add a new, smaller space C at

$7,229.00 per month for 905 sq. ft. (84.1

sq. m.).
24486 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules

User Fees for Services at Privately

Operated Import Quarantine Facilities

(§ 130.5)

Currently, § 130.5(a) addresses who

must pay user fees for services at

privately operated import quarantine

facilities. Currently, § 130.5(b) lists the

hourly rate user fees for these services.

For consistency with § 130.9, which

consolidates in § 130.9(a) the hourly rate

user fees and the services to which they

apply, we propose to consolidate in

§ 130.5(a) the hourly rate user fees and

the services to which these user fees

apply.

User Fees for Other Services (§ 130.8)

Currently, § 130.8 includes a user fee

for fetal bovine serum sample

verification. Fetal bovine serum sample

verification is a veterinary diagnostics

service which we provide at NVSL. We

propose to add the user fee into

proposed § 130.19, as explained above.

Therefore, we propose to remove the

user fee from § 130.8 to avoid

duplication.

Currently, § 130.8 includes user fees

for import compliance assistance and

release from export agricultural hold.

We have reviewed these user fees and

determined that the estimates used for

the current user fees do not include

enough direct labor time for these

services. In addition, the services we

provide for both of these activities fall

into two categories. First, all the

information provided by the importer or

exporter is complete and correct. In

these cases, the processing is

straightforward and generally takes less

than half an hour to process. Second,

the information provided by the

importer or exporter is not complete or

some other factor requires additional

effort. In these cases, more time, on

average 3.5 hours, is required, for

example, to review the forms, to request

more information from the importer/

exporter, to research various aspects of

the product, organism or vector being

imported or exported, or to correspond

with NVSL about tests. While our

experience shows that most importers

and exporters fit the first category, they

should not have to subsidize those who

fit into the second category. Therefore,

we propose to set two user fees for each

of these services. The user fee for a

simple import compliance assistance or

a simple release from agricultural hold

would be $51.25. A simple case would

be one that required 2 or less hours of

assistance. The user fee for a

complicated import compliance

assistance or a complicated release from

agricultural hold would be $131.75. A

complicated case would be one that

required more than 2 hours of

assistance.

Hourly Rate User Fees (§ 130.21)

Currently, § 130.21(a) lists services for

which hourly user fees are charged for

inspection and supervision services

provided within the United States for

export animals, birds, and animal

products. Currently, § 130.21(b) lists the

hourly rate user fees for the services

listed in § 130.21(a). For consistency

with § 130.9, which consolidates in

§ 130.9(a) the hourly rate user fees and

the services to which they apply, we

propose to consolidate in § 130.21(a) the

hourly rate user fees and the services to

which these user fees apply.

In addition, we are proposing to

remove the word ‘‘byproducts’’ from the

section heading. The term ‘‘byproducts’’

is generally used to refer to inedible

animal products. APHIS inspects and

issues export health certificates for both

inedible and edible animal products.

The term ‘‘products’’ covers both.

Therefore, we would change the section

heading to ‘‘User fees for inspection

services provided within the United

States for export animals, birds, and

animal products.’’

Payment of User Fees (§ 130.50)

To eliminate duplication throughout

part 130 and to add clarity to the

requirements in § 130.50, we are

proposing miscellaneous

nonsubstantive changes throughout

§ 130.50, including adding paragraph

headers. As a result of these changes,

§ 130.50(a) and (b) would be

redesignated as § 130.50(c) and (d),

respectively. All of the changes to

§ 130.50 are described below and

summarized in a chart at the end of this

section.

We propose to add language in

proposed § 130.50(a) to clarify who

must pay APHIS user fees. In addition,

we would specify throughout part 130

that all of the user fees listed must be

paid in accordance with §§ 130.50 and

130.51.

Currently, §§ 130.14(c), 130.15(c),

130.16(c), 130.17(c), and 130.18(b)

provide for payment of costs that are

incurred due to special mail handling,

such as express, overnight, or foreign

mailing. If special mail handling is

required, all costs incurred must be paid

in addition to the user fee for the test

or service requiring special mail

handling. We believe that this same

requirement should apply to the user

fees listed throughout part 130.

Therefore, we propose to eliminate

duplication within §§ 130.14 through

130.18 and expand the special mail

handling requirement to all of the user

fees in part 130 by moving it from

§§ 130.14(c), 130.15(c), 130.16(c),

130.17(c), and 130.18(b) into proposed

§ 130.50(b)(2), where it will apply to all

user fees in part 130.

Currently, §§ 130.6(b), 130.7(b),

130.8(b), 130.14(b), 130.15(b), 130.16(b),

and 130.20(e) provide for reimbursable

overtime to be paid in addition to the

listed flat rate user fee when we provide

services during overtime (i.e., on a

Sunday or holiday or at any other time

outside the normal tour of duty of the

employee). In addition, currently,

§§ 130.5, 130.9, and 130.21 provide for

the premium rate user fee to be applied

in lieu of the hourly rate user fee when

we provide services during overtime.

All of our user fees were calculated

based on direct labor costs for services

provided during the normal tour of duty

for our employees. When services are

provided on overtime, reimbursable

overtime or the premium user fee

should be charged to recover the full

costs of providing flat rate or hourly rate

user fee services, respectively.

Therefore, to eliminate duplication and

expand these requirements for overtime

services to cover all user fees in part

130, we would move the reimbursable

overtime requirement from §§ 130.6(b),

130.7(b), 130.8(b), 130.14(b), 130.15(b),

130.16(b), and 130.20(e) into proposed

§ 130.50(b)(3)(i), where it would apply

to all flat rate user fees in part 130. We

would also move the premium rate user

fee requirement from §§ 130.5, 130.9,

and 130.21 into proposed

§ 130.50(b)(3)(ii), where it would apply

to all hourly rate user fees in part 130.

Currently, § 130.50(a) specifies when

user fee payments are due. We would

redesignate current § 130.50(a) as

proposed § 130.50(c) and revise the text

to add references to the sections of the

regulations that list the user fees for

which payment is due, and to clarify

and eliminate duplication, as described

below.

Currently, §§ 130.50(a)(1) and (a)(2)

specify when user fees for animals and

birds in an animal import center or

privately operated permanent import

quarantine facility and animals and

birds in a privately operated temporary

import quarantine facility, respectively

must be paid. All of these user fees must

be paid when the animals or birds are

released from quarantine. Therefore, we

propose to combine §§ 130.50(a)(1) and

(a)(2) into proposed § 130.50(c)(1) to

eliminate duplication.

Currently, § 130.50(a)(3) contains

provisions for the payment of user fees

for inspection services, including when

these services are covered by a

compliance agreement signed in

accordance with 9 CFR part 156. We
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules 24487

propose to expand this provision to

include inspection services covered by

any compliance agreement signed in

accordance with title 9, chapter I, of the

Code of Federal Regulations, and to put

the expanded provision in proposed

§ 130.50(c)(2).

Currently, § 130.50(a)(4) provides for

user fees for export health certificates to

be paid when billed or prior to receipt

of the endorsed certificate. We would

clarify these provisions in proposed

§ 130.50(c)(3).

Currently, § 130.50(a)(5) specifies

provisions for the payment of user fees

for veterinary diagnostics. In proposed

§ 130.50(c)(4) we would clarify when

the user fees could be paid when billed

versus the requirement to be paid when

the veterinary diagnostic service is

requested. In addition, we would

simplify the text by referring to these

services as veterinary diagnostic

services rather than listing tests,

diagnostic reagents, slide sets, tissue

sets, and sterilization by gamma

radiation.

Currently, § 130.50(a)(6) contains

provisions for payment of user fees for

reference assistance tests. As stated

earlier, we believe we no longer need to

separately distinguish reference

assistance testing from other veterinary

diagnostic tests. We propose to include

the user fees for these tests with other

veterinary diagnostic tests. Therefore,

the payment of these user fees would be

covered by proposed § 130.50(c)(4),

which would allow an additional option

for paying user fees for these tests when

billed.

Currently, § 130.50(a)(7) through (a)(9)

specify provisions for the payment of

user fees for live animals presented for

importation at a port of entry,

inspections and permit services, and

hourly rate user fees, respectively. We

would combine these provisions into

proposed § 130.50(c)(5) and revise the

payment options for the user fees

specified in § 130.8 to include the

option for payment when billed. In

addition, we would edit the text to

clarify that the user fees could be paid

when billed versus the requirement to

be paid when the service is provided.

In addition, we propose to combine

§§ 130.50(b) and (c) into proposed

§ 130.50(d). Currently, § 130.50(b)

identifies acceptable payment methods.

Currently, § 130.50(c) specifies that

payment must be for the exact amount

due. We propose to combine these

provisions to specify that payment for

the exact amount due must be made by

one of the acceptable methods. In

addition, we propose to revise the cash

payment provision currently in

§ 130.50(b)(4) to incorporate the

provision currently specified in

§ 130.51(a)(4) that cash payments would

be accepted only during normal

business hours.

The following table summarizes all of

these changes, listed in order for the

proposed sections in § 130.50.

Proposed location Requirement Action

§ 130.50(a) ................................... Any person for whom a service is performed and the

person requesting the service would be jointly and

severally liable for the payment of APHIS user fees.

Clarify by adding language from the Farm Bill.

§ 130.50(b)(1) .............................. Reservation fees would be applied to the APHIS user

fees specified in §§ 130.2 and 130.3.

Move from § 130.2(a) to expand the applicability to

all relevant user fees.

§ 130.50(b)(2) .............................. All costs incurred for special mail handling would be

paid by the user, in addition to the user fee for the

service.

Move from §§ 130.14(c), 130.15(c), 130.16(c),

130.17(c), 130.17(c), and 130.18(b) to eliminate

duplication in these sections and to expand the applicability to all user fees in 9 CFR part 130.

§ 130.50(b)(3)(i) ........................... Reimbursable overtime would be paid in addition to

the listed flat rate user fee when we provide services during overtime.

Move from §§ 130.6(b), 130.7(b), 130.8(b), 130.14(b),

130.15(b), 130.16(b), and 130.20(e) to eliminate

duplication and expand the applicability to all flat

rate user fees in 9 CFR part 130.

§ 130.50(b)(3)(ii) .......................... Premium rate user fees would be applied in lieu of

the hourly rate user fee when we provide services

during overtime.

Move from §§ 130.5(c), 130.9(b), and 130.21(c) to

eliminate duplication and expand the applicability

to all hourly rate user fees in 9 CFR part 130.

§ 130.50(c)(1) .............................. User fees for animal and bird quarantines and related tests must be paid prior to their release from

quarantine.

Combine § 130.50(a)(1) and (a)(2) to eliminate duplication and move into proposed § 130.50(c). In addition, add section references for user fees.

§ 130.50(c)(2) .............................. User fees for supervision and inspection services for

export animals and animal products must be paid

when billed, or as specified in a compliance agreement.

Move from § 130.50(a)(3).

§ 130.50(c)(3) .............................. User fees for export health certificates would be paid

prior to receipt of endorsed certificates or when

billed.

Move from § 130.50(a)(4), add section references for

user fees, and clarify when the billing option would

apply.

§ 130.50(c)(4) .............................. User fees for veterinary diagnostics would be paid

when the service is requested or when billed.

Move from § 130.50(a)(5), add section references for

user fees, and clarify when the billing option would

apply. (NOTE: This would also cover user fees formerly addressed by § 130.50(a)(6).)

§ 130.5(c)(5) ................................ User fees for other services would be paid when the

service is provided or when billed.

Combine § 130.50(a)(7), (8), and (9) to eliminate duplication; add section references for user fees;

clarify when the billing option would apply; and expand the billing option to apply to user fees for inspection and permit services.

§ 130.50(d)(1) through (d)(4) ....... Acceptable forms of payment ..................................... Redesignate from § 130.50(b)(1) through (b)(4) and

combine § 130.50(c).
24488 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules

Penalties for Nonpayment or Late

Payment of User Fees (§ 130.51)

We are proposing several changes to

§ 130.51, including the incorporation of

relevant provisions of the Debt

Collection Improvement Act of 1996.

These changes are described below. In

addition we propose to make

miscellaneous nonsubstantive changes,

such as adding paragraph headers and

renumbering paragraphs as necessitated

by other proposed changes.

We propose to incorporate the

provision currently specified in

§ 130.51(a)(4) that cash payments would

be accepted only during normal

business hours into proposed

§ 130.50(d)(1). Therefore, we propose to

remove § 130.51(a)(4). As a result of this

change, we would redesignate

§ 130.51(a)(5) as proposed § 130.51(a)(4).

Currently, §§ 130.51(b)(3) and (b)(4)

refer to veterinary diagnostic tests and

other veterinary diagnostic services,

respectively. As we have proposed

throughout part 130, we would combine

these to group the veterinary diagnostics

together. Therefore, proposed

§ 130.51(b)(3) would be simplified by

referring to these services as veterinary

diagnostic services.

We are proposing to add a new

§ 130.51(d) to specify that user fees paid

with dishonored payments, such as a

check returned for insufficient funds,

will be subject to interest and penalty

charges in accordance with the Debt

Collection Improvement Act (as

specified in 30 U.S.C. 3717).

Administrative charges will be assessed

at $20.00 per dishonored payment to be

paid in addition to the original amount

owed. These payments must be made in

guaranteed form, such as money order,

certified check, or cash.

We propose to add a new § 130.51(e)

to incorporate the relevant provisions of

the Debt Collection Improvement Act of

1996 (31 U.S.C. 3701, 3716, 3717, 3719,

and 3720A). These provisions address

taxpayer identification numbers,

administrative offset, cross servicing,

and delinquent debt reporting. Taxpayer

identification numbers must be obtained

from all persons, other than Federal

agencies, who must pay user fees. All

debts that have not been paid within

180 days would be eligible for

administrative offset and cross

servicing. Administrative offset means

withholding funds payable by the

United States (including funds payable

by the United States on behalf of a State

government) to, or held by the United

States for, a person to satisfy a claim.

Under administrative offset, APHIS

would notify the Department of

Treasury of the debts that are over 180

days delinquent and the Department of

Treasury could offset the debt from

certain Federal payments that may be

made to the debtor. Cross servicing

means that one program services many

agencies. In this case, it means that the

Department of Treasury could collect

debts on behalf of APHIS. For cross

servicing, APHIS would transfer debts

that are over 180 days delinquent to the

Department of Treasury. In addition,

APHIS would report all unpaid debts to

credit reporting bureaus.

In addition, we would add the

relevant sections of the Debt Collection

Improvement Act of 1996 to the

authority citation for part 130.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory

Flexibility Act

This proposed rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12866. This rule

has been determined to be significant

for the purposes of Executive Order

12866 and, therefore, has been reviewed

by the Office of Management and

Budget.

Below is a summary of the economic

analysis for the changes in APHIS user

fees proposed in this document. The

economic analysis provides a costbenefit analysis as required by E.O.

12866 and the analysis of impacts of

small entities as required by the

Regulatory Flexibility Act. A copy of the

full economic analysis, which includes

comparisons of each user fee change

and the change in collections for each

user fee, is available for review at the

location listed in the ADDRESSES section

at the beginning of this document.

We do not have enough data for a

comprehensive analysis of the economic

impacts of this proposed rule on small

entities. Therefore, in accordance with 5

U.S.C. 603, we have performed an Initial

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for this

proposed rule. We are inviting

comments about this proposed rule as it

relates to small entities. In particular,

we are interested in determining the

number and kind of small entities that

may incur benefits or costs from

implementation of this proposed rule

and the economic impact of those

benefits or costs.

User Fees Authorized Under the Farm

Bill

The provisions in 21 U.S.C. 114a

authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to

control and eradicate communicable

diseases of livestock and poultry. The

Food, Agriculture, Conservation and

Trade Act of 1990, as amended (referred

to below as the 1990 Farm Bill),

authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture,

among other things, to prescribe

regulations and collect fees to recover

the costs of carrying out the provisions

of 21 U.S.C. 114a that relate to

veterinary diagnostics (sec. 2509(c)(2) of

the 1990 Farm Bill).

The 1990 Farm Bill further authorizes

the Secretary to prescribe and collect

fees to reimburse the Secretary for the

cost of carrying out the provisions of the

Federal Animal Quarantine laws that

relate to the importation, entry, and

exportation of animals, articles, or

means of conveyance (section 2509(c)(1)

of the 1990 Farm Bill).

In addition, section 2509(d) of the

1990 Farm Bill provides that the

Secretary may prescribe such

regulations as the Secretary determines

necessary to carry out these provisions

of the 1990 Farm Bill.

Regulations Proposed in This Document

We are proposing to revise the user

fees for certain veterinary diagnostic

services, including certain diagnostic

tests, reagents, and other veterinary

diagnostic materials and services. In

addition, we are proposing to add new

user fees for other veterinary diagnostic

services we provide. We are proposing

to reorganize the regulations in 9 CFR

part 130 to list user fees by type of

service and location where service is

provided, and to group diagnostic

reagents into categories.

Veterinary diagnostics is the work

performed in a laboratory to determine

if a disease-causing organism or

chemical agent is present in body

tissues or cells and to identify those

organisms or agents. Services in this

category include: (1) Performing

laboratory tests and providing

diagnostic reagents and other veterinary

diagnostic materials and services at the

Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic

Laboratory (FADDL) at Greenport, NY,

and (2) performing identification,

serology, and pathobiology tests and

providing veterinary diagnostic reagents

and other materials and services at the

National Veterinary Services

Laboratories (NVSL) at Ames, IA.

Diagnostic reagents are biological

materials used in diagnostic tests to

detect disease agents or antibodies by

causing an identifiable reaction. We also

consider sterilization by gamma

radiation to be a veterinary diagnostics

service. Other miscellaneous veterinary

diagnostic services include, but are not

limited to, providing check tests, test

kits, manuals, standard operating

procedures, and training.

Small Entities Impacted by Proposed

Changes

Users of these veterinary diagnostic

services are importers, exporters,

veterinarians, commercial laboratories,
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules 24489

1Profits for sales of small entities are proprietary

in nature and are not a part of the public record.

2The measurement of supply responsiveness

would provide information on the likely impact on

an entity’s production due to changes in operating

costs.

State laboratories, universities, and

foreign governments.

The Small Business Administration’s

criteria for a small entity engaged in

importing and exporting live animals,

poultry, and birds is one whose total

sales are less than $5 million annually.

This is also the criteria for small testing

laboratories, veterinary service

providers, and research organizations.

Except for those entities who deal

exclusively in purebred or registered

animals, 1995 data from the Bureau of

the Census shows that the majority of

agricultural entities who deal in grade

animals can be considered small.

However, the number of entities who

specifically trade in live animals and

who would qualify as a small entity

under this definition cannot be

determined.

According to the Bureau of the

Census, 94 percent of testing

laboratories can be considered small.

While veterinary testing laboratories

comprise part of this classification, it

cannot be determined how many

entities performing veterinary services

would be considered small under the

Small Business Administration’s

guidelines.

To the extent that changes in user fees

alter operational costs, any entity who

utilizes APHIS’ services that are subject

to user fees may be affected by the

proposed changes in user fees. The

degree to which an entity is affected

depends on its market power, or the

ability to which costs can be either

absorbed or passed on to its buyers.

Without information on either profit

margins and operational expenses of the

affected entities,1 or the supply

responsiveness of the affected industry,2

the scale of impacts cannot be precisely

predicted.

Changes in Collections

The estimated increased collections

generated by the proposed user fees in

this document could be $1.28 million

annually (collections could increase

from $2.13 million collected in FY 97 to

$3.41 million). This represents an

increase in user fee collections for

veterinary diagnostics and other importand export-related services of

approximately 40 percent. (See Table

13.)

TABLE 13.—SUMMARY OF CURRENT AND PROJECTED COLLECTIONS FOR APHIS USER FEES

User fee categories

Current

user fee

collections 1

Projected

user fee

collections

Change in

user fee collections

Revised Veterinary Diagnostics User Fees:

FADDL: 2

Reagents, Tests, Other (§ 130.14) .......................................................................................... $508,297 $1,074,542 $566,245

NVSL:

Identification Tests (§ 130.15) .................................................................................................. 398,023 428,581 30,558

Serology Tests (§ 130.16) ........................................................................................................ 727,979 928,506 200,527

Pathobiology Tests (§ 130.17) ................................................................................................. 81,260 90,608 9,348

Reagents (§ 130.18) ................................................................................................................. 76,534 84,321 7,787

Other (§ 130.19) ....................................................................................................................... 149,184 174,832 25,648

Total Revised Veterinary Diagnostics User Fees ............................................................ 1,941,277 2,781,390 840,113

New Veterinary Diagnostics User Fees:

FADDL:

Reagents, Tests, Other (§ 130.14) .......................................................................................... .................... 98,126 98,126

NVSL:

Identification Tests (§ 130.15) .................................................................................................. .................... 47,476 47,476

Serology Tests (§ 130.16) ........................................................................................................ .................... 1,000 1,000

Pathobiology Tests (§ 130.17) ................................................................................................. .................... 1,397 1,397

Reagents (§ 130.18) ................................................................................................................. .................... 154,929 154,929

Other (§ 130.19) ....................................................................................................................... .................... 104,589 104,589

Total New Veterinary Diagnostics User Fees .................................................................. .................... 407,517 407,517

Total Veterinary Diagnostics User Fees Collections ........................................................ 1,941,277 3,188,907 1,247,630

Other User Fee Changes:

Zoo Animals Quarantined in APHIS Animal Import Centers (§ 130.2 (a)) ..................................... 1,935 3,192 1,257

Non-Standard Care and Handling for Birds or Poultry (§ 130.2 (b)) .............................................. 33,780 37,965 4,185

Exclusive Use of Space at APHIS Animal Import Center in Newburgh, NY (§ 130.3) .................. 126,164 121,450 (4,714)

User Fees for Other Services (§ 130.8) .......................................................................................... 27,528 62,970 35,442

Total Other User Fee Changes ............................................................................................... 189,407 225,577 36,170

Total Changes in User Fee Collections ................................................................................... 2,130,684 3,414,484 1,283,800

1Source: USDA—APHIS—FSO, NVSL, FADDL.

2 Includes collections from cooperative agreements where user fees are the basis for determining amount to be charged.

The benefit of user fees is the shift in

the payment of services from taxpayers

as a whole to those persons who are

receiving the government services.

While taxes may not change by the same

amount as the change in user fee

collections, there is a related shift in the

appropriations of taxes to government

programs, which allows those tax

dollars to be applied to other programs

which benefit the public in general.

Therefore, there could be a relative
24490 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules

2Normal business hours at the APHIS Animal

Import Centers are: 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.,

Honolulu, HI; 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Miami, FL; and

8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Newburgh, NY.

savings to taxpayers of $1.28 million

annually as a result of the proposed

changes in user fees. The administrative cost involved in

obtaining these savings would be

minimal. APHIS already has a user fee

program and a mechanism for collecting

user fees in place. This proposal would

update existing user fees in the system

and require collection of additional user

fees. Therefore, increases in

administrative costs would be small.

Because the savings are sufficiently

large, and the administrative costs

would be small, it is likely that the net

gain in reducing the burden on

taxpayers as a whole would outweigh

the cost of administering the revisions

of the user fees.

Estimated Impact

The proposed user fees fall into two

categories: New and revised user fees.

The vast majority of the proposed user

fees are expected to make only small

contributions to the total new

collections. Most (nearly 70 percent) of

the proposed new user fees would be

less than $50 each and 40 percent

would be less than $25. Most

(approximately 70 percent) of the

proposed revised user fees increase by

less than 20 percent, with many (more

than 50 percent) of them increasing by

less than 10 percent. We anticipate a low demand for the

majority of the proposed new user fees

that are greater than $50 and the

proposed revised user fees that would

increase by more than 20 percent. Most

of the proposed new user fees that

exceed $50 either include more direct

labor time than those services with

lower user fees or require premium

costs to pay for special materials. The proposed revised user fees that

would increase by more than 20 percent

include those user fees that were

underestimated when initially

established. Experience and more

accurate accounting data have shown

that most of these services require more

direct labor hours, require premium

costs to pay for special materials, or

should be calculated using average lab

salaries, which is consistent with the

calculations for other user fees

throughout 9 CFR part 130.

Alternatives

One alternative to this proposed rule

would be to make no changes to the

current user fees. We do not consider

making no changes to the current user

fees a reasonable alternative because we

would not recover the full cost of

providing veterinary diagnostic and

import- and export-related services.

Therefore, the only way to pay for these

services is through charges to the

customer through user fees or other

forms of reimbursable agreements.

Another alternative to this proposed

rule would be to either exempt small

businesses from these user fees or

establish a different user fee structure

for small businesses. APHIS cannot

exempt certain classes of users, such as

small businesses, from the user fees, and

cannot charge user fees that recover less

than the full cost of providing the

service. In addition, every business,

including small businesses, using a

government service needs to pay the

cost of that service, rather than having

other businesses pay a disproportionate

share or passing those costs on to the

general public, who are not the primary

beneficiary of the service. Therefore, we

do not consider exempting small

businesses from these user fees or

establishing a different user fee

structure for small businesses as viable

options.

Another alternative to this proposed

rule would be to spread the proposed

increased costs over all of the user fees,

so no single user fee would increase

significantly. Our user fees are

calculated to recover the costs of the

service for which each user fee is

charged. To spread the proposed

increases among user fees would mean

that some entities would subsidize

others. The intent of user fees is to shift

the burden of the cost of these services

from the general taxpayer to the entity

receiving the service. Therefore, APHIS

cannot spread the increases evenly over

all of the user fees.

This proposed rule contains no new

information collection or recordkeeping

requirements.

Executive Order 12988

This proposed rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12988, Civil

Justice Reform. If this proposed rule is

adopted: (1) All State and local laws and

regulations that are inconsistent with

this rule will be preempted; (2) no

retroactive effect will be given to this

rule; and (3) administrative proceedings

will not be required before parties may

file suit in court challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501

et seq.), the information collection or

recordkeeping requirements included in

this proposed rule have been approved

by the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB), and there are no new

requirements. The assigned OMB

control numbers are 0579–0015, 0579–

0040, 0579–0055, and 0579–0094.

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 130

Animals, Birds, Diagnostic reagents,

Exports, Imports, Poultry, Quarantine,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Tests.

Accordingly, 9 CFR part 130 would be

amended as follows:

PART 130—USER FEES

1. The authority citation for part 130

would be revised to read as follows:

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

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

114a, 134a, 134b, 134c, 134d, 134f, 135, 136,

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

and 3720A; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(d).

2. Section 130.1 would be amended as

follows:

a. The definitions for APHIS animal

health technician, APHIS veterinarian,

and reference assistance testing would

be removed.

b. Definitions for APHIS

representative, nonstandard care and

handling, and nonstandard housing

would be added, in alphabetical order,

to read as set forth below.

c. The definitions for export health

certificate and pet birds would be

revised to read as set forth below.

d. Footnotes 3 and 4 and their

references would be removed, and

footnote 2 and its reference would be

redesignated as footnote 3.

e. At the end of the definitions for zoo

bird and zoo equine a reference to

footnote 3 would be added.

§ 130.1 Definitions.

* * * * *

APHIS representative. An individual,

including, but not limited to, animal

health technicians and veterinarians,

authorized by the Administrator to

perform the services for which the user

fees in this part are charged.

* * * * *

Export health certificate. An official

document that, as required by the

importing country, is endorsed by an

APHIS representative and states that

animals, animal products, organisms,

vectors, or birds to be exported from the

United States were found to be healthy

and free from evidence of

communicable diseases and pests.

* * * * *

Nonstandard care and handling.

Nonstandard care and handling

includes hand-feeding, more than one

feeding per day, frequent observation,

and any handling or observation which

requires personnel to attend to the birds

or poultry outside of normal business

hours.2
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules 24491

Nonstandard housing. Nonstandard

housing is individual housing not

normally available at an APHIS Animal

Import Center, any housing constructed

or purchased at the request of the

importer, any housing with blinds,

dense foliage, or plants, and any

housing where the temperature can be

adjusted.

* * * * *

Pet birds. Birds, except hatching eggs

and ratites, which are imported or

exported for the personal pleasure of

their individual owners and are not

intended for resale.

* * * * *

4. Section 130.2 would be revised to

read as follows:

§ 130.2 User fees for individual animals

and certain birds quarantined in APHIS

Animal Import Centers.

(a) Standard requirements. User fees

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 are

listed in the following table. Each user

fee listed in the table is assessed per

animal or bird quarantined by APHIS.

The person for whom the service is

provided and the person requesting the

service are jointly and severally liable

for payment of these user fees in

accordance with §§ 130.50 and 130.51.

Animal or bird Daily user

fee

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

0–250 grams .............................................................................................................................................................................. $1.00

251–1,000 grams ....................................................................................................................................................................... 3.25

Over 1,000 grams ...................................................................................................................................................................... 7.50

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

Bison, bulls, camels, cattle, or zoo animals .............................................................................................................................. 56.50

All other—including but not limited to alpacas, llamas, goats, sheep, and swine .................................................................... 15.00

Equines (including zoo equines, but excluding miniature horses):

1st through 3rd day ................................................................................................................................................................... 149.50

4th through 7th day ................................................................................................................................................................... 108.25

8th and subsequent days .......................................................................................................................................................... 91.75

Miniature horses ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 40.25

Poultry:

Doves, pigeons, quail ................................................................................................................................................................ 2.00

Chickens, ducks, grouse, guinea fowl, partridges, pea fowl, pheasants .................................................................................. 3.50

Large poultry and large waterfowl including but not limited to game cocks, geese, swans, and turkeys ............................... 8.25

Ratites:

Chicks (less than 3 months old) ................................................................................................................................................ 5.75

Juveniles (between 3 and 10 months old) ................................................................................................................................ 8.00

Adults (11 months old and older) .............................................................................................................................................. 16.25

(b) Special requirements. 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 are listed in the following table. The user fees listed in the table 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. The person for whom the service is provided and the person requesting the service are jointly

and severally liable for payment of these user fees in accordance with §§ 130.50 and 130.51.

Bird or poultry (nonstandard housing, care, or handling) Daily user

fee

Birds 0–250 grams and doves, pigeons, and quail ................................................................................................................................. $3.25

Birds 251–1,000 grams and poultry such as chickens, ducks, grouse, guinea fowl, partridges, pea fowl, and pheasants .................. 7.50

Birds over 1,000 grams and large poultry and large waterfowl including but not limited to game cocks, geese, swans, and turkeys 14.00

(c) Feed. The importer must either provide feed or pay for it on an actual cost basis, including the cost of delivery

to the APHIS owned or operated Animal Import Center or quarantine facility, for any animal or bird that requires

a diet other than standard feed, including but not limited to diets of fruit, insects, nectar, or fish.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0579–0094)

5. Section 130.3 would be amended by revising paragraph (a)(1), including the table, to read as follows:

§ 130.3 User fees for exclusive use of space at APHIS Animal Import Centers.

(a)(1) An importer may request to exclusively occupy a space at an APHIS Animal Import Center. The user fees

for spaces at APHIS Animal Import Centers are listed in the following table. The person for whom the service is

provided and the person requesting the service are jointly and severally liable for payment of these user fees in accordance

with §§ 130.50 and 130.51.

APHIS animal import center Space Monthly (30

day) user fee

* * * * * * *

Newburgh, NY:

Space A ............................................................................... 5,396 sq. ft. (503.1 sq. m.) ......................................................... $43,102.00

Space B ............................................................................... 8,903 sq. ft. (827.1 sq. m.) ......................................................... 71,118.50
24492 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules

APHIS animal import center Space Monthly (30

day) user fee

Space C ............................................................................... 905 sq. ft. (84.1 sq. m.) .............................................................. 7,229.00

* * * * *

6. Sections 130.5 through 130.8 would be revised to read as follows:

§ 130.5 User fees for services at privately operated permanent and temporary import quarantine facilities.

(a) User fees for each animal quarantined in a privately operated permanent or temporary import quarantine facility

will be calculated at $56.00 per hour, or $14.00 per quarter-hour, with a minimum fee of $16.50, for each employee

required to perform the service. The person for whom the service is provided and the person requesting the service

are jointly and severally liable for payment of these user fees in accordance with §§ 130.50 and 130.51.

(b) [Reserved]

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0579–0094)

§ 130.6 User fees for import or entry services for live animals at land border ports along the United States-Mexico border.

(a) User fees, with a minimum fee of $16.50, for live animals presented for importation into or entry into the

United States through a land border port along the United States-Mexico border are listed in the following table. The

person for whom the service is provided and the person requesting the service are jointly and severally liable for

payment of these user fees in accordance with the provisions in §§ 130.50 and 130.51.

Type of live animal User fee

(per head)

Feeder ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... $1.75

Slaughter .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 2.50

Horses, other than slaughter ................................................................................................................................................................... 29.25

In-bond or in transit ................................................................................................................................................................................. 3.75

Any ruminants not covered above ........................................................................................................................................................... 6.00

(b) [Reserved]

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control numbers 0579–0055 and 0579–0094)

§ 130.7 User fees for import or entry services for live animals at all other ports of entry.

(a) User fees, with a minimum fee of $16.50, for live animals presented for importation into or entry into the

United States through any port of entry, other than a land border port along the border between the United States

and Mexico, are listed in the following table. The person for whom the service is provided and the person requesting

the service are jointly and severally liable for payment of these user fees in accordance with the provisions in §§ 130.50

and 130.51.

Type of live animal User fee

Animals being imported into the United States:

Horses, other than slaughter and in transit ..................... $19.00 per head.

Breeding animals (Grade animals, except horses):

Swine ........................................................................ 0.50 per head.

Sheep and goats ...................................................... 0.50 per head.

All others ................................................................... 2.25 per head.

Registered animals, all types ........................................... 4.00 per head.

Feeder animals:

Cattle (not including calves) ..................................... 1.00 per head.

Swine ........................................................................ 0.25 per head.

Sheep and calves ..................................................... 0.25 per head.

Slaughter animals, all types ............................................. 16.50 per load.

Poultry (including eggs), imported for any purpose ........ 33.00 per load.

Animals transiting1 the United States

Cattle ................................................................................ 1.00 per head.

Swine ............................................................................... 0.25 per head.

Sheep and goats ............................................................. 0.25 per head.

Horses and all other animals ........................................... 4.50 per head.

1The user fee in this section will be charged for intransit authorizations at the port where the authorization services are performed. For additional services provided by APHIS, at any port, the applicable hourly user fee will apply.

(b) [Reserved]

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control numbers 0579-0055 and 0579–0094)

§ 130.8 User fees for other services.

(a) User fees for other services that are not specifically addressed elsewhere in part 130 are listed in the following

table. The person for whom the service is provided and the person requesting the service are jointly and severally

liable for payment of these user fees in accordance with the provisions in §§ 130.50 and 130.51.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules 24493

4APHIS animal import centers are located in

Honolulu, HI, Miami, FL, and Newburgh, NY. The

addresses of these facilities are published in part 93

of this chapter.

5Reagents provided by FADDL are for the

diagnosis of animal diseases foreign to the United

States. These reagents may be available to

customers on the mainland after safety testing with

permission from the Administrator. The customer

may have to pay the cost for the safety test in

addition to the reagent user fee. For more

information on the specific reagents contact:

Laboratory Chief, USDA, APHIS, VS, FADDL,

Greenport, NY 11344; phone (516) 323–2500, FAX

(516) 323–2798.

Service User fee

Germ Plasm Being exported: 2

Embryo:

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

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

pairs.

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

Germ Plasm Being imported: 1

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

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

Import compliance assistance:

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

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

Inspection for approval of slaughter establishment:

Initial approval .......................................................................................................................................................... 246.50 for all inspections

required during the year.

Renewal ................................................................................................................................................................... 213.50 for all inspections

required during the year.

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

Approval (Compliance Agreement) ......................................................................................................................... 262.75 for first year of 3-

year approval (for all inspections required during

the year).

Renewed approval ................................................................................................................................................... 152.00 per year for second

and third years of 3-year

approval (for all inspections required during the

year).

Pet birds, except pet birds of U.S. origin entering the United States from Canada:

Which have been out of United States 60 days or less ......................................................................................... 71.25 per lot.

Which have been out of United States more than 60 days .................................................................................... 169.75 per lot.

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

Vectors’’:

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

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

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

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

Release from export agricultural hold:

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

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

1For inspection of empty containers being imported into the United States, the applicable hourly user fee would apply, unless a user fee has

been assessed under 7 CFR 354.3. 2This user fee includes a single inspection and resealing of the container at the APHIS employee’s regular tour of duty station or at a limited

port. For each subsequent inspection and resealing required, the applicable hourly user fee would apply.

(b) [Reserved]

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control numbers 0579–0015, 0579–0040, 0579–0055, and

0579–0094)

7. Section 130.9 would be amended

by revising the introductory text of

paragraph (a) to read as follows and by

removing and reserving paragraph (b).

§ 130.9 User fees for miscellaneous import

or entry services.

(a) User fees for import or entry

services listed in (a)(1) through (a)(4) of

this paragraph will be calculated at

$56.00 per hour, or $14.00 per quarter

hour, with a minimum fee of $16.50, for

each employee required to perform the

service. The person for whom the

service is provided and the person

requesting the service are jointly and

severally liable for payment of these

user fees in accordance with §§ 130.50

and 130.51.

* * * * *

(b) [Reserved]

(Approved by the Office of Management

and Budget under control numbers

0579–0055 and 0579–0094)

8. In § 130.10, the introductory text of

paragraph (a) would be revised to read

as follows:

§ 130.10 User fees for pet birds

quarantined at APHIS-owned or supervised

quarantine facilities.

(a) User fees for each pet bird

quarantined in an animal import center 4

or other APHIS-owned or supervised

quarantine facility are listed in the

following table. These user fees include

standard care, feed, and handling. The

person for whom the service is provided

and the person requesting the service

are jointly and severally liable for

payment of these user fees in

accordance with §§ 130.50 and 130.51.

* * * * *

9. Sections 130.14 through 130.18

would be revised to read as follows:

§ 130.14 User fees for FADDL veterinary

diagnostics.

(a) Diagnostic reagents. User fees for

diagnostic reagents 5 provided by
24494 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules

FADDL are listed in the following table.

The person for whom the service is

provided and the person requesting the

service are jointly and severally liable

for payment of these user fees in

accordance with §§ 130.50 and 130.51.

Reagent User fee Unit

Bovine antiserum, any agent .................................................................................................................................................... $80.00 1 ml.

Caprine antiserum, any agent .................................................................................................................................................. 97.50 1 ml.

Cell culture antigen/microorganism .......................................................................................................................................... 63.75 1 ml.

Equine antiserum, any agent .................................................................................................................................................... 100.50 1 ml.

Fluorescent antibody conjugate ................................................................................................................................................ 120.25 1 ml.

Guinea pig antiserum, any agent ............................................................................................................................................. 104.50 1 ml.

Monoclonal antibody ................................................................................................................................................................. 122.75 1 ml.

Ovine antiserum, any agent ..................................................................................................................................................... 94.25 1 ml.

Porcine antiserum, any agent ................................................................................................................................................... 81.25 1 ml.

Rabbit antiserum, any agent .................................................................................................................................................... 98.50 1 ml .

(b) Veterinary diagnostics tests. User fees for veterinary diagnostic tests performed at FADDL are listed in the following

table. The person for whom the service is provided and the person requesting the service are jointly and severally

liable for payment of these user fees in accordance with §§ 130.50 and 130.51.

Test User fee Unit

Agar gel immunodiffusion ......................................................................................................................................................... $14.75 Test.

Card .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 8.25 Test.

Complement fixation ................................................................................................................................................................. 33.00 Test.

Direct immunofluorescent antibody .......................................................................................................................................... 11.00 Test.

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay ...................................................................................................................................... 12.75 Test.

Fluorescent antibody neutralization (hog cholera) ................................................................................................................... 96.00 Test.

Hemagglutination inhibition ....................................................................................................................................................... 27.75 Test.

Immunoperoxidase ................................................................................................................................................................... 18.25 Test.

Indirect fluorescent antibody ..................................................................................................................................................... 23.25 Test.

In-vitro safety ............................................................................................................................................................................ 299.50 Test.

In-vivo safety ............................................................................................................................................................................. 4345.75 Test.

Latex agglutination .................................................................................................................................................................... 11.00 Test.

Tube agglutination .................................................................................................................................................................... 14.00 Test.

Virus isolation (oesophageal/pharyngeal) ................................................................................................................................. 88.25 Test.

Virus isolation in embryonated eggs ........................................................................................................................................ 176.00 Test.

Virus isolation, other ................................................................................................................................................................. 84.50 Test.

Virus neutralization ................................................................................................................................................................... 25.75 Test.

(c) Other veterinary diagnostic services. User fees for other veterinary diagnostic services performed at FADDL are

listed in the following table. The person for whom the service is provided and the person requesting the service

are jointly and severally liable for payment of these user fees in accordance with §§ 130.50 and 130.51.

Veterinary diagnostic service User fee Unit

Bacterial isolation ...................................................................................................................................................... $55.00 Test.

Hourly user fee services 1 ......................................................................................................................................... 220.00 Hour.

Hourly user fee services—Quarter hour ................................................................................................................... 55.00 Quarter hour.

Infected cells on chamber slides or plates ............................................................................................................... 31.00 Slide.

Reference animal tissues for immunohistochemistry ............................................................................................... 94.25 Set.

Sterilization by gamma radiation ............................................................................................................................... 530.00 Can.

Training (school or technical assistance) ................................................................................................................. 450.00 Per person per

day.

Virus titration ............................................................................................................................................................. 55.00 Test.

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.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control numbers 0579-0055 and 0579–0094)

§ 130.15 User fees for veterinary diagnostic isolation and identification tests performed at NVSL (excluding FADDL) or other authorized

site.

(a) Bacteriology isolation and identification tests. User fees for bacteriology isolation and identification tests performed

at NVSL (excluding FADDL) or other authorized sites are listed in the following table. The person for whom the

service is provided and the person requesting the service are jointly and severally liable for payment of these user

fees in accordance with §§ 130.50 and 130.51.

Test User fee Unit

Bacterial identification, automated ................................................................................................................................ $16.00 Isolate.

Bacterial identification, non-automated ......................................................................................................................... 61.25 Isolate.

Bacterial isolation .......................................................................................................................................................... 16.00 Sample.

Bacterial serotyping, all other ........................................................................................................................................ 30.75 Isolate.

Bacterial serotyping, Pasteurella multocida .................................................................................................................. 7.50 Isolate.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules 24495

Test User fee Unit

Bacterial serotyping, Salmonella ................................................................................................................................... 21.25 Isolate.

Bacterial toxin typing ..................................................................................................................................................... 91.50 Isolate.

Bacteriology requiring special characterization ............................................................................................................. 27.00 Test.

DNA fingerprinting ......................................................................................................................................................... 36.50 Test.

DNA probe ..................................................................................................................................................................... 29.50 Test.

Fluorescent antibody 1 ................................................................................................................................................... 9.75 Test.

Leptospira culturing ....................................................................................................................................................... 27.00 Sample.

Leptospira serotyping .................................................................................................................................................... 80.50 Isolate.

Mycobacterium avian serotyping ................................................................................................................................... 157.50 Isolate.

Mycobacterium identification (biochemical) ................................................................................................................... 63.25 Isolate.

Mycobacterium identification (gas chromatography) ..................................................................................................... 26.50 Procedure.

Mycobacterium isolation, animal inoculations ............................................................................................................... 520.50 Submission.

Mycobacterium isolation, all other ................................................................................................................................. 105.50 Submission.

Mycobacterium paratuberculosis isolation .................................................................................................................... 26.50 Submission.

Mycology culture identification ...................................................................................................................................... 52.75 Isolate.

Mycology/fungus culture or isolation ............................................................................................................................. 26.50 Isolate.

Mycoplasma isolation .................................................................................................................................................... 26.25 Sample.

Mycoplasma identification ............................................................................................................................................. 26.25 Isolate.

Phage typing, all other .................................................................................................................................................. 26.50 Isolate.

Phage typing, Salmonella enteritidis ............................................................................................................................. 10.75 Isolate.

Plasmid typing ............................................................................................................................................................... 26.50 Isolate.

Warburg ......................................................................................................................................................................... 316.50 Isolate.

1A discount will apply to all diagnostic, non-import related complement fixation, hemagglutination inhibition, fluorescent antibody, indirect fluorescent antibody, virus neutralization, and peroxidase linked antibody tests. This discount only applies to the 11th and subsequent tests on the

same submission by the same submitter for the same test and antigen. The user fee for each discounted test will be 20 percent of the original

user fee rounded up to the nearest quarter. This discount will apply for tests for all diseases except equine piroplasmosis, bovine piroplasmosis,

dourine, and glanders.

(b) Virology identification tests. User fees for virology identification tests performed at NVSL (excluding FADDL)

or other authorized sites are listed in the following table. The person for whom the service is provided and the person

requesting the service are jointly and severally liable for payment of these user fees in accordance with §§ 130.50

and 130.51.

Test User fee Unit

Fluorescent antibody tissue section ......................................................................................................................................... $18.25 Test.

Virus isolation for Newcastle disease virus .............................................................................................................................. 15.25 Test.

Virus isolation (except for Newcastle disease virus) ................................................................................................................ 31.50 Test.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control numbers 0579–0055 and 0579–0094)

§ 130.16 User fees for veterinary diagnostic serology tests performed at NVSL (excluding FADDL) or at authorized sites.

(a) Bacteriology serology tests. User fees for bacteriology serology tests performed at NVSL (excluding FADDL) or

other authorized sites are listed in the following table. The person for whom the service is provided and the person

requesting the service are jointly and severally liable for payment of these user fees in accordance with §§ 130.50

and 130.51.

Test User fee Unit

Brucella milk ELISA ................................................................................................................................................................ $15.75 Test.

Brucella ring (BRT) ................................................................................................................................................................. 10.50 Test.

Brucella ring, Heat inactivated (HIRT) ................................................................................................................................... 10.50 Test.

Brucella ring, Serial (Serial BRT) ........................................................................................................................................... 15.75 Test.

Buffered acidified plate antigen presumptive ......................................................................................................................... 4.00 Test.

Card ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 2.00 Test.

Complement fixation 1 ............................................................................................................................................................. 9.00 Test.

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for dourine, glanders, or piroplasmosis .................................................................... 9.00 Test.

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, all other .................................................................................................................... 4.75 Test.

Indirect fluorescent antibody 1 ................................................................................................................................................ 9.75 Test.

Mercaptoethanol ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4.00 Test.

Microscopic agglutination—includes up to 5 serovars 2 ......................................................................................................... 11.00 Sample.

Mycology/fungus serology ...................................................................................................................................................... 10.50 Test.

Particle concentration fluorescent immunoassay (PCFIA) ..................................................................................................... 18.25 Test.

Plate ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 4.00 Test.

Rapid automated presumptive ............................................................................................................................................... 4.25 Test.

Rivanol .................................................................................................................................................................................... 4.00 Test.

Tube agglutination .................................................................................................................................................................. 4.00 Test.

1A discount will apply to all diagnostic, non-import related complement fixation, hemagglutination inhibition, fluorescent antibody, indirect fluorescent antibody, virus neutralization, and peroxidase linked antibody tests. This discount only applies to the 11th and subsequent tests on the

same submission by the same submitter for the same test and antigen. The user fee for each discounted test will be 20 percent of the original

user fee rounded up to the nearest quarter. This discount will apply for tests for all diseases except equine piroplasmosis, bovine piroplasmosis,

dourine, and glanders. 2The user fee for the sixth and subsequent serovar will be $2.00 each.
24496 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules

(b) Virology serology tests. User fees for virology serology tests performed at NVSL (excluding FADDL) or at authorized

sites are listed in the following table. The person for whom the service is provided and the person requesting the

service are jointly and severally liable for payment of these user fees in accordance with §§ 130.50 and 130.51.

Test User fee Unit

Agar gel immunodiffusion ......................................................................................................................................................... $5.00 Test.

Complement fixation 1 ............................................................................................................................................................... 9.00 Test.

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay ...................................................................................................................................... 4.75 Test.

Hemagglutination inhibition 1 ..................................................................................................................................................... 7.50 Test.

Indirect fluorescent antibody 1 ................................................................................................................................................... 9.75 Test.

Latex agglutination .................................................................................................................................................................... 5.00 Test.

Peroxidase linked antibody 1 ..................................................................................................................................................... 9.75 Test.

Plaque reduction neutralization ................................................................................................................................................ 7.75 Test.

Rabies fluorescent antibody neutralization ............................................................................................................................... 26.50 Test.

Virus neutralization 1 ................................................................................................................................................................. 7.75 Test.

1A discount will apply to all diagnostic, non-import related complement fixation, hemagglutination inhibition, fluorescent antibody, indirect fluorescent antibody, virus neutralization, and peroxidase linked antibody tests. This discount only applies to the 11th and subsequent tests on the

same submission by the same submitter for the same test and antigen. The user fee for each discounted test will be 20 percent of the original

user fee rounded up to the nearest quarter. This discount will apply for tests for all diseases except equine piroplasmosis, bovine piroplasmosis,

dourine, and glanders.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control numbers 0579–0055 and 0579–0094)

§ 130.17 User fees for other veterinary diagnostic laboratory tests performed at NVSL (excluding FADDL) or at authorized sites.

(a) User fees for veterinary diagnostic tests performed at the Pathobiology Laboratory at NVSL (excluding FADDL)

or at authorized sites are listed in the following table. The person for whom the service is provided and the person

requesting the service are jointly and severally liable for payment of these user fees in accordance with §§ 130.50

and 130.51.

Test User fee Unit

Aflatoxin quantitation ................................................................................................................................................................ $20.50 Test.

Aflatoxin screen ........................................................................................................................................................................ 11.25 Test.

Agar gel immunodiffusion spp. identification ............................................................................................................................ 6.25 Test.

Antibiotic (bioautography) quantitation ..................................................................................................................................... 25.00 Test.

Antibiotic (bioautography) screen ............................................................................................................................................. 50.00 Test.

Antibiotic inhibition .................................................................................................................................................................... 25.25 Test.

Arsenic ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 6.75 Test.

Ergot alkaloid screen ................................................................................................................................................................ 25.25 Test.

Ergot alkaloid confirmation ....................................................................................................................................................... 33.00 Test.

Feed microscopy ...................................................................................................................................................................... 25.25 Test.

Fumonisin only .......................................................................................................................................................................... 20.50 Test.

Gossypol ................................................................................................................................................................................... 37.75 Test.

Mercury ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 56.00 Test.

Metals screen ........................................................................................................................................................................... 29.75 Test.

Metals single element confirmation .......................................................................................................................................... 6.75 Test.

Mycotoxin: aflatoxin-liver .......................................................................................................................................................... 82.25 Test.

Mycotoxin screen ...................................................................................................................................................................... 34.00 Test.

Nitrate/nitrite .............................................................................................................................................................................. 25.00 Test.

Organic compound confirmation ............................................................................................................................................... 34.00 Test.

Organic compound screen ....................................................................................................................................................... 114.75 Test.

Parasitology .............................................................................................................................................................................. 19.25 Test.

Pesticide quantitation ................................................................................................................................................................ 52.25 Test.

Pesticide screen ....................................................................................................................................................................... 38.00 Test.

pH ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 10.00 Test.

Plate cylinder ............................................................................................................................................................................ 37.75 Test.

Selenium ................................................................................................................................................................................... 33.25 Test.

Silicate/carbonate disinfectant .................................................................................................................................................. 25.00 Test.

Temperature disks .................................................................................................................................................................... 50.25 Test.

Toxicant quantitation, other ...................................................................................................................................................... 42.25 Test.

Toxicant screen, other .............................................................................................................................................................. 25.00 Test.

Vomitoxin only .......................................................................................................................................................................... 20.75 Test.

Water activity ............................................................................................................................................................................ 12.50 Test.

Zearaleone quantitation ............................................................................................................................................................ 20.50 Test.

Zearaleone screen .................................................................................................................................................................... 11.25 Test.

(b) [Reserved]

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control numbers 0579–0055 and 0579–0094)

§ 130.18 User fees for veterinary diagnostic reagents produced at NVSL or other authorized site (excluding FADDL).

(a) Bacteriology reagents. User fees for bacteriology reagents produced by the Diagnostic Bacteriology Laboratory

at NVSL (excluding FADDL) or other authorized site are listed in the following table. The person for whom the service

is provided and the person requesting the service are jointly and severally liable for payment of these user fees in

accordance with §§ 130.50 and 130.51.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules 24497

Reagent User fee Unit

Anaplasma card test antigen ............................................................................................................................................. $34.00 2 ml.

Anaplasma card test kit without antigen ............................................................................................................................ 105.50 Kit.

Anaplasma CF antigen ...................................................................................................................................................... 17.00 2 ml.

Anaplasma stabilate ........................................................................................................................................................... 67.25 4.5 ml.

Avian origin bacterial antiserums, mycoplasma ................................................................................................................ 11.50 1 ml.

Avian origin bacterial antiserums, all other ........................................................................................................................ 17.75 1 ml.

Bacterial agglutinating antigens other than brucella and salmonella pullorum ................................................................. 30.50 5 ml.

Bacterial conjugates ........................................................................................................................................................... 36.00 1 ml.

Bacterial disease CF antigens, all other ............................................................................................................................ 8.50 1 ml.

Bacterial ELISA antigens ................................................................................................................................................... 9.50 1 ml.

Bacterial or protozoal antiserums, all other ....................................................................................................................... 7.25 1 ml.

Bacterial reagent culture 1 .................................................................................................................................................. 21.25 Culture.

Bacterial reference culture 2 ............................................................................................................................................... 63.25 Culture.

Bacteriophage reference culture ........................................................................................................................................ 63.25 Culture.

Bovine serum factor ........................................................................................................................................................... 1.25 2 ml.

Brucella abortus CF antigen .............................................................................................................................................. 34.00 60 ml.

Brucella agglutination antigens, all other ........................................................................................................................... 34.00 60 ml.

Brucella buffered plate antigen .......................................................................................................................................... 50.00 60 ml.

Brucella canis tube antigen ................................................................................................................................................ 30.50 25 ml.

Brucella card test antigen (packaged) ............................................................................................................................... 19.50 Package.

Brucella card test kit without antigen ................................................................................................................................. 70.25 Kit.

Brucella cells ...................................................................................................................................................................... 5.25 Gram

Brucella cells, dried ............................................................................................................................................................ 2.00 Pellet

Brucella ring test antigen ................................................................................................................................................... 72.75 60 ml.

Brucella rivanol solution ..................................................................................................................................................... 8.75 60 ml.

Dourine CF antigen ............................................................................................................................................................ 17.50 1 ml.

Dourine stabilate ................................................................................................................................................................ 34.75 4.5 ml.

Equine and bovine origin hemoparasitic antiserums ......................................................................................................... 21.25 1 ml.

Equine negative control CF antigen .................................................................................................................................. 171.25 1 ml.

Equine origin glanders antiserum ...................................................................................................................................... 18.25 1 ml.

Flazo-orange ...................................................................................................................................................................... 6.25 3 ml.

Glanders CF antigen .......................................................................................................................................................... 17.50 1 ml.

Hemoparasitic disease CF antigens, all other ................................................................................................................... 158.25 1 ml.

Leptospira transport medium ............................................................................................................................................. 3.25 10 ml.

Monoclonal antibody .......................................................................................................................................................... 37.50 1 ml.

Mycobacterium spp. old tuberculin .................................................................................................................................... 3.75 1 ml.

Mycobacterium spp. PPD .................................................................................................................................................. 3.25 1 ml.

Mycoplasma hemagglutination antigens ............................................................................................................................ 105.50 5 ml.

Negative control serums .................................................................................................................................................... 4.00 1 ml.

Other spp. antiserum, any ................................................................................................................................................. 32.75 1 ml.

Rabbit origin bacterial antiserum ....................................................................................................................................... 14.25 1 ml.

Salmonella pullorum microagglutination antigen ............................................................................................................... 6.25 5 ml.

Stabilates, all other ............................................................................................................................................................ 258.25 4.5 ml.

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 microagglutination 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.

(b) Virology reagents. User fees for

virology reagents produced by the

Diagnostic Virology Laboratory at NVSL

(excluding FADDL) or at authorized

sites are listed in the following table.

The person for whom the service is

provided and the person requesting the

service are jointly and severally liable

for payment of these user fees in

accordance with §§ 130.50 and 130.51.

Reagent User fee Unit

Antigen, except avian influenza and chlamydia psittaci antigens, any .................................................................... $41.502 ml.

Avian antiserum except avian influenza antiserum, any .......................................................................................... 23.00 2 ml.

Avian influenza antigen, any ..................................................................................................................................... 9.25 2 ml.

Avian influenza antiserum, any ................................................................................................................................. 53.75 6 ml.

Bovine or ovine serum, any ...................................................................................................................................... 88.00 2 ml.

Cell Culture ............................................................................................................................................................... 20.00 Flask.

Chlamydia psittaci spp. of origin monoclonal antibody panel .................................................................................. 47.25 Panel.

Conjugate, any .......................................................................................................................................................... 20.25 1 ml.

Diluted positive control serum, any ........................................................................................................................... 6.75 2 ml.

Equine antiserum, any .............................................................................................................................................. 12.25 2 ml.

Hog Cholera tissue sets ............................................................................................................................................ 81.50 Tissue set.

Monoclonal antibody ................................................................................................................................................. 37.50 1 ml.

Other spp. antiserum, any ........................................................................................................................................ 32.75 1 ml.

Porcine antiserum, any ............................................................................................................................................. 60.50 2 ml.

Positive control tissues, all ........................................................................................................................................ .................... 2 cm.2

4.25 section.

Rabbit origin antiserum ............................................................................................................................................. 14.25 ml.
24498 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules

6An export health certificate may need to be

endorsed for an animal being exported from the

United States if the country to which the animal is

being shipped requires one. APHIS endorses export

health certificates as a service.

Reagent User fee Unit

Reference virus, any ................................................................................................................................................. 63.50 0.6 ml.

Viruses (except reference viruses), chlamydia psittaci agent, or chlamydia psittaci antigen, any .......................... 5.50 0.6 ml.

(Approved by the Office of Management

and Budget under control number 0579–

0094)

10. A new § 130.19 would be added

to read as follows:

§ 130.19 User fees for other veterinary

diagnostic services or materials provided at

NVSL (excluding FADDL).

(a) User fees for other veterinary

diagnostic services or materials

available from NVSL (excluding

FADDL) are listed in the following table.

The person for whom the service is

provided and the person requesting the

service are jointly and severally liable

for payment of these user fees in

accordance with §§ 130.50 and 130.51.

Service User fee Unit

Antimicrobial susceptibility test ........................................................................................................................ $30.50 Isolate.

Avian safety test ............................................................................................................................................... 2,701.75 Test.

Check tests, anaplasma complement fixation ................................................................................................. 132.00 Kit.1

Check tests, culture ......................................................................................................................................... 88.00 Kit.1

Check tests, serology, all other ....................................................................................................................... 125.75 Kit.1

Fetal bovine serum safety test ......................................................................................................................... 673.50 Verification.

Hourly user fee services2 ....................

Hour .......................................................................................................................................................... 56.00 Hour.

Quarter hour .............................................................................................................................................. 14.00 Quarter Hour.

Minimum .................................................................................................................................................... 16.50

Manual, Brucellosis complement fixation ......................................................................................................... 13.00 1 copy.

Manual, Brucellosis culture .............................................................................................................................. 52.75 1 copy.

Manual, Tuberculosis culture (English or Spanish) ......................................................................................... 79.25 1 copy.

Manual, Veterinary mycology ........................................................................................................................... 105.50 1 copy.

Manual, Anaplasmosis, Johne’s disease, mycoplasma hyopneumonia, piroplasmosis, dourine, or glanders 21.25 1 copy.

Manuals or standard operating procedure (SOP), all other ............................................................................ 13.25 1 copy.

Manuals or SOP, per page .............................................................................................................................. 2.00 1 page.

Training (school or technical assistance) ........................................................................................................ 120.00 Per person per day.

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

2For 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.

(b) [Reserved]

(Approved by the Office of Management and

Budget under control number 0579–0094)

11. Section 130.20 would be amended

by revising the introductory text in

paragraphs (a) and (b)(1) to read as

follows and by removing paragraph (d).

§ 130.20 User fees for endorsing export

health certificates.

(a) User fees for the endorsement of

export health certificates that do not

require the verification of tests or

vaccinations are listed in the following

table. The user fees apply to each export

health certificate 6 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. The

person for whom the service is provided

and the person requesting the service

are jointly and severally liable for

payment of these user fees in

accordance with §§ 130.50 and 130.51.

* * * * *

(b)(1) User fees for the endorsement of

export health certificates that require

the verification of tests or vaccinations

are listed in the following table. The

user fees apply to each export health

certificate 6 endorsed for animals and

birds depending on the number of

animals or birds covered by the

certificate and the number of tests

required. The person for whom the

service is provided and the person

requesting the service are jointly and

severally liable for payment of these

user fees in accordance with the

provisions in §§ 130.50 and 130.51.

* * * * *

12. Section 130.21 would be amended

by revising the section heading and the

introductory text in paragraph (a) to

read as follows, by removing and

reserving paragraph (b), and by

removing paragraph (c).

§ 130.21 User fees for inspection and

supervision services provided within the

United States for export animals, birds, and

animal products.

(a) User fees for inspection and

supervision services listed in paragraph

(a)(1) through (a)(7) of this section will

be calculated at $56.00 per hour, or

$14.00 per quarter-hour, with a

minimum fee of $16.50, for each

employee required to perform the

service. The person for whom the

service is provided and the person

requesting the service are jointly and

severally liable for payment of these

user fees in accordance with §§ 130.50

and 130.51.

* * * * *

§ 130.49 [Amended]

13. In § 130.49, paragraph (a) would

be amended by removing the reference

‘‘130.18’’ and adding the reference

‘‘130.19’’ in its place.

14. Sections 130.50 and 130.51 would

be revised to read as follows:

§ 130.50 Payment of user fees.

(a) Who must pay APHIS user fees?

Any person for whom a service is

provided related to the importation,

entry, or exportation of an animal,

article, or means of conveyance or

relating to veterinary diagnostics, and

any person requesting such services,

shall be jointly and severally liable for

payment of fees assessed.

(b) Associated charges.

(1) Reservation fee. Any reservation

fee paid by an importer under part 93

of this chapter will be applied to the

APHIS user fees specified in §§ 130.2

and 130.3 for animals or birds
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules 24499

7A list of APHIS offices and Animal Import

Centers that accept cash or credit cards may be

obtained from the Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, National

Center for Import and Export, 4700 River Road Unit

38, Riverdale, MD 20738–1231.

quarantined in an Animal Import

Center.

(2) Special handling expenses. The

user fees in this part do not include any

costs that may be incurred due to

special mail handling, including, but

not limited to express, overnight, or

foreign mailing. If any service requires

special mail handling, all costs incurred

must be paid by the user in addition to

the user fee for the service.

(3) Overtime charges. If a test must be

conducted on a Sunday or holiday or at

any time outside the normal tour of duty

of the employee, then, as provided for

in part 97 of this chapter, one of the

following will apply:

(i) Overtime associated with flat rate

user fees (i.e., for a specific service, test,

or reagent). Reimbursable overtime must

be paid for performing each test, in

addition to the flat rate user fee listed

in this part.

(ii) Overtime associated with hourly

rate user fees. The premium rate user

fee, as listed in the following table, in

lieu of the hourly rate user fee listed in

this part, must be paid for each

employee required to perform each

service:

Premium rate user fee

Outside the normal tour of

duty

Weekdays and

holidays Sundays

Per hour ................................................................................................................................................................... $65.00 $74.00

Per quarter-hour ....................................................................................................................................................... 16.25 18.50

Minimum ................................................................................................................................................................... 16.50 16.50

(c) When are APHIS user fees due?

(1) Animal and bird quarantine and

related tests. User fees specified in

§§ 130.2, 130.3, 130.5, 130.10, and tests

specified in §§ 130.14 through 130.19

for animals and birds in an Animal

Import Center or privately operated

permanent or temporary import

quarantine facilities, including user fees

for tests conducted on these animals or

birds, must be paid prior to the release

of those animals or birds from

quarantine;

(2) Supervision and inspection

services for export animals, animal

products. User fees for supervision and

inspection services specified in § 130.21

must be paid when billed, or, if covered

by a compliance agreement signed in

accordance with this chapter, must be

paid when specified in the agreement;

(3) Export health certificates. User

fees for export health certificates

specified in § 130.20 must be paid prior

to receipt of endorsed certificates unless

APHIS determines that the user has

established an acceptable credit history,

at which time payment may, at the

option of the user, be made when billed;

(4) Veterinary diagnostics. User fees

specified in §§ 130.14 through 130.19

for veterinary diagnostic services, such

as tests on samples submitted to NVSL

or FADDL, diagnostic reagents, slide

sets, tissue sets, and other veterinary

diagnostic services, must be paid when

the veterinary diagnostic service is

requested, unless APHIS determines

that the user has established an

acceptable credit history, at which time

payment may, at the option of the user,

be made when billed;

(5) Other user fee services. User fees

specified in §§ 130.6, 130.7, 130.8, and

130.9 must be paid when service is

provided (for example when live

animals are inspected when presented

for importation at a port of entry),

unless APHIS determines that the user

has established an acceptable credit

history, at which time payment may, at

the option of the user, be made when

billed;

(d) What payment methods are

acceptable? Payment must be for the

exact amount due and may be paid by:

(1) Cash, will be accepted only during

normal business hours if payment is

made at an APHIS office 7 or an Animal

Import Center;

(2) All types of checks, including

traveler’s checks, drawn on a U.S. bank

in U.S. dollars and made payable to the

U.S. Department of Agriculture or

USDA;

(3) Money orders, drawn on a U.S.

bank in U.S. dollars and made payable

to the U.S. Department of Agriculture or

USDA; or

(4) Credit cards (VISATM and

MasterCardTM) if payment is made at an

Animal Import Center or an APHIS

office that is equipped to process credit

cards.7

§ 130.51 Penalties for nonpayment or late

payment.

(a) Unpaid debt. If any person for

whom the service is provided fails to

pay when due any debt to APHIS,

including any user fee due under title 7

or title 9, Code of Federal Regulations,

then:

(1) Subsequent user fee payments.

Payment must be made for subsequent

user fees before the service is provided

if:

(i) For unbilled fees, the user fee is

unpaid 60 days after the date the

pertinent regulatory provision indicates

payment is due;

(ii) For billed fees, the user fee is

unpaid 60 days after date of bill;

(iii) The person for whom the service

is provided or the person requesting the

service has not paid the late payment

penalty or interest on any delinquent

APHIS user fee; or

(iv) Payment has been dishonored.

(2) Resolution of difference between

estimate and actual. APHIS will

estimate the user fee to be paid; any

difference between the estimate and the

actual amount owed to APHIS will be

resolved as soon as reasonably possible

following the delivery of the service,

with APHIS returning any excess to the

payor or billing the payor for the

additional amount due.

(3) Prepayment form. The prepayment

must be in guaranteed form, such as

money order, certified check, or cash.

Prepayment in guaranteed form will

continue until the debtor pays the

delinquent debt.

(4) Denied service. Service will be

denied until the debt is paid if:

(i) For unbilled fees, the user fee is

unpaid 90 days after date the pertinent

regulatory provision indicates payment

is due;

(ii) For billed fees, the user fee is

unpaid 90 days after date of bill;

(iii) The person for whom the service

is provided or the person requesting the

service has not paid the late payment

penalty or interest on any delinquent

APHIS user fee; or

(iv) Payment has been dishonored.

(b) Unpaid debt during service. If

APHIS is in the process of providing a
24500 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Proposed Rules

service for which an APHIS user fee is

due, and the user has not paid the fee

within the time required, or if the

payment offered by the user is

inadequate or unacceptable, then APHIS

will take the following action:

(1) Animals or birds in quarantine. If

an APHIS user fee specified in § 130.2

or § 130.3 is due for animals or birds in

quarantine at an Animal Import Center

or at a privately operated import

quarantine facility, APHIS will not

release them;

(2) Export health certificate. If an

APHIS user fee specified in § 130.20 is

due for an export health certificate,

APHIS will not release the certificate;

and

(3) Veterinary diagnostics. If an

APHIS user fee specified in §§ 130.14

through 130.19 is due for a veterinary

diagnostic test or service, APHIS will

not release the test result, any endorsed

certificate, or any other veterinary

diagnostic service.

(c) Late payment penalty. If for

unbilled user fees, the user fees are

unpaid 30 days after the date the

pertinent regulatory provisions

indicates payment is due, or if billed,

are unpaid 30 days after the date of the

bill, APHIS will impose a late payment

penalty and interest charges in

accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3717.

(d) Dishonored payment penalties.

User fees paid with dishonored forms of

payment, such as a check returned for

insufficient funds, will be subject to

interest and penalty charges in

accordance with 30 U.S.C. 3717.

Administrative charges will be assessed

at $20.00 per dishonored payment to be

paid in addition to the original amount

owed. Payment must be in guaranteed

form, such as cash, money order, or

certified check.

(e) Debt collection management. In

accordance with the Debt Collection

Improvement Act of 1996, the following

provisions apply:

(1) Taxpayer identification number.

APHIS will collect a taxpayer

identification number from all persons,

other than federal agencies, who are

liable for a user fee;

(2) Administrative offset. APHIS will

notify the Department of Treasury of

debts that are over 180 days delinquent

for the purposes of administrative offset.

Under administrative offset, the

Department of Treasury will withhold

funds payable by the United States to a

person (i.e., Federal income tax refunds)

to satisfy the debt to APHIS.

(3) Cross-servicing. APHIS will

transfer debts that are over 180 days

delinquent to the Department of

Treasury for cross-servicing. Under

cross-servicing, the Department of

Treasury will collect debts on behalf of

APHIS. Exceptions will be made for

debts that meet certain requirements, for

example, debts that are already at a

collection agency or in payment plan;

and

(4) Report delinquent debt. APHIS

will report all unpaid debts to credit

reporting bureaus.

(f) Animals or birds abandoned after

quarantine at an Animal Import Center.

Animals or birds left in quarantine at an

Animal Import Center for more than 30

days after the end of the required

quarantine period will be deemed to be

abandoned.

(1) After APHIS releases the

abandoned animals or birds from

quarantine, APHIS may seize them and

sell or otherwise dispose of them, as

determined by the Administrator,

provided that their sale is not contrary

to any Federal law or regulation, and

may recover all expenses of handling

the animals or birds from the proceeds

of their sale or disposition.

(2) If animals or birds abandoned in

quarantine at an Animal Import Center

cannot be released from quarantine,

APHIS may seize and dispose of them,

as determined by the Administrator, and

may recover all expenses of handling

the animals or birds from the proceeds

of their disposition and from persons

liable for user fees under § 130.50(a).

Done in Washington, DC, this 28th day of

April 1998.

Charles P. Schwalbe,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 98–11776 Filed 5–1–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Airspace Docket No. 98–ANM–07]

Proposed Modification of Class D

Airspace; Colorado Springs USAF

Academy Airstrip, CO

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

(NPRM).

SUMMARY: This proposal would amend

the Class D airspace area at Colorado

Springs United States Air Force (USAF)

Academy Airstrip, CO. The intended

effect of this action is to provide

additional airspace in the Visual Flight

Rules (VFR) traffic pattern by increasing

the ceiling of the Class D airspace from

8600’MSL to 8800 MSL.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before June 18, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on the

proposal in triplicate to: Manager,

Airspace Branch, ANM–520, Federal

Aviation Administration, Docket No.

98–ANM–07, 1601 Lind Avenue SW,

Renton, Washington 98055–4056.

The official docket may be examined

in the office of the Assistant Chief

Counsel for the Northwest Mountain

Region at the same address.

An informal docket may also be

examined during normal business hours

in the office of the Manager, Air Traffic

Division, Airspace Branch, at the

address listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dennis Ripley, ANM–520.6, Federal

Aviation Administration, Docket No.

98–ANM–07, 1601 Lind Avenue SW,

Renton, Washington 98055–4056;

telephone number: (425) 227–2527.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

Interested parties are invited to

participate in this proposed rulemaking

by submitting such written data, views,

or arguments as they may desire.

Comments that provide the factual basis

supporting the views and suggestions

presented are particularly helpful in

developing reasoned regulatory

decisions on the proposal. Comments

are specifically invited on the overall

regulatory, aeronautical, economic,

environmental, and energy related

aspects of the proposal.

Communications should identify the

airspace docket number and be

submitted in triplicate to the address

listed above. Commenters wishing the

FAA to acknowledge receipt of their

comments on this notice must submit,

with those comments, a self-addressed

stamped postcard on which the

following statement is made:

‘‘Comments to Airspace Docket No. 98–

ANM–07.’’ The postcard will be date/

time stamped and returned to the

commenter. All communications

received on or before the specified

closing date for comments will be

considered before taking action on the

proposed rule. The proposal contain in

this notice may be changed in the light

of comments received. All comments

submitted will be available for

examination at the address listed above,

both before and after the closing date,

for comments. A report summarizing

each substantive public contact with

FAA personnel concerned with this

rulemaking will be filed in the docket.

Availability of NPRM’s

Any person may obtain a copy of this

NPRM by submitting a request to the