[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 170 (Friday, September 2, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52336-52338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-17536]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Customs and Border Protection

19 CFR Part 101

[DHS-2005-0057]


Establishment of New Port of Entry at Sacramento, CA; Realignment 
of the Port Limits of the Port of Entry at San Francisco, CA

AGENCY: Customs and Border Protection, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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

SUMMARY: This rule proposes to amend the Department of Homeland 
Security regulations pertaining to the field organization of the Bureau 
of Customs and Border Protection by establishing a new port of entry at 
Sacramento, California, and terminating the user fee status of 
Sacramento International Airport. In order to accommodate this new port 
of entry, this rule proposes to realign the port boundaries of the port 
of entry at San Francisco, California since these boundaries currently 
encompass an area that is to be included within the new port of 
Sacramento. This change is part of the Bureau of Customs and Border 
Protection's continuing program to utilize more efficiently its 
personnel, facilities, and resources to provide better service to 
carriers, importers, and the general public.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 1, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Comments, identified by docket number DHS-2005-0057, may be 
submitted by one of the following methods:
    EPA Federal Partner EDOCKET Web Site: http://www.epa.gov/feddocket. 
Follow instructions for submitting comments on the Web site.
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    Mail: Comments by mail are to be addressed to the Bureau of Customs 
and Border Protection, Office of Regulations and Rulings, Regulations 
Branch, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. (Mint Annex), Washington, DC 
20229. Submitted comments by mail may be inspected at the Bureau of 
Customs and Border Protection, 799 9th Street, NW., Washington, DC. To 
inspect comments, please call (202) 572-8768 to arrange for an 
appointment.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments received will be 
posted without change to http://www.epa.gov/feddocket, including any 
personal information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis Dore, Office of Field 
Operations, 202-344-2776.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    As part of its continuing efforts to provide better service to 
carriers, importers, and the general public, the Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS), Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), is 
proposing to establish a new port of entry at Sacramento, California.
    The new port of entry would include all the territory within the 
following areas: (i) The corporate limits of Sacramento, including the 
adjacent territory comprised of McClellan Airport in Sacramento County; 
(ii) all territory on the San Joaquin River in Contra Costa and San 
Joaquin Counties, to and including Stockton; (iii) from Sacramento, 
southwest along U.S. Interstate 80, east along Airbase Parkway, to and 
including the territory comprising Travis Air Force Base; (iv) all 
points on the Sacramento River in Solano, Yolo and Sacramento Counties, 
from the junction of the Sacramento River with the San Joaquin River in 
Sacramento County, to and including Sacramento, California; and (v) all 
points on the Sacramento River Deep Water Ship Channel in Solano, Yolo 
and Sacramento Counties, (a) from and including, the junction of Cache 
Slough with the Sacramento River, to and including Sacramento; and (b) 
from Sacramento northwest along Interstate 5 to Airport Boulevard, 
north along Airport Boulevard, to and including the territory 
comprising the Sacramento International Airport in Sacramento County. 
All of the territory included in the new port of Sacramento is located 
within the State of California.
    Sacramento International Airport currently is a user fee airport. 
User fee airports do not qualify for designation by CBP as 
international airports (which are a specific type of CBP port of entry) 
based on the volume of their business, but are approved by the 
Commissioner of CBP to receive the services of CBP officers for the 
processing of aircraft entering the United States and their passengers 
and cargo. Unlike the situation at an international airport, the 
availability of customs services at a user fee airport is not paid for 
out of appropriations from the general treasury of the United States. 
Instead, customs services are provided on a fully reimbursable basis to 
be paid for by the airport on behalf of the recipients of the

[[Page 52337]]

services; the airport pays a fee for customs services and then seeks 
reimbursement from the actual users of those services. This proposal, 
if adopted, would terminate the user fee status of Sacramento 
International Airport and therefore also terminate the system of 
reimbursable fees for the Sacramento International Airport. Sacramento 
International Airport, however, would become subject to the passenger-
processing fee provided for under 19 U.S.C. 58c(a)(5)(B).
    The current port limits of the port of entry at San Francisco, 
California (San Francisco-Oakland), which are described in Treasury 
Decision (T.D.) 82-9 published at 47 FR 1286 (January 12, 1982), 
include the proposed port of Sacramento. Accordingly, if Sacramento is 
established as a port of entry with the geographical limits described 
in this document, the geographical limits of the port of entry at San 
Francisco-Oakland would be modified. The geographical limits of the 
port of San Francisco-Oakland would include all the territory within 
the corporate limits of San Francisco and Oakland; all points on the 
San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, Carquinez Strait and Suisan Bay.

Port of Entry Criteria

    The criteria considered by CBP in determining whether to establish 
a port of entry are found in T.D. 82-37 published at 47 FR 10137 (March 
9, 1982), subsequently revised and amended by T.D. 86-14 published at 
51 FR 4559 (February 5, 1986) and T.D. 87-65 published at 52 FR 16328 
(May 4, 1987). Under these criteria, CBP will evaluate whether there is 
a sufficient volume of import business (actual or potential) to justify 
the expense of maintaining a new office or expanding service at an 
existing location.
    Specifically, CBP will consider whether the proposed port of entry 
location can:
    (1) Demonstrate that the benefits to be derived justify the Federal 
Government expense involved;
    (2) Except in the case of land border ports, be serviced by at 
least two major modes of transportation (rail, air, water, or highway); 
and
    (3) Except in the case of land border ports, have a minimum 
population of 300,000 within the immediate service area (approximately 
a 70-mile radius).
    In addition, one of the following five actual or potential workload 
criteria (minimum number of transactions per year), or an appropriate 
combination thereof, must be met in the area to be serviced by the 
proposed port of entry:
    (1) 15,000 international air passengers;
    (2) 2,500 formal consumption entries (each valued over $2,000 and 
no more than half of the 2,500 entries being attributed to one private 
party), with the applicant location committing to optimal use of 
electronic data input means to permit integration with any CBP system 
for electronic processing of entries;
    (3) For land border ports, 150,000 vehicles;
    (4) 2,000 scheduled international aircraft arrivals (passengers 
and/or crew); or
    (5) 350 cargo vessel arrivals.
    Finally, facilities at the proposed port of entry must include, 
where appropriate, wharfage and anchorage adequate for oceangoing 
vessels, cargo and passenger facilities, warehouse space for the secure 
storage of imported cargo pending final CBP inspection and release, and 
administrative office space, inspection areas, storage areas, and other 
space as necessary for regular CBP operations.

Sacramento's Workload Statistics

    This proposed rule to establish the Sacramento, California area as 
a port of entry is based on CBP's analysis of the following 
information:
    1. Sacramento, California and the Sacramento International Airport 
are serviced by four modes of transportation:
    (a) rail (Amtrak);
    (b) air (Sacramento International Airport, McClellan Airport and 
Travis Air Force Base);
    (c) highway (Interstate 5 and Interstate 80); and
    (d) water (Sacramento Seaport on the Sacramento River, Stockton 
Seaport).
    2. The area within the immediate service area (approximately a 70-
mile radius of Sacramento International Airport) currently has a 
population exceeding 2,000,000 persons.
    3. Regarding the actual or potential workload criteria, during 
calendar year 2003, 25,560 international air passengers deplaned at 
Sacramento International Airport via Mexicana Airlines. This number of 
international air passengers exceeds the criteria requirement of 15,000 
international passengers within one year by 10,560. From January 1, 
2004 through October 30, 2004, 20,352 international air passengers 
deplaned at Sacramento International Airport, also via Mexicana 
Airlines. New international service for Mexicana Airlines began in 
December 2004, adding three additional cities in Mexico for service to 
Sacramento International Airport, resulting in a projected total of 
55,000 deplaned international passengers at Sacramento International 
Airport for calendar year 2005. Additionally, the Sacramento Seaport 
services approximately 800 vessels per year and averages 1,000,000 tons 
of cargo.
    CBP facilities are already in place at the proposed port of 
Sacramento and will continue to be provided at no cost to the Federal 
Government. The Sacramento County Airport System has spent $3,200,000 
for the reconstruction of the International Arrivals Building at the 
Sacramento airport. A large technology sector is located in the 
Sacramento area, including seven of the ten largest manufacturers in 
the region involved in the research and development of advanced 
technology items. The Metro Air Park, adjacent to the Sacramento 
International Airport, has been zoned for 21 million square feet of 
warehousing, office, retail and high technology space, in anticipation 
of the formation of a port of entry at Sacramento. CBP believes that 
the establishment of a new port in the local area will provide 
significant benefits to the Sacramento-area community by providing 
enhanced business competitiveness for existing enterprises and enabling 
the retention and expansion of the number of jobs in the area.
    This rule also proposes the realignment of the port of entry at San 
Francisco-Oakland to allow for the new port of Sacramento. The port of 
entry at San Francisco-Oakland will continue to satisfy the criteria 
for a port of entry even after the proposed realignment. San Francisco 
International Airport alone, processed 3,685,519 international 
passengers and crew during 2004. The San Francisco area includes a 
population of well over 300,000 and is serviced by four major modes of 
transportation (air, rail, water and highway).

Proposed Amendments to Regulations

    If the proposed port of entry designation is adopted, the list of 
CBP ports of entry at 19 CFR 101.3(b)(1) will be amended to add 
Sacramento as a port of entry in California and to reflect the new 
boundaries of the San Francisco-Oakland port of entry.

Comments

    Before adopting this proposal as a final rule, consideration will 
be given to any written comments timely submitted to CBP, including 
comments on the clarity of this proposed rule and how it may be made 
easier to understand. Comments submitted will be available for public 
inspection in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 
552) and 19 CFR 103.11(b), on

[[Page 52338]]

regular business days between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the 
Regulations Branch, Office of Regulations and Rulings, Customs and 
Border Protection, 799 9th Street, NW., 5th Floor, Washington, DC. 
Arrangements to inspect submitted comments should be made in advance by 
calling Mr. Joseph Clark at (202) 572-8768.

Authority

    This change is proposed under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 301 and 19 
U.S.C. 2, 66, and 1624.

Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory Flexibility Act

    With DHS approval, CBP establishes, expands and consolidates CBP 
ports of entry throughout the United States to accommodate the volume 
of CBP-related activity in various parts of the country. The Office of 
Management and Budget has determined that this regulatory proposal is 
not a significant regulatory action as defined under Executive Order 
12866. This proposed rule also will not have significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. Accordingly, CBP 
certifies that this document is not subject to the additional 
requirements of the provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 
U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

Signing Authority

    The signing authority for this document falls under 19 CFR 0.2(a) 
because the establishment of a new port of entry and the termination of 
the user-fee status of an airport are not within the bounds of those 
regulations for which the Secretary of the Treasury has retained sole 
authority. Accordingly, the notice of proposed rulemaking may be signed 
by the Secretary of Homeland Security (or his or her delegate).

    Dated: August 26, 2005.
Michael Chertoff,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-17536 Filed 9-1-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P