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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 248 (Friday, December 27, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 105381-105386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30603]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 800

[Doc. No. AMS-FGIS-24-0010]
RIN 0581-AE28

Fees for Official Inspection and Weighing Services Under the 
United States Grain Standards Act

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, Department of Agriculture 
(USDA).

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Federal Grain 
Inspection Service (FGIS or Service) published an interim rule in the 
Federal Register on June 6, 2024, establishing revised fees for 
official services performed by FGIS and requesting comments. The 
revised fees announced in the interim rule became effective on July 8, 
2024, and will remain in effect until new fees are established. This 
final rule adopts the fees established by the interim rule without 
change and responds to public comments submitted in response to the 
interim rule.

DATES: This final rule is effective January 27, 2025.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denise Ruggles, Executive Program 
Analyst, USDA, AMS, FGIS, Telephone: 816-702-3897, Email:

[[Page 105382]]

[email protected]; or Anthony Goodeman, Senior Policy Advisor, 
USDA, AMS, FGIS, Telephone: 202-720-2091, Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule adopts, without change, 
revised fees for official services performed by FGIS, as well as the 
regulatory changes needed to implement those fees, as described in an 
interim rule (``Fees for Official Inspection and Weighing Services 
under the United States Grain Standards Act'') published in the Federal 
Register on June 6, 2024 (89 FR 48257). The revised fees became 
effective on July 8, 2024, and will remain in effect until new fees are 
established.
    The revised fees were calculated using standardized formulas 
modeled after those used in other AMS user-fee funded grading programs. 
A forthcoming final rule (``Formulas for Calculating Hourly and Unit 
Fees for FGIS Services'') to be published separately in the Federal 
Register will amend FGIS's user fee regulations. Prospective customers 
can find FGIS's fee schedules posted on AMS's public website at: 
https://www.ams.usda.gov/about-ams/fgis-program-directives.
    The United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA) authorizes and 
requires the Secretary of Agriculture to charge and collect reasonable 
fees to cover the estimated costs for performing official grain 
inspection and weighing services (which are mandatory under the Act for 
U.S. grain exports). In 2015, Congress amended the USGSA to provide 
that ``[i]n order to maintain an operating reserve of not less than 3 
and not more than 6 months, the Secretary shall adjust the fees . . . 
not less frequently than annually.'' (7 U.S.C. 79(j)(4) and 79a(l)(3)). 
To comply with these provisions, FGIS, then the Grain Inspection, 
Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), issued regulations 
requiring the agency to review and adjust fees annually in order to 
maintain a 3- to 6-month reserve of operating expenses. (81 FR 49855). 
AMS published the 2024 interim rule to address FGIS's immediate 
financial needs, ensure the agency's continued provision of mandatory 
official services, and prevent disruption to the grain industry.

Comment Review

    AMS published the interim rule in the Federal Register on June 6, 
2024 (89 FR 48257). The interim rule became effective on July 8, 2024. 
Copies of the interim rule were sent via email to FGIS stakeholders. 
The interim rule was also made available through the internet by AMS 
via https://www.regulations.gov. AMS provided a 30-day comment period, 
ending July 8, 2024, to give interested persons an opportunity to 
comment on the interim rule.
    FGIS received two comments to the interim rule. One of the comments 
was irrelevant to the subject of the rule and was not considered with 
respect to this rulemaking action. The other comment was jointly 
submitted by two trade organizations. One of the trade organizations 
represents grain, feed, processing, exporting, and other grain handling 
companies who collectively operate over 8,000 facilities. The other 
trade association represents private and publicly owned companies and 
farmer-owned cooperatives that are involved in, and provide services 
to, the agri-bulk products international trading industry.
    The trade associations' comment generally supported the interim 
rule; however, the comment expressed concern with the fee changes ``and 
the potential impact of promoting the marketing of high-quality grain 
to both domestic and foreign buyers based on the agency's current 
financial status.'' The comment also expressed concern about the 
shifting marketplace, with potentially reduced exports, noting the 
likelihood of reduced exports in the upcoming 12- to 18-months, and the 
importance of FGIS taking all measures to control costs. The comment 
noted that significant fee increases are unsustainable, but also 
articulated the importance of FGIS, and the accurate, timely, cost-
effective delivery of official grain inspection and weighing services. 
As a strategy to improve the current method for calculating fees, the 
comment suggested that FGIS de-couple the other Schedule A user fees 
from the five-year rolling average for tonnage fees to make the fees 
more in line with the market rates.
    FGIS agrees with the commenters. FGIS took steps to mitigate a 
larger increase in the fees through stakeholder interactions prior to 
publishing the interim rule, and published a more moderate fee increase 
that would spread the rebuild of the three- to six-month operating 
reserve over the duration of three years. This step allowed 2024 fees 
to be substantially lower than they would have been if FGIS attempted 
to rebuild the reserve more quickly. FGIS is actively taking steps to 
reduce costs and respond to the evolving export market. FGIS detailed 
over 10 percent of its staff, froze hiring and awards, reduced 
overtime, and stopped travel unless mission critical. These steps, 
coupled with the revised fees, have set FGIS on a path for continued, 
uninterrupted operations. FGIS is partnering with industry stakeholders 
to review ways to continue to reduce costs through the use of 
inspection automation technology.
    Based on the comments received, the critical requirement for 
mandatory FGIS inspection and weighing services, and the immediate need 
for the revised fees published in the interim rule, FGIS has determined 
that finalizing the interim rule, as published in the Federal Register 
on June 6, 2024 (89 FR 48257) is consistent with and will tend to 
effectuate the purposes of the Act. Accordingly, FGIS has made no 
changes to the fees published in the interim rule and concludes the 
action through this final rule.

Revised Fees

    Tables 2 through 4, below, set forth the revised fees for FGIS 
inspection and weighing services effective July 8, 2024, as described 
in the interim rule published on June 6, 2024 (89 FR 48257). The 
revised fees will remain in effect until new fees are established. The 
revised fees were calculated using standardized formulas modeled after 
those used in other AMS user-fee funded grading programs. A forthcoming 
final rule to be published separately in the Federal Register will 
amend FGIS's user fee regulations to incorporate the formulas.

    Table 1--Fees for Official Services Performed at an Applicant's Facility in an Onsite FGIS Laboratory \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                            Night
                                                        Regular rate     differential     Overtime      Holiday
                       Service                         Monday-Friday    Monday-Friday    rate Sunday     rate
                                                      (6 a.m.-6 p.m.)  (6 p.m.-6 a.m.)  and Saturday
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inspection and Weighing Services Hourly Fees (per
 service representative):
    One-Year Contract (per hour per Service                    $65.00           $71.50        $81.30      $97.50
     representative)................................

[[Page 105383]]

 
    Noncontract (per hour per Service                           93.30  ...............        116.60      140.00
     representative)................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Service                                                                                                2024 Rate
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additional Tests (cost per test, assessed in addition to the hourly rate): \2\
    Aflatoxin (rapid test kit method)...............................................................       17.90
    All other Mycotoxins (rapid test kit method)....................................................       32.60
    NIR or NMR Analysis (protein, oil, starch, etc.)................................................        4.30
    Waxy corn (per test)............................................................................        4.30
    Class Y Weighing--online (per carrier)..........................................................        2.80
    Fees for other tests not listed above will be based on the noncontract hourly rate from Fee
     Table 1 (per hour/per representative)..........................................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Tonnage Fee (assessed in addition to all other applicable fees, only one tonnage fee will be assessed when
                      inspection and weighing services are performed on the same carrier).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Service                                                                                                2024 Rate
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All outbound carriers serviced by the specific field office (per-metric ton): \3\
    Delegated States/Designated Agencies (national $0.057) \4\......................................       0.057
    League City tonnage fee (local $0.080 plus national $0.057).....................................       0.137
    New Orleans tonnage fee (local $0.012 plus national $0.057).....................................       0.069
    Pacific Northwest tonnage fee (local $0.135 plus national $0.057)...............................       0.192
    Toledo tonnage fee (local $0.154 plus national $0.057)..........................................       0.211
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Fees apply to original inspection and weighing, re-inspection, and appeal inspection service and include,
  but are not limited to, sampling, grading, weighing, prior to loading stowage examinations, and certifying
  results performed within 25 miles of an employee's assigned duty station. Travel and related expenses will be
  charged for service outside 25 miles as found in Sec.   800.72(a).
\2\ Appeal and re-inspection services will be assessed the same fee as the original inspection service.
\3\ Standard carrier capacity for trucks/submitted samples--52,800 lbs. (approx. 23.95 metric tons (mt)),
  container--54,000 lbs. (approx. 24.49 mt), rail--220,000 lbs. (approx. 99.79 mt), barge--3,648,000 lbs.
  (approx. 1,654.70 mt), Pacific Northwest (PN) barge--6,707,000 lbs. (approx. 3,042.24 mt).
\4\ Tonnage fee is assessed on export grain inspected and/or weighed, excluding land carrier shipments to Canada
  and Mexico.

 Table 2--Services Performed at Other Than an Applicant's Facility in an
                           FGIS Laboratory 1 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Service                                                        2024 Rate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Inspection and Weighing (Class X) Services:
    Sampling only (use hourly rates from Fee Table 1)...  ..............
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stationary Lots (sampling, grade/factor, and
 checkloading):
    Truck/trailer/container (per carrier)...............          $35.00
    Railcar (per carrier)...............................           51.90
    Sacked grain (per hour per service representative          0.125/CWT
     plus an administrative fee per hundred weight).....
Lots sampled online during loading (sampling use hourly
 rates from Fee Table 1, plus):
    Truck/trailer/container (per carrier)...............           21.30
    Railcar (per carrier)...............................           43.90
    Sacked grain (per hour per service representative          0.125/CWT
     plus an administrative fee per hundred weight).....
Other services:
    Submitted sample (per sample--grade and factor).....           21.30
    Factor only (per factor--maximum 2 factors).........           10.40
    Class X Weighing will be based on the noncontract
     hourly rate from Fee Table 1 (per hour/per service
     representative)....................................
Additional tests (excludes sampling):
    Aflatoxin (rapid test kit method)...................           52.50
    All other Mycotoxins (rapid test kit method)........           67.60
    Fecal Matter Assay--Detection of Fecal Matter                 326.55
     (Qualitative)......................................
    NIR or NMR Analysis (protein, oil, starch, etc.)....           17.90
    Test Kit Evaluation (Monday-Friday).................          111.70
    Tilletia controversa K[uuml]hn (TCK) spores testing           326.55
     (per sample).......................................
    Waxy Corn (per test)................................           17.90
    Fees for other tests not listed above will be based
     on the noncontract hourly rate from Fee Table 1....
Pesticide Residue Testing:
    Routine Compounds (per hour per service                       376.50
     representative)....................................
    Non-routine Compounds (Subject to availability) (per          200.90
     hour per service representative)...................
Original Inspection and Weighing (Class X) Services:
Appeal inspection and review of weighing service \3\
Sampling service for Appeals additional (hourly rates
 from Fee Table 1)
    Board appeal and Appeals (grade and factor).........          142.70

[[Page 105384]]

 
    Factor only (per factor--max 2 factors) \4\.........           75.10
Additional tests (assessed in addition to all other
 applicable tests):
    Aflatoxin (rapid test kit method)...................           52.50
    All other Mycotoxins (rapid test kit method)........           82.20
    Mycotoxin (per test--HPLC)..........................          245.60
    NIR or NMR Analysis (protein, oil, starch, etc.)....           31.10
    Sunflower oil (per test)............................           31.10
    Fees for other tests not listed above will be based
     on the noncontract hourly rate from Fee Table 1....
Stowage examination (service on request):
    Ship (per stowage space) (minimum 5 spaces per ship)           89.00
    Subsequent ship examinations (same as original)                89.00
     (minimum 3 spaces per ship)........................
    Barge (per examination).............................           71.30
    All other carriers (per examination)................           28.20
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Fees apply to original inspection and weighing, re-inspection, and
  appeal inspection service and include, but are not limited to,
  sampling, grading, weighing, prior to loading stowage examinations,
  and certifying results performed within 25 miles of an employee's
  assigned duty station. Travel and related expenses will be charged for
  service outside 25 miles as found in Sec.   800.72(a).
\2\ In addition to a 2-hour minimum charge on Saturday, Sunday, and
  holidays, an additional charge will be assessed when the revenue from
  the services in Fee Table 2, does not equal or exceed what would have
  been collected at the applicable hourly rate.
\3\ If, at the request of the Service, a file sample is located and
  forwarded by the Agency, the Agency may, upon request, be reimbursed
  at the rate of $3.50 per sample by the Service. (Invoice processed
  through appropriate payment method.)
\4\ Factor only appeal--In accordance with 800.135(b) Kind and Scope, an
  appeal inspection is limited to the kind and scope of the original or
  re-inspection service; in the case of factor-only inspections, the
  service is limited to a maximum of two factors with no grade
  assignment.

                     Table 3--Miscellaneous Services
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Service                             2024 Rate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Grain grading seminars (per hour per service                     $111.70
 representative) \1\....................................
Samples provided to interested parties (per sample).....            5.20
Extra copies of certificates and divided lots (per                  3.50
 certificate)...........................................
Special mailing (actual cost)...........................     Actual cost
Travel (mileage, airfare, per diem, etc.)...............     Actual cost
Preparing certificates onsite or during other than        ..............
 normal business hours (use hourly rates from Table 2.).
Special Weighing Services (per hour per service
 representative): \10\
    Scale testing and certification.....................          145.20
    Evaluation of weighing and material handling systems          145.20
    NTEP prototype evaluation (other than Railroad Track          145.20
     Scales)............................................
    NTEP prototype evaluation of Railroad Track Scales..          145.20
    Use of FGIS railroad track scale test equipment per           870.70
     facility for each requested service................
    Mass standards calibration and re-verification......          145.20
    Special [weighing] projects.........................          145.20
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Regular business hours--Monday through Friday--service provided at
  other than regular business hours will be charged at 1\1/2\ times the
  applicable hourly rate (see Sec.   800.0(b)(14) for definition of
  ``business day.'')

Regulatory Changes

    The interim rule added a new section (Sec.  800.74) to the 
regulations to implement the revised fees set forth above. In addition, 
because the current user fee regulation at 7 CFR 800.71 does not permit 
fee increases greater than 5 percent, the interim rule imposed a 
temporary stay on Sec.  800.71. The interim rule also placed a 
temporary stay on Sec.  800.72(b), as the additional charge provided 
therein was incorporated into Fee Table 2, footnote 2, above. To 
accommodate the stay imposed on Sec. Sec.  800.71 and 800.72(b), and 
the addition of Sec.  800.74, the interim rule also made conforming 
changes where Sec.  800.71 or Sec.  800.72 were otherwise referenced in 
7 CFR part 800, including in the following sections: Sec. Sec.  800.34, 
800.36, 800.73, 800.156(d)(5), and 800.197(b).

Required Regulatory Analyses

Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 14094

    This rule is being issued in conformance with Executive Order 
12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' Executive Order 13563, 
``Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,'' and Executive Order 
14094, ``Modernizing Regulatory Review.'' Executive Orders 12866 and 
13563 direct agencies to assess all costs and benefits of available 
regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select 
regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential 
economic, environmental, public health and safety effects, distributive 
impacts, and equity). Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the importance 
of quantifying both costs and benefits, reducing costs, harmonizing 
rules, and promoting flexibility. Executive Order 14094 reaffirms, 
supplements, and updates Executive Order 12866 and further directs 
agencies to solicit and consider input from a wide range of affected 
and interested parties through a variety of means.
    OMB has designated this rule as not significant under Executive 
Orders 12866, 13563, and 14094. Accordingly, OMB has not reviewed this 
rule under those orders. Since grain export volume can vary 
significantly from year to year, estimating the impact of future fee 
changes can be difficult. FGIS recognizes the need to provide 
predictability to the industry for inspection and weighing fees. The 
statutory requirement to maintain an operating reserve between 3 to 6 
months of operating expenses ensures that FGIS can adequately cover its 
costs without

[[Page 105385]]

imposing an undue burden on its customers.
    FGIS regularly reviews its user-fee financed programs to determine 
whether the fees charged for performing official inspection and 
weighing services adequately cover the costs of providing those 
services. Due to limitations in the current regulations (7 CFR 
800.71(b)(3)), which permit fee increases of no more than 5 percent per 
year, combined with four years of rate decreases, and noneconomic 
factors that led to the 2020-2023 period having highest inflation in 
more than 40 years,\1\ FGIS faced an operating deficit that was 
forecasted to grow without corrective action.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ For example, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) Calculator 
(https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl) shows prices up 20 percent 
between January 2020 and February 2024, and up 31 percent between 
January 2016 and February 2024.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This rule revises the fees for official grain inspection and 
weighing services provided by FGIS to ensure the stability of the 
program. In conjunction with AMS's forthcoming final rule (``Formulas 
for Calculating Hourly and Unit Fees for FGIS Services'') amending 
FGIS's user fee regulations, this rule will also ensure that FGIS 
complies with the USGSA, which requires the agency to charge fees 
sufficient to cover its costs and maintain a 3- to 6-month operating 
reserve. FGIS will continue to seek out cost-saving measures and 
implement appropriate changes to reduce its costs to provide 
alternatives to fee increases.
    This rule is unlikely to have an annual effect of $200 million or 
more or adversely affect the economy. FGIS has operated at a net loss 
for five consecutive years, and even with the maximum fee increases 
permitted under the current regulations, the agency has been unable to 
reduce the deficits and rebuild the operating reserve. While this rule 
addresses the agency's current deficit, the forthcoming final rule 
seeks to prevent additional deficits in future years by revising FGIS's 
user fee regulations to enable more accurate calculation of the 
agency's costs and greater flexibility in future rate changes.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    Under the requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility Act 
(RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601-12), FGIS has considered the economic impact of 
this final rule on small entities. Accordingly, FGIS has prepared this 
regulatory flexibility analysis. The purpose of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of businesses 
subject to such actions. This ensures that small businesses will not be 
unduly or disproportionately burdened.
    The Small Business Administration (SBA) defines small businesses by 
their North American Industry Classification System Codes (NAICS). This 
final rule will affect customers of FGIS's official inspection and 
weighing services in the domestic and export grain markets (NAICS code 
115114). Current guidance from the SBA provides a revenue cutoff at $34 
million to differentiate large and small firms in this industry. Fees 
for the program which apply to this industry are provided on the FGIS 
website.
    Under the USGSA, all grain exported from the United States must be 
officially inspected and weighed, with few exceptions. FGIS provides 
mandatory inspection and weighing services at 29 export facilities in 
the United States. Five delegated State agencies provide mandatory 
inspection and weighing services at 20 facilities. All of these 
facilities are owned by multinational corporations, large cooperatives, 
or public entities that do not meet the requirements for small entities 
established by the SBA.
    The USGSA requires the registration of all persons engaged in the 
business of buying grain for sale in foreign commerce. In addition, 
those persons who handle, weigh, or transport grain for sale in foreign 
commerce must also register. The regulations found at 7 CFR 800.30 and 
800.31 define a foreign commerce grain business as the business of 
regularly buying, handling, weighing, or transporting grain for sale in 
foreign commerce totaling 15,000 metric tons or more during the 
preceding or current calendar year. Currently, there are 174 businesses 
registered to export grain, most of which are not small businesses.
    Although most exporters are not small businesses, most users of 
FGIS's official inspection and weighing services (which include 
domestic grain businesses as well as exporters) meet the SBA 
requirements for small entities. Data on user fee receipts from FGIS 
for the past 5 years, plus 2024 through February, show a total of 2,123 
different accounts over this time, though many firms are represented by 
multiple accounts. For the purpose of this regulatory flexibility 
analysis, FGIS will consider accounts as representing establishments, 
with multiple establishments associated with larger firms.
    FGIS identified a total of 31 large firms, as defined by the SBA 
firm size classification of receipts in excess of $34 million. FGIS 
also identified the total number of establishments affiliated with the 
31 large firms to be 133. With a total number of establishments of 
2,123, this means 1,990, or 94 percent, of the establishments that paid 
fees to FGIS over the 2019-2024 period are small businesses according 
to the SBA definition.
    Table 4 shows that, while only 6 percent of the firms are 
considered large, in total they have contributed the vast majority of 
the fees paid to the program. In each of the five previous years, and 
for the year 2024 to date, the 31 large firms paid between 86 and 90 
percent of all FGIS fees, with an average of 89 percent. The remaining 
1,990 establishments paid on average 11 percent of total fees.

Table 4--FGIS Billed Accounts Summary Table for Regulatory Flexibility Analysis by Small Business Administration
                                               Size Classification
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     All firms              Large firms                     Small firms
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Fiscal year              Total fees      Total fees                      Total fees
                                       paid            paid       Share paid (%)       paid       Share paid (%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2019............................     $32,314,848     $27,694,899              86      $4,619,949              14
2020............................      30,746,015      27,386,467              89       3,359,547              11
2021............................      34,320,110      30,693,195              89       3,626,915              11
2022............................      31,663,547      28,183,027              89       3,480,520              11
2023............................      27,734,760      25,069,234              90       2,665,526              10
Oct 2023-Feb 2024...............      10,702,712       9,679,943              90       1,022,769              10
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 105386]]

 
    Grand Total.................     167,481,991     148,706,765              89      18,775,226              11
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The revised fees implemented by the interim rule and adopted herein 
do not change the relative burden of fees on small businesses. The 
provisions of this final rule will apply equally to all entities. The 
revised fees will benefit all inspection applicants, regardless of 
size, as the fees more closely reflect the current costs of 
inspections. Finally, this final rule will not impose additional 
reporting, record keeping, or other compliance requirements on small 
entities. FGIS has not identified any other Federal rules which may 
duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this final rule.

Executive Order 12988

    This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988--
Civil Justice Reform. It is not intended to have retroactive effect. 
Section 18 of the USGSA (7 U.S.C. 87g) provides that no State or 
subdivision thereof may require or impose any requirements or 
restrictions concerning the inspection, weighing, or description of 
grain under the USGSA. Otherwise, this final rule will not preempt any 
State or local laws, regulations, or policies unless they present an 
irreconcilable conflict with this final rule. There are no 
administrative procedures that must be exhausted prior to any judicial 
challenge to the provisions of this final rule.

Executive Order 13175

    This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 13175--
Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal governments, which 
requires agencies to consider whether their rulemaking actions would 
have Tribal implications. FGIS has determined that this final rule is 
unlikely to have substantial direct effects on one or more Indian 
Tribes, on the relationship between the Federal Government and Indian 
Tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities between 
the Federal Government and Indian Tribes.

Congressional Review Act

    Pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801-808), the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs designated this final rule 
as not a major rule, as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

E-Government Act

    USDA is committed to complying with the provisions of the E-
Government Act (44 U.S.C. 3601-3616) by promoting the use of the 
internet and other information technologies to provide increased 
opportunities for citizen access to government information and 
services, and for other purposes.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This final rule will not impose any additional reporting or 
recordkeeping requirements on either small or large FGIS customers. In 
compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 
35), FGIS reports and forms are periodically reviewed to reduce 
information collection requirements and duplication.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 800

    Administrative practice and procedure, Conflict of interests, 
Exports, Freedom of information, Grains, Intergovernmental relations, 
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Agricultural Marketing 
Service adopts the interim rule amending 7 CFR part 800 published June 
6, 2024, at 89 FR 48257, as final without change.

Melissa Bailey,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-30603 Filed 12-26-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
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