This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

20421

Vol. 61, No. 89

Tuesday, May 7, 1996

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

9 CFR Part 130

[Docket No. 92–174–2]

RIN 0579–AA67

Import/Export User Fees

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: We are amending user fees for

certain import- and export-related

services we provide for live animals and

birds, animal products, organisms and

vectors, and germ plasm and veterinary

diagnostic services. We are also

establishing user fees for certain importand export-related services we provide

for live animals and birds, and animal

products and byproducts. We are also

making several miscellaneous changes,

such as amending the definitions of

certain words. These actions are

necessary to help ensure that we recover

our costs and to simplify and clarify the

application of user fees for the public.

These actions are taken in accordance

with the Food, Agriculture,

Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, as

amended, which gives us the authority

to set and collect these user fees.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 6, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

information concerning services

provided for live animals and birds, 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 animal products and

byproducts, organisms and vectors,

contact Dr. Kathleen Akin, Senior Staff

Veterinarian, Import/Export Products,

VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 40,

Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; (301) 734–

7830.

For information concerning services

provided for veterinary diagnostics,

contact Dr. James E. Pearson, Acting

Director, National Veterinary Services

Laboratories, P.O. Box 844, Ames, IA

50010; (515) 239–8266.

For information concerning fees,

contact Ms. Barbara Thompson, Chief,

Financial Systems and Services Branch,

Budget and Accounting Division,

APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 54,

Riverdale, MD 20737–1232; (301) 734–

5901.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Food, Agriculture, Conservation

and Trade Act of 1990, as amended

(referred to below as the Farm Bill),

authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture,

among other things, 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

Farm Bill). The Secretary of Agriculture

is also authorized, under section

2509(c)(2) of the Farm Bill, to prescribe

and collect fees to recover the costs of

carrying out certain veterinary

diagnostics services.

The user fee regulations in 9 CFR part

130 (referred to below as the

regulations) prescribe user fees that the

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department

of Agriculture (USDA) collects for

various services that APHIS provides.

The regulations currently include user

fees for: (1) Providing quarantine,

importation, and entry services within

the United States for imported animals;

(2) conducting certain veterinary

diagnostics services; (3) endorsing

export health certificates for animals; (4)

providing certain inspection and

supervision services within the United

States for animals intended for export;

and (5) conducting certain veterinary

inspections outside the United States.

Our user fees are calculated to recover

the full cost of providing the service for

which the user fee is charged. The cost

of providing a service includes direct

labor costs and a pro rata share of

administrative support, agency

overhead, and Departmental charges.

On May 26, 1995, we published in the

Federal Register (60 FR 27913–27924,

Docket No. 92–174–1) a proposal to

amend the regulations by revising and

adding new hourly, minimum, and flat

rate user fees in the regulations. We

proposed to increase most of the hourly,

minimum, and flat rate user fees for

import-related services in §§ 130.2,

130.3, 130.5, 130.6, 130.7, and 130.9 of

the regulations and for export-related

services in §§ 130.9 and 130.21 of the

regulations. For services performed on

overtime, we proposed to add new

premium hourly rate user fees, to

replace the practice of charging two

separate hourly rates (see §§ 130.5,

130.9 and 130.21 of the regulations). We

proposed to add a new minimum user

fee in § 130.3 of the regulations. We

proposed to add a new § 130.10 for

hourly, minimum, and flat rate user fees

for pet birds. We proposed to add new

requirements for special mail handling

to be paid for by the user in §§ 130.14

through 130.18 of the regulations. We

proposed to add a new fee for

nonendorsed export health certificates

in § 130.20 of the regulations.

Additionally, we proposed to accept

credit cards in certain locations as an

optional payment method. We also

proposed to make several other changes

to simplify and clarify the regulations.

We solicited comments concerning

our proposal for 60 days ending July 25,

1995. We received 60 comments by that

date. They were from veterinarians,

representatives of agricultural

industries, exporters, producers, a State

department of livestock, a Member of

Congress, and other interested parties.

Summary of Changes Made in Response

to Comments

We are making the following changes

in response to the comments we

received. We are combining the services

covered under § 130.4 with the services

covered under § 130.5. Section 130.4

covers inspection services at privately

operated permanent import-quarantine

facilities. Under § 130.4, a flat rate user

fee is charged for each animal

quarantined at the facility. Section 130.5

covers inspection services at privately

operated temporary import-quarantine

facilities. Under § 130.5, an hourly user

fee is charged for animals quarantined at

the facility. We are adding quarter-hour
20422 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

and minimum user fee rates to premium

user fees added in §§ 130.5, 130.9, and

130.21. We are clarifying § 130.20(a) and

§ 130.20(b)(1) to specify that the user

fees listed in § 130.20(b)(1) for

endorsing export health certificates

which require tests or vaccinations are

charged for endorsements when tests or

vaccinations are required. We are

changing ‘‘APHIS veterinarian’’ to

‘‘designated APHIS employee’’ and

changing ‘‘requested’’ to ‘‘requested and

reviewed’’ in § 130.20(d) of this final

rule. In addition, we are revising the

text of footnote 9 to reflect the

availability of lists for APHIS offices

that accept cash or credit cards.

Footnotes to text or tables in §§ 130.7,

130.8, 130.10, 130.14, and 130.15 have

been revised to add clarity. The

comments and responses are discussed

below by topic.

General Comments

One commenter opposed the entire

proposed rule. All of the other

commenters opposed some portion of

the proposed rule. Twelve commenters

included the following positive

comments concerning user fees and the

services APHIS provides. Several

commenters expressed an

understanding of our need to increase

user fees or supported user fees which

cover costs. Several expressed

appreciation for the services APHIS

provides, such as APHIS’ role in disease

control and maintenance of a healthy

and robust livestock industry in the

United States, helping export business

in the United States, and negotiating

import- and export-related issues with

foreign countries. One commenter

supported modest increases in certain

user fees as proposed.

1. Taxes and Budget Deficit

Nine commenters expressed concerns

about taxes and the budget deficit. Some

commenters expressed more than one

concern; specific concerns follow.

Two commenters stated that APHIS

was assessing taxes of its own volition.

Six commenters stated that the APHIS

user fee is a tax, not a fee.

A tax is money paid to support

government operations that benefit the

general public. A user fee is money

collected for a specific service provided

to a readily identifiable recipient. The

1990 Farm Bill authorizes USDA to

prescribe and collect user fees to

reimburse the cost of carrying out

certain import- and export-related

services for animals, animal products,

and veterinary diagnostics. The Farm

Bill further states that ‘‘Any person for

whom an activity related to the

importation, entry, or exportation of an

animal, article, or means of conveyance

or relating to veterinary diagnostics, is

performed pursuant to the section, shall

be liable for payment of fees assessed.’’

Generally speaking, no one is required

to conduct any business or endeavor

which is regulated by APHIS. However,

anyone who does so must comply with

APHIS requirements. In this manner, all

users ask for service from APHIS. The

APHIS user fees herein are designed to

recover and fund the cost of providing

specific services. As such, the APHIS

user fee is a fee for specific services

provided to a certain portion of the

public and, therefore, is not a tax.

Three commenters stated that our

services are already paid for by taxes,

and therefore, we should not charge fees

for them. One commenter suggested that

we should fund increases in the costs

through other methods.

After the passage of the 1990 Farm

Bill, Congress reduced APHIS’

appropriations (i.e., tax revenue) by the

estimated costs of providing these

import- and export-related services.

Congress authorized APHIS to recover

all costs associated with these services

by establishing and charging user fees.

Consequently, any increases in our costs

must be recovered by increasing the

user fees we charge. Otherwise, we

would have to reduce or discontinue the

service or use funds appropriated for

other purposes, to the detriment of the

program from which the funds were

reallocated.

One commenter stated that APHIS

user fees should not be used for general

Federal budget deficit reduction. One

commenter questioned what will be

done with revenues.

The user fees are not being used for

general Federal budget deficit reduction

in the sense that the revenue does not

fund or offset general government

operations. The user fees collected pay

for the actual user fee services provided

and will allow APHIS to continue

providing import- and export-related

and veterinary diagnostic services. The

user fees our Agency collects for these

services are deposited into user fee

accounts, and the salaries of

veterinarians, animal health

technicians, and other APHIS personnel

who perform these services are paid

from this account. An employee who

spends a portion of his work time on

user fee activities and a portion on other

activities is paid the appropriate

percentage of his salary with user fee

revenue. In addition, a pro rata share of

administrative support, agency

overhead, and Departmental charges is

paid from this account.

Two commenters questioned user fees

as they relate to other APHIS services.

One commenter questioned charging

user fees for certain services when other

services are provided at no cost. The

commenter referenced free rabies

vaccination clinics on reservations.

The Farm Bill identified specific

program areas for the implementation of

user fees, generally related to the

importation and exportation of animals

and animal products. APHIS does not

have the authority under the Farm Bill

to charge fees for other services, such as

rabies vaccinations, which we provide

on reservations to protect public health.

2. Fee Calculations

We received several comments related

to how we calculated our user fees. One

commenter was concerned about the

methods used to calculate the fees and

the possibility that the user fees are

underwriting other APHIS services.

Several comments questioned whether

we should include certain cost factors,

for example, agency overhead charges,

in calculating user fees. Other

comments stated that we would recover

more money from our proposed user

fees than it costs to provide APHIS

services.

As described in the proposal, the user

fees were calculated to recover the full

cost of providing the service for which

the fee is charged. ‘‘Full cost’’ includes

not only the direct labor of the

veterinarian, animal health technician,

or other APHIS personnel providing the

service, but a pro rata share of

administrative support, agency

overhead, and Departmental charges.

These additional indirect and overhead

costs are included as directed in the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) Circular A–25, User Charges, and

in accordance with generally accepted

cost accounting principles.

Had Congress intended for APHIS to

recover only direct labor costs, the

authorizing language would have

specified that and Congress would have

continued to give APHIS appropriations

to fully fund all indirect and overhead

costs associated with import- and

export-related services. The comments

that we may be underwriting other

services and that we will recover more

money than it costs to provide the

service would only be true if the Farm

Bill authorized us to only recover direct

costs. However, because we are

authorized to fully recover all costs, our

fees include all appropriate direct,

indirect, and overhead costs.

3. Trade Concerns

Twenty-eight commenters expressed

concern about the increases in user fees

and the possible subsequent decrease in

exports.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 20423

We realize that payment of the

proposed user fees will increase the upfront cost of doing business for

importers and exporters. However,

before this time, users have been

subsidized by the taxpayers in general,

in that those who receive services from

APHIS have not been charged the full

cost for services. As explained above,

appropriations from taxes are not

available to fund these services. To

continue providing import- and exportrelated and veterinary diagnostic

services, APHIS must charge user fees

which will recover the costs of

providing services. We attempt to

minimize the cost of our services to

keep APHIS user fees at the lowest

possible level. We do not anticipate that

exports will decline significantly as a

result of these increases in user fees.

Many commenters stated that our

proposed user fees would make it

difficult or impossible for U.S. products

to compete in the international

marketplace. Examples of the issues

raised included the following: U.S.

products will be less competitive, the

increased user fees will be a deterrent to

international trade, exportation of

animals will become unprofitable, and

there will be a decrease in export

activity. Many of these comments

mentioned trade related issues with

Canada.

Although some countries do not

currently charge for import- and exportrelated services, user fees for these

services are being adopted by more and

more countries. In fact, as of May 3,

1995, Canada charges user fees for

certain import- and export-related

animal health services (see May 3, 1995,

Canada Gazette Part II, Vol. 129, No. 9,

SOR/DORS/95–198). Therefore, we do

not believe that U.S. exporters are at a

competitive disadvantage compared

with exporters in other countries.

4. Other Countries’ Requirements

Two commenters raised the following

concerns related to the requirements

other countries impose on U.S. exports.

One commenter questioned why it costs

significantly more to export animals to

Canada as opposed to exporting animals

to the European Union.

APHIS costs for export-related

services depend on the importing

countries’ requirements. Canada has

significantly different paperwork

requirements than most other countries

in the world. Often, more work is

required on the part of APHIS

employees to ensure the animals being

exported have met all of Canada’s

paperwork requirements. In those

instances, the user fees for animals

being exported to Canada may be higher

than for animals exported to the rest of

the world.

One commenter suggested that APHIS

should seek elimination of import- and

export-related testing procedures which

are not science- or risk-based and which

may add unnecessary costs to importand export-related procedures.

According to the World Trade

Organization (WTO), as established by

the Uruguay Round of the General

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and the

North American Free Trade Agreement

(NAFTA), effective January 1995,

import- and export-related requirements

must be science- and risk-based. Along

with the United States, many countries

are revising their requirements to

comply with WTO and NAFTA. In

addition, APHIS continually negotiates

with other countries to achieve less

onerous import requirements for U.S.

exporters. Since our costs vary

depending on the requirements imposed

by the importing country, when other

countries lessen their import

requirements, our user fees may

decrease. For example, if a country were

to no longer require tests or were to

allow more animals on a single export

health certificate, the average amount of

time it would take to provide

endorsement services would decrease

and the user fees charged could

decrease.

5. Improve Services to Lower Costs

Six commenters suggested that we

lower costs and simplify paperwork

requirements. Five commenters

suggested that we review and improve

services. Specific suggestions included

privatizing services, automating

services, streamlining tests, increasing

field staff, and basing user fees on speed

of service.

APHIS continually strives to improve

efficiency in operations. APHIS seeks to

eliminate duplication of services and to

utilize employees better without

jeopardizing the quality of our work in

carrying out the provisions of the

Federal animal quarantine laws. Most

paperwork services and the related costs

associated with imports and exports are

required by the importing country and

we cannot do anything directly to

change those requirements. However, as

explained above, we do try to negotiate

with other countries to make

requirements less onerous. If we

propose to eliminate a service for which

we have a user fee, then we will also

propose to eliminate the user fee.

Likewise, if in the future we propose to

add a service, then we may also propose

to add a user fee for the service. If we

propose in the future to substantially

change a service for which we charge a

user fee, then we will recalculate the

user fee for the service to reflect those

changes.

6. Economic Analysis

One commenter stated that we should

have included a small business impact

statement in the proposed rule.

A regulatory flexibility analysis,

which includes a small business impact

statement, was included in the proposed

regulations at 60 FR 27919–27920.

One commenter stated that the costs

used in our economic analysis did not

provide an accurate picture of how

importers assess costs related to

importing animals. The commenter

specified that these costs are generally

broken down into the following three

areas: the purchase price of the animal,

freight charges, and importing or

exporting expenses.

The costs used in the economic

analysis performed for the regulatory

flexibility analysis for the proposal

included all of these expenses. As stated

in the proposal, the figures shown in the

analysis included purchase and import

costs, including freight. Therefore, we

are making no changes as a result of this

comment.

7. Effective Date

Three commenters suggested that we

delay the effective date of the final rule.

We understand the commenters’

desire to make business plans and not

have business affected by increases in

our user fees. Our proposal signaled our

intention to revise the import- and

export-related service user fees. The

proposal was published in the Federal

Register on May 25, 1995, and open for

public comments for 60 days. This rule

will not take effect until 30 days after

the date it is published in the Federal

Register. This delay should give the

commenters and others adequate time to

prepare.

8. Independent Review

One commenter suggested that a

review team should be established to

conduct an independent user fee

review.

APHIS monitors user fees regularly

and reviews user fees at least annually

to ensure that they continue to

correspond with our costs. In addition,

outside reviews are performed by the

Office of the Inspector General and the

General Accounting Office (GAO).

9. Privately Owned Import Quarantine

Facilities (§§ 130.4 and 130.5)

One commenter pointed out that

inspection services for animals provided

for privately owned permanent import

quarantine facilities under § 130.4 are
20424 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

similar to those provided for privately

owned temporary import quarantine

facilities under § 130.5, and stated that

having different user fees for similar

services is unfair. The commenter stated

that depending on the number of

animals being imported, the user fees

could be less for the services provided

under § 130.5 during the regular tour of

duty and on overtime than the user fee

for the same services if provided under

§ 130.4. The commenter asked if APHIS

is recovering all the import-related costs

from the hourly user fee charged under

§ 130.5; and if so, why is there such a

difference between that hourly user fee

and the per head flat rate user fee plus

reimbursable overtime proposed under

§ 130.4 which can be higher.

The commenter is correct that

depending on the number of animals

being imported, if service must be

provided on overtime, then the per head

user fees charged under § 130.4 can be

higher than the hourly user fees charged

under § 130.5. We have evaluated this

situation and have determined that

based on the similar nature of the

services being provided, animals that

are imported into a permanent facility

should be charged at the same rate as

those imported into a temporary facility.

As suggested by the commenter, we are

making the fees the same. We are

making this change by eliminating

§ 130.4 and including privately owned

permanent import quarantine facilities

under § 130.5.

10. Overtime and Premium User Fees

(§§ 130.5, 130.9, and 130.21)

One commenter stated that charging

both reimbursable overtime and the flat

rate user fee under § 130.4 is double

charging for the time spent by USDA

personnel.

As explained above, we are

eliminating § 130.4 and these services

will now be covered under § 130.5.

Under § 130.5, during overtime, only the

premium rate user fee will be charged.

One commenter asked if there are any

quarter- or half-hour premium user fee

rates for the premium hourly user fee.

We are adding quarter-hour and

minimum rates for each of the new

premium user fees. Not listing such

rates was an oversight in the proposal.

For periods of less than an hour, the

quarter-hour premium rate will be

multiplied by 2 or 3 for half and three

quarters of an hour, respectively.

Therefore, we are not adding half-hour

premium rates. The premium user fee

will become the new hourly overtime

charge for import- and export-related

services; it will apply to services

provided under §§ 130.5, 130.9, and

130.21 and replace our previous policy

of charging a user fee at the hourly rate

(per 9 CFR part 130) plus reimbursable

overtime at the hourly rate (per 9 CFR

part 97).

One commenter protested that the

proposed premium user fee is an

increase over the current overtime rate.

While the hourly rate for the premium

user fee is higher than the hourly

reimbursable overtime rate, application

of the premium user fee will decrease

the overall user fee charges because the

premium user fee will be charged in lieu

of both the hourly user fee and

reimbursable overtime. Therefore, we

are making no changes based on this

comment.

One commenter questioned how the

new premium user fee will apply.

Another commenter, stating that work

for which the user fees are charged

usually takes 15 minutes, protested the

minimum time charged for the work

during overtime.

For clarification, in §§ 130.5, 130.9,

and 130.21 we will add that the

procedures for applying the new

premium user fee rates will follow the

procedures for applying reimbursable

overtime as prescribed under 9 CFR part

97 with regard, for example, to callbacks, continuation, commuted travel

time, and maximum travel times. For

example, when 9 CFR part 97 prescribes

a 2 hour minimum, that 2 hour

minimum will be charged at the

premium user fee rate. This is consistent

with United States Code, Title 5

Government Organizations and

Employees, Subchapter V Premium Pay,

section 5542 (referenced in the authority

citation for this final rule), which states

that ‘‘unscheduled overtime work

performed by an employee on a day

when work was not scheduled for him,

or for which he is required to return to

his place of employment, is deemed at

least 2 hours in duration.’’ Because

employees are entitled to a 2 hour

minimum of pay in these circumstances,

we must charge a minimum of 2 hours

in order to recover the cost of providing

that service on overtime.

11. Import Fee (§ 130.7)

One commenter stated that the user

fee charged in § 130.7 would not fully

recover costs if an APHIS veterinarian

had to travel to a port to perform the

inspections. The commenter suggested

that we change this flat rate user fee to

an hourly user fee to fully recover costs.

The commenter is correct that, as

calculated, the user fees may not cover

the costs of providing import and entry

services at any given air or ocean port.

These user fees were calculated based

on the average time required for an

APHIS employee to provide import or

entry services at all ports. The

occasional inspections which require an

APHIS veterinarian to travel to a limited

port, as designated in 9 CFR part 92,

were one of the many factors considered

in calculating the user fees. To reflect

past experience, the calculation for

these user fees included 2 hours of

travel time for 1 percent of the estimated

importations. We are making no changes

based on this comment. However, we

will consider this for future revisions to

the user fees. All user fee changes will

be published in the Federal Register for

public comment.

12. Germ Plasm User Fees (§ 130.8)

One commenter questioned the

statement in the proposal that empty

germ plasm containers that have been

exported are presented for inspection

when returned to the United States. The

commenter asked if there was a protocol

in place to ensure that these containers

are presented for inspection.

APHIS employees review ship

manifests to determine which items

need to be held for inspection. The

empty germ plasm containers are listed

on the ship manifests, held, and

inspected.

One commenter suggested charging an

hourly user fee for import germ plasm

inspections because the time spent

performing the inspections at the port is

usually 3 hours; this time would not be

covered by the flat rate user fee.

The calculation for the user fee for

imported germ plasm considered

inspection at all ports. These user fees

were calculated on the average direct

labor hours required for the inspections

nationwide. We surveyed APHIS

employees performing the inspections

and visited ports to determine the

amount of direct labor required for the

inspections. Therefore, we are making

no changes based on this comment.

However, we will consider this for

future revisions. All user fee changes

will be published in the Federal

Register for public comment.

One commenter suggested we charge

the same amount for endorsing export

health certificates for each group of five

embryo donor pairs.

We have determined that there is a

marginal cost decrease to endorse

additional groups of donor pairs on the

same export health certificate. User fees

are calculated to recover only the cost

of services. Therefore, the proposed

tiered user fee rate, with a lower fee for

additional groups of donor pairs on the

same certificate, is appropriate. We are

making no changes based on this

comment.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 20425

13. User Fees for Endorsing Export

Health Certificates (§ 130.20)

The May 26, 1995, proposed rule also

proposed to raise user fees for endorsing

export health certificates for the

exportation of animals and animal

products. APHIS employees endorse

export health certificates in accordance

with the regulations in 9 CFR part 91.

An APHIS endorsement certifies that

animals and animal products being

exported from the United States are free

from communicable diseases.

Most of the comments we received

addressed these user fees. The

commenters were opposed to any fee

increases. The comments raised the

following issues.

User Fee Increases

According to most of the commenters,

proposed user fees for endorsement of

export health certificates are too high,

and the increases are not justified.

We understand that some of the

proposed user fees for endorsement of

export health certificates are

significantly higher than the previous

user fees. The reason is that the

previous user fees were based on

estimates and were set too low. The

original user fees for export health

certificates implemented in January

1992 were calculated using the best

information available at that time. Since

that time, APHIS has separately

identified, through our accounting

system, costs for services for which user

fees are authorized. Our accounting data

and a deficit of over $1 million for each

fiscal year from 1992 through 1994 for

export-related user fee services shows

that the previous user fees have not

been recovering our costs. Our proposed

user fees were calculated based on more

accurate information, including all of

the costs of providing our services, than

was available when we calculated our

previous user fees.

In addition to our accounting data, we

surveyed APHIS locations nationwide

where export health certificates are

endorsed to identify the amount of

direct labor time APHIS employees

spend providing these services. Direct

labor activities may include the

following: Telephone time for providing

information about the export health

certification process, mailing

information to customers, protocol

research, review of paperwork such as

health certificates, verification of

laboratory test results, confirmation that

the importing country’s requirements

have been met, paperwork completeness

review, certification statements review,

endorsement/signing, placing an official

seal on documents if needed, and

completing APHIS paperwork related to

the endorsement. Many of the activities

listed above must be performed to make

it possible for APHIS employees to

endorse the export health certificates.

Some endorsements are for exportations

which are routine and require relatively

little time. Other endorsements require

more work and therefore take more

time. Further, endorsements of export

health certificates of the same certificate

category take different amounts of time

because import requirements differ for

each importing country. On average,

when no tests or vaccinations are

required, direct labor time for endorsing

export health certificates varies, by

category, between 14 and 22 minutes,

for example, endorsements for poultry

take 18 minutes. On average, when

verification of tests or vaccinations is

required, direct labor time for endorsing

export health certificates varies, based

on the number of tests, between 45 and

65 minutes for the first animal on the

certificate.

After estimating the average direct

labor time involved in endorsing export

health certificates, direct labor costs

were calculated. To calculate the direct

labor costs, we used the actual salary of

each individual that provides the

services and weighted these costs

according to the number of export

health certificates endorsed at each

location to arrive at the average direct

labor rate per hour, $34.06. This

includes salary and benefits.

The average number of minutes per

endorsement is multiplied by the

average direct labor rate to arrive at the

total direct labor cost in each certificate

category.

User fee calculations were based on

the direct labor costs and a pro rata

share of support costs, agency overhead,

and Departmental charges. Costs were

assigned directly to a service only when

the cost was directly related to

providing that service. Where an

expense was attributable to several or all

categories of service, it was pro-rated

among the categories based on historic

direct labor staff hours. This calculation

provided the raw fee.

As explained in the proposal, we

rounded the raw fees up to the nearest

quarter. We rounded them off to

simplify collection and accounting. We

rounded our user fees up, rather than

down, because if we were to round

down, even if only by pennies, the user

fees would not fully recover our costs.

If there is a shortfall for a service

category, we cannot recover it by

charging a higher user fee for another

service category.

We compared the resulting user fees

and the revenue they generate to the

costs of these activities for

reasonableness. Adjustments were made

for anticipated changes in volume,

based on past changes and other factors

such as current market and economic

conditions.

We put as much of our supporting

data in the proposed rulemaking as

possible. However, it was not feasible to

include all the materials used to

develop the user fees. Therefore, as

stated in the proposed rulemaking, we

made it available for inspection at our

headquarters in Riverdale, MD.

Many of the comments related to the

proposed increases in poultry health

certificates. Therefore, we have

included an example of the calculation

for the user fee for endorsing export

health certificates for poultry. The

average amount of time it takes to

endorse an export health certificate for

poultry is 18 minutes, which can

include any of the direct labor activities

listed above. Using the average direct

labor rate per hour of $34.06, the direct

labor cost for 18 minutes is $10.08. As

described earlier, the following costs are

the pro rata share for endorsing export

health certificates. Administrative

support costs are added at about $0.69

for each $1 of direct labor incurred,

adding $6.89. Agency overhead and

departmental charges are added at $2.74

and $1.08, respectively. The total cost is

$20.79, which is rounded up to the

nearest quarter to $21.00. When

factoring in all of the costs involved in

endorsing an export health certificate,

the fees are reasonable. When

comparing the proposed user fees to the

previous user fees, which were too low,

they appear high. However, we could

not continue to provide these services if

we did not increase the user fees to fully

recover our costs. Therefore, we are

making no changes based on these

comments.

Objections to User Fees for Endorsing

Export Health Certificates

Many commenters objected in general

terms to user fees for endorsing export

health certificates.

Export health certificates are required

by the country importing the animal or

animal product; they are not required by

APHIS, USDA, or any other agency or

organization within the Federal

Government. Therefore, we are unable

to eliminate services and costs

associated with the endorsement of

export health certificates. However, we

do attempt, whenever possible, to

negotiate with foreign governments to

eliminate export health certificate

requirements or make them less onerous

to U.S. exporters. We are continually

negotiating with other countries to
20426 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

eliminate or minimize requirements.

The success of our negotiations can be

seen in the following changes in other

country’s requirements. Canadian test

requirements for blue tongue tests on

live cattle have been liberalized. Chile

has dropped test requirements for

contagious caprine pleuropneumonia

tests on U.S. goats. Argentina has

dropped test requirements for

contagious equine metritis test

requirements for horses. In addition,

there are ongoing negotiations with

Mexico to eliminate their requirement

that breeding swine be tested for

porcine respiratory and reproductive

syndrome, and with Russia to sustain

markets for U.S. fresh and frozen

poultry meat. We will continue to work

for improvements in these and other

areas.

Small Business

Many commenters maintained the

proposed APHIS user fees would be

detrimental to small businesses in

general, or to specific industries, such as

manufacturers of medical diagnostic

reagents. Other commenters stated that

paying the user fees would be a

hardship, increase their cost of doing

business, or have other detrimental

effects. Some commenters proposed that

we exempt certain industries or classes

of users from the proposed user fees or

charge them reduced fees. Among those

mentioned were members of the poultry

industry involved in the National

Poultry Improvement Plan.

We realize that the proposed user fees

may increase the up-front cost of doing

business. APHIS sympathizes with these

commenters and has attempted to

minimize the cost of services to keep the

user fees at the lowest possible level for

all users.

However, when Congress authorized

APHIS to prescribe and collect user fees

to recover the costs of import- and

export-related services for animals,

birds, and animal products, it

specifically reduced APHIS’

appropriations by the estimated amount

of providing such services. Currently,

APHIS is not appropriated funds to

cover the cost of providing these

services. Therefore, APHIS cannot

exempt certain classes of users, such as

small businesses, from the user fees, and

cannot charge user fees which recover

less than the full cost of providing the

service without using funds

appropriated for other purposes. We are

therefore not making any changes based

on these comments.

Services Provided

Nine commenters addressed the

services for which APHIS charges user

fees to endorse export health

certificates. Several commenters raised

more than one issue; specific issues

follow.

Five commenters took exception to

the perceived duplication of services

provided by local veterinarians and

APHIS veterinarians.

Even though local veterinarians may

be federally accredited, importing

countries require an APHIS veterinarian

to endorse export health certificates.

Several commenters objected to user

fees for services required by the

regulations, as opposed to voluntary

services.

Our authority to collect user fees does

not distinguish between mandatory and

voluntary services. Further, we do not

agree with the commenters’ basic

proposition that users do not ask for

APHIS services if they are complying

with a regulatory requirement. As stated

in § 130.20 of the regulations, ‘‘An

export 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.’’ No one

is required to conduct any business or

endeavor which is regulated by APHIS.

However, anyone who does so must

comply with APHIS requirements. In

this manner, all users ask for service

from APHIS.

APHIS services are provided to

enhance U.S. agriculture. APHIS

services concerning exportation of

animals and animal products are

designed either to provide services to

exporters which they need in order to

meet requirements of the importing

country, or to help ensure that no

infected animals or animal products are

exported from the United States. This

service helps protect the individual

exporter and helps foreign markets for

American animals and animal products.

Many commenters asserted that most

of the work is performed by the

exporters and local veterinarians, and

that APHIS only signs the forms.

Even though in some instances it may

appear to the person obtaining the

endorsement for the export health

certificate that the only step APHIS does

is sign the certificates, there are many

other steps that may be involved. As

explained earlier in response to another

comment, direct labor activities may

include the following: Telephone time

for providing information about the

export health certification process,

mailing information to customers,

protocol research, review of paperwork

such as health certificates, verification

of laboratory test results, confirmation

that the importing country’s

requirements have been met, paperwork

completeness review, certification

statements review, endorsement/

signing, placing an official seal on

documents if needed, and completing

APHIS paperwork related to the

endorsement. Many of the activities

listed above must be performed to make

it possible for APHIS employees to

endorse the export health certificates.

Multiple Versus Single Export Health

Certificates

Three commenters were concerned

about whether we would charge for

multiple or single export health

certificates in situations where multiple

export health certificates are required

for a single exportation or where

multiple similar export health

certificates are required in a limited

time. Examples included egg shipments

to one corporate agent who then

redistributes the eggs to various

customers; containers of export product

which require up to five copies of the

same export health certificate, each

requiring an original signature; and

hundreds of export health certificates

per month where the commenter

suggested that economies of scale and

time management could be realized if

numerous certificates are signed at the

same time.

Different countries have different

requirements as to the number and

kinds of tests that are required and the

number of animals, birds, or animal

products which can be covered by one

export health certificate. As a result, the

amount of time required to endorse

export health certificates varies. Since

our goal is to fully recover our costs, we

charge the user fee that equals the work

required for an export health certificate

going from one consignee to one

consignor. If the APHIS employee

responsible for endorsing the export

health certificate determines that the

animals, birds, or animal products are

part of one consignment, originating

from one farm or ranch and destined for

one location, the user is charged as

though all of the animals, birds, or

animal products are on one export

health certificate. If this is not the case,

more work may be required for the

endorsement, and a separate fee is

assessed for each endorsement. For

occasions where shipments being

exported from the same consignor to the

same consignee are presented a day

apart, a separate fee is charged for each

endorsement.

Nonendorsed Export Health Certificates

Seven commenters opposed the new

user fee in § 130.20(d) for nonendorsed

export health certificates. There
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 20427

appeared to be confusion about the

reasons for charging the user fee for

nonendorsed export health certificates

and when the user fee would be

charged.

To clarify our intentions, we are not

charging $16.50 for blank export health

certificates. Rather, the user fee will be

assessed after the APHIS veterinarian

has received the export health certificate

for endorsement, has begun to review it,

and subsequently finds a problem

which prevents him or her from

endorsing the export health certificate

as presented. At this point the APHIS

veterinarian will return the

nonendorsed export health certificate to

the exporter for corrective action. Since

work has been performed, we must

charge the user fee to recover our costs

for the services. To clarify this, we are

revising the wording proposed in

§ 130.20(d) to specify that the charge

applies to export health certificates

presented for endorsement which were

reviewed, but not endorsed.

Nonslaughter Horses to Canada

One commenter raised concerns about

the movement of race horses to Canada.

The commenter maintained that export

health certificates and inspections

should not be required for race horses,

and stated that Canadian race tracks are

dropping the Coggins test requirement.

As explained earlier, we are

continually negotiating with Canada

and other countries to eliminate or

minimize their import requirements.

The movement of race horses is one of

the items under discussion. If Canadian

requirements change, or if a service is

no longer required because Canada has

changed its import requirements, any

corresponding fee changes will be

published in the Federal Register for

public comment.

Slaughter Animals to Canada or Mexico

One commenter questioned whether,

for slaughter animals going to Canada or

Mexico, we will charge the flat rate user

fee in § 130.20(a) or the scaled user fee

in § 130.20(b)(1) which is based on the

number of tests or vaccinations required

for the animals listed on the export

health certificate. This question was

raised because all cattle, including

slaughter cattle, are required to be tested

for tuberculosis and brucellosis prior to

exportation.

To fully recover our costs, the user

fees in § 130.20(b)(1) apply whenever

tests or vaccinations are required. Costs

associated with endorsing export health

certificates which cover individually

identified animals requiring tests or

vaccinations are higher than those

which cover animals as a group which

do not require tests or vaccinations.

This is because APHIS personnel must

verify the results of tests or

vaccinations. The greater the number of

animals, and the larger the number of

tests or vaccinations, the more time

consuming it is for APHIS personnel to

perform the verifications necessary to

endorse export health certificates. To

clarify which fee is charged, we are

revising the text in § 130.20(a) and (b)(1)

to indicate that § 130.20(b)(1) applies

when tests or vaccinations are required

and § 130.20(a) applies when tests and

vaccinations are not required.

Reconsider User Fee Increases

Three commenters suggested that we

reconsider the user fee increases for

export health certificates and get more

input from industry.

By publishing the proposed rule and

requesting comments for 60 days we

believe that we have provided industry

with ample opportunity to provide

input into the changes in the export

health certificate user fees. Therefore,

we are making no changes based on

these comments.

APHIS veterinarian

One commenter questioned what

would happen when an export health

certificate for an animal product is not

endorsed by an APHIS veterinarian, but

by another APHIS employee.

Other designated APHIS employees

may endorse export health certificates

for animal products. Therefore, in

§ 130.20(d), we are changing the term

‘‘APHIS veterinarian’’ to ‘‘designated

APHIS employee’’.

14. Payment of User Fees (§ 130.50)

One commenter suggested that we

charge user fees in whole dollar

amounts to eliminate the need for

APHIS offices to keep and make change.

APHIS offices should rarely need to

accept cash, as we also accept credit

cards and checks in payment for user

fees. The regulations explain that a list

of the APHIS offices which accept each

form of payment is available from

APHIS headquarters in Riverdale, MD.

The slight inconvenience to APHIS

created by accepting change is more

than offset by convenience to the public.

Therefore, we are making no changes

based on this comment.

Therefore, based on the rationale set

forth in the proposed rule and in this

document, we are adopting the

provisions of the proposal as a final

rule, with the changes discussed in this

document.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory

Flexibility Act

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12866. The 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.

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 601 et

seq., we have performed a Final

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, set forth

below, regarding the economic effect of

this rule on small entities.

Need and Objective of This Rule

In accordance with the Farm Bill of

1990, the Secretary of Agriculture is

authorized 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). The Secretary of

Agriculture is also authorized, under

section 2509(c)(2) of the Farm Bill, to

prescribe and collect fees to recover the

costs of carrying out certain veterinary

diagnostics services. As a result of this

authority, Congress no longer allocates

funds to APHIS for these import- and

export-related services and veterinary

diagnostics services. Therefore, we

established user fees which were

intended to recover the full cost of

providing these services. The cost of

providing these services includes direct

labor costs and a pro rata share of

administrative support, agency

overhead, and Departmental charges.

When we established our original user

fees on February 9, 1992, we used the

best estimates we had available. At that

time, our accounting system did not

track costs related to these services

separately from other appropriation

funded activities. When a service has

been provided to the users free of charge

for years, it is difficult to predict the

economic decisions people will make

regarding those services after a user fee

is established. Therefore, we had to

estimate the costs and the demand for

those services without historical data for

import- and export-related services.

Since we established these user fees,

our accounting system has tracked the

costs associated with user fees by

imports and exports and for veterinary

diagnostics. Therefore, we now have

actual cost and usage data for our

calculations. This has also improved the

accuracy of our estimates for other user

fees. The original user fees established

on February 2, 1992, were primarily for

export-related services. On September 1,

1993, we established user fees for

veterinary diagnostics services. On
20428 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

January 21, 1994, we established

additional user fees primarily for

import-related services. Annual reviews

of our user fees, based on our

accounting data and experience with

providing these services, show that

while many of the estimates resulted in

accurate user fees which require only

moderate increases, some of our original

user fees were significantly lower than

the cost of providing the services.

Because these user fees were set too

low, we have been running a deficit to

provide the requested services.

Therefore, these user fees must be

increased to recover the costs of

providing requested services.

Specifically, we reviewed our records

of user fees collected during fiscal years

(FYs) 1992 through 1995. The original

user fees established on February 9,

1992, are based on FY 90 costs. In the

5 years since then, there has been an

overall increase in all costs of providing

services, due to inflation and changes in

general economic conditions.

Additionally, we underestimated

personnel costs when we set the user

fees. For example, in addition to

anticipated Federal pay increases (4.2

percent in FY 92 and 3.7 percent in FY

93), in FY 94, there were locality pay

and cost of living increases of 3.09 to 8

percent for employees stationed in

different parts of the United States. We

also underestimated support costs, such

as clerical support, office rent,

telephone, etc., in setting our current

user fees. As a result, the costs of

endorsing export health certificates, for

example, for which we established user

fees on February 9, 1992, were

drastically underestimated. In addition,

the user fees established on January 21,

1994, lacked the pay raises and

increased costs since they were

calculated in 1993 based on FY 92 costs.

As a result of general cost increases

and the inherent difficulty in setting

new user fees, as discussed above, we

did not collect enough money in user

fees during FYs 1992 through 1995 to

recover the costs of providing the

services for which we charged user fees.

In fact, for each of those fiscal years, we

incurred a deficit of over $1 million. As

our user fees are intended to recover full

cost, it is apparent that our user fees are

too low and must be raised to reflect

changes in actual costs and demand for

services.

Changes to the Regulations

Consequently, this rule updates

certain user fees related to import- and

export-related inspection and

certification, animal quarantine, and

veterinary diagnostics. This rule

changes user fees that are currently

charged for eight broad categories of

services. These services include the

inspection, certification, or

authorization of: (1) live animal imports

at animal import centers; (2) live animal

imports at the Mexican border; (3) live

animal imports at the Canadian border,

airports, and ocean ports; (4) other

import and inspection services for the

importation of live animals and animal

products; (5) veterinary diagnostics; (6)

the endorsement of export health

certificates; (7) facility rentals at APHIS’

animal import centers and (8) import

and export hourly user fees. New user

fees are also being established for the

exclusive use of additional space at the

Animal Import Center in Newburgh,

NY, for the endorsement of export

health certificates for animal products,

and for pet birds quarantined in an

APHIS owned or supervised quarantine

facility. In addition, we are changing

our method of charging hourly user fees

when import- and export-related

services are performed outside of an

employee’s normal tour of duty.

Overall Impact of Changes

Table 1 summarizes the estimated

changes in user fees that are necessary

to fully recover costs. This rule will

result in a net increase in agency

collections of about $3 million, from $8

million to $11 million. Approximately

$1.1 million of this increase represents

new user fees and $2 million is

attributed to changes in current

collections (revised and premium user

fees). These changes will shift the

burden from taxpayers to the importers

and exporters who use these APHIS

services. Additional tables providing

details of the user fee changes

summarized in Table 1 are available for

inspection 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 these detailed tables

are requested to call ahead on (202)

690–2817 to facilitate entry into the

reading room.

TABLE 1.—SUMMARY OF ESTIMATED COLLECTIONS FOR IMPORT- AND EXPORT-RELATED SERVICES 1

Category Current Projected Change

New User Fees:

Exclusive use of space at the Newburgh, NY Animal Import Center (9 CFR § 130.3) ....... ........................ $157,109 $157,109

Quarantine for pet birds (9 CFR § 130.10) ........................................................................... ........................ 265,245 265,245

Endorsement of export health certificates for animal products (9 CFR § 130.20) ............... ........................ 645,000 645,000

Total New User Fees ..................................................................................................... ........................ 1,067,354 1,067,354

Revised User Fees:

Animal import centers (9 CFR § 130.2) ................................................................................ 2,168,468 2,461,334 292,865

APHIS animal import centers and hourly user fees (9 CFR §§ 130.3, 130.5, 130.9,

130.10, and 130.21) .......................................................................................................... 648,318 740,942 92,624

Imports at the Mexican border (9 CFR § 130.6) ................................................................... 1,047,184 1,214,532 167,349

Imports at other ports of entry (9 CFR § 130.7) ................................................................... 817,862 834,251 16,388

Import and inspection services (9 CFR § 130.8) .................................................................. 944,087 970,072 25,986

Veterinary diagnostics (9 CFR § 130.16) .............................................................................. 450,118 429,076 (21,042)

Endorsements of export health certificates (9 CFR § 130.20) ............................................. 798,260 2,195,111 1,396,851

Total Revised User Fees ............................................................................................... 6,874,296 8,845,316 1,971,020

Premium User Fees (9 CFR §§ 130.5, 130.9, and 130.21) ......................................................... 990,900 1,033,319 42,419

Total Revised Collections (Revised and Premium User Fees) ..................................... 7,865,196 9,878,635 2,013,439
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 20429

2 Information on profits from sales by small

entities is proprietary in nature and was not

available to APHIS for this analysis.

3The measurement of supply responsiveness

would provide information on the likely impact on

an entity’s production due to changes in operating

costs.

4Projections based on average annual volume

estimates provided by the Financial Systems and

Services Branch, Budget and Accounting Division,

Management and Budget, APHIS, USDA. Note:

Column and row totals may not be exact due to

rounding.

TABLE 1.—SUMMARY OF ESTIMATED COLLECTIONS FOR IMPORT- AND EXPORT-RELATED SERVICES 1—Continued

Category Current Projected Change

Projected Total (New and Revised) ............................................................................... 7,865,196 10,945,989 3,080,793

1Projections based on average annual volume estimates provided by the Financial Systems and Services Branch, Budget and Accounting Division, Management and Budget, APHIS, USDA. NOTE: Column and row totals may not be exact due to rounding.

Summary of Comments, Assessment of

Issues, and Resulting Changes

Due to the nature of this rule, most of

the comments we received on the

proposed rule focused on economic

issues; several took exception to the

results of our economic analysis. The

comments raised concerns about

potential inequitable charges for

permanent and temporary privately

owned import quarantine facilities

(§ 130.4 and § 130.5, respectively),

impacts on small entities, increases in

user fees for the endorsement of export

health certificates, and impact on

international trade. As a result of the

issues raised about inequitable charges,

we combined the user fee regulations for

permanent and temporary facilities

under § 130.5 and removed § 130.4 from

the regulations. This will result in lower

charges for economies of scale where

there are multiple animals in a single

shipment than those previously

assessed under § 130.4 for permanent

facilities. Assessments of the other

issues raised are provided in the more

detailed economic analysis below.

Impact on Small Entities

User fee revisions included in this

rule could affect some importers and

exporters of live animals, importers and

exporters of animal byproducts, and

firms that seek APHIS’ veterinary

diagnostic services. We received

comments from importers and

exporters, many of whom are small

entities. The Small Business

Administration’s definition of a small

entity involved in these activities is one

whose total sales is less than $5 million

annually. The number of entities who

are importing and exporting live

animals and would qualify as a small

entity under this definition cannot be

determined. However, except possibly

for those entities who deal exclusively

in more valuable animals, such as

breeding or registered animals, data

from the 1995 Bureau of the Census

indicates that the majority of

agricultural entities who deal in less

valuable animals, such as feeding or

slaughter animals, can be considered

small. While there is a wide range in the

sizes of entities who use our importand export-related services, our

experience shows that as many as 50

percent may be considered large.

To the extent that changes in user fees

will impact operational costs or profits,

any entity who utilizes APHIS’s services

and is subject to user fees will be

impacted by this rule. The degree of the

impact depends on the entity’s market

power, or the ability to which cost

increases can be either absorbed or

passed on to its buyers. Without

information on either profit margins and

operational expenses of the affected

entities,2 or the supply responsiveness

of the affected industry,3 the impacts

cannot be precisely predicted. However,

given the amount of the user fee changes

(and new user fees) relative to the value

of the imported or exported animals and

animal products, some conclusions on

overall impacts to domestic and

international commerce are drawn

below.

Exports

Many comments addressed the impact

these user fee increases will have on

exports. Most of these comments

objected to increases in the user fees for

the endorsement of export health

certificates. Many of the comments we

received focused on the impact on

entities in the poultry and horse

industries.

Most of the commenters stated that

the increase in the user fee for the

endorsement of export health

certificates for poultry and hatching

eggs is too high. As explained earlier,

these user fees were based on FY 90

costs and low estimates of personnel

costs. The user fees have not been

increased in 5 years, and the original

user fees were drastically

underestimated.

Breeding chicks and hatching eggs,

while worth only fractions of a dollar

individually, are generally exported in

batches of up to hundreds of thousands;

the total value of these shipments could

exceed $10,000. As shown in Table 2,

the user fee for the endorsement of

export health certificates for poultry and

eggs is $21.00 (an increase of $19.00

from the original $2.00 user fee). The

user fee is less than 0.5 percent of the

estimated value of a shipment.

Therefore, while the increase in the user

fee is significant, the user fee is still

small relative to the total value of the

shipments. Table 2: Projected User Fee

Collections for the Endorsement of

Export Health Certificates (9 CFR

§ 130.20).4
20430 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

Category Annual volume

User fee Collections

Current New Change Current Projected

Per Certificate User Fees:

Slaughter Animals to Canada or Mexico ................... 4,811 $10.00 $24.50 $14.50 $48,110 $117,870

Non-Slaughter Horses to Canada ............................. 27,275 10.00 26.25 16.25 272,750 715,969

Poultry ........................................................................ 7,037 2.00 21.00 19.00 14,074 147,777

Hatching Eggs ........................................................... 7,036 2.00 21.00 19.00 14,072 147,756

Other:

Endorsements ............................................................ 20,748 4.00 16.50 12.50 82,992 342,342

Per Head User Fees:

Export Animal, 1–2 tests ........................................... 2,656 38.00 52.50 14.50 100,928 139,440

Each additional animal ....................................... 35,235 1.00 3.00 2.00 35,235 105,705

Export Animal, 3–6 tests ........................................... 3,950 41.50 64.75 23.25 163,925 255,763

Each additional animal ....................................... 34,905 1.25 5.00 3.754 3,631 174,525

Export Animal, 7 + tests ............................................ 421 44.00 75.75 31.75 18,524 31,891

Each additional animal ....................................... 2,679 1.50 6.00 4.50 4,019 16,074

Projected totals ............................................ .................... .................... .................... .................... 798,260 2,195,111

Since many of the comments related

to the proposed increases in user fees

for the endorsement of export health

certificates concerned poultry and egg

exports, we will show how this user fee

is calculated by using, as an example,

the endorsement of an export health

certificate for poultry. The calculation

for the user fees for endorsing other

export health certificates varies by the

amount of direct labor hours required to

provide the endorsement services. The

average amount of time it takes to

endorse an export health certificate for

poultry is 18 minutes. The direct labor

time includes phone time, paperwork

review time, and endorsement time.

Using the average direct labor cost per

hour of $34.06, the direct labor cost for

18 minutes is $10.08. As described

earlier, the following costs are the pro

rata share for endorsing export health

certificates.

Administrative support costs are

added at about $0.69 for each $1.00 of

direct labor incurred, adding $6.89.

Administrative support costs include

local clerical and administrative

activities; indirect labor hours

(supervision of personnel and time

spent doing work that is not directly

connected with the service but which is

nonetheless necessary, such as repairing

equipment); travel and transportation

for personnel; supplies, equipment, and

other necessary items; training; general

supplies for offices, washrooms,

cleaning, etc.; contractual services (such

as guard service, maintenance, trash

pickup, etc.); grounds maintenance;

chemicals and glassware; and utilities

(such as water, telephone, electricity,

natural and propane gas, heating and

diesel oil). Some administrative support

items may be contractual or not,

depending on local circumstances. For

example, trash pickup may be provided

as a contractual service or a utility.

However, the costs are all

administrative support.

In addition, Agency overhead and

departmental charges are added at $2.74

and $1.08, respectively. The total cost is

$20.79, which is rounded up to the

nearest quarter to $21.00. When

factoring in all of the costs involved in

endorsing an export health certificates,

the user fees are reasonable. When

comparing the proposed user fees to the

previous user fees, which were based on

FY 90 costs and were too low, they

appear high. However, we could not

continue to provide these services if we

did not increase the user fees to fully

recover our costs.

The value of a non-slaughter horse

could range between $1,000 and

$50,000 and more. As shown in Table

2, the user fee for non-slaughter horses

to Canada is $26.25 (an increase of

$16.25 from the original $10.00 user

fee). The user fee is less than 3 percent

of the lower value for the non-slaughter

horse. Therefore, the user fee is small

relative to the total value of the horse.

Many commenters stated that the user

fees for the endorsement of export

health certificates that require the

verification of tests are too high. As

shown in Table 2, for any animal,

endorsements requiring the verification

of 1 or 2 tests increased by $14.50 per

endorsement (from $38.00 to $52.50).

The largest increase of $31.75 per

endorsement (from $44.00 to $75.75)

relates to the endorsement of export

health certificates that require

verification of 7 or more tests required

by the importing country. Of the 80,277

certificates endorsed in FY 94, only 421

certificates (or 0.5 percent) were issued

that required the verification of 7 or

more tests. These certificates covered

3,092 animals for an average charge of

$7.29 per animal ($44.00 for the first

animal and $1.50 for additional animals

on a certificate). The new user fees raise

this average to $15.50 per animal

($75.75 for the first animal and $6.00 for

additional animals on a certificate), or a

difference of $8.21 per animal.

Certificates that are issued in this

category are endorsed largely for the

export of breeding or registered animals

whose worth could be over $2,000 per

animal. It is therefore expected that

these user fee increases will not have a

significant impact on exporters, given

that the amount of the increases is small

in comparison to the value of the

exported animals.

Impact on International Trade

Several commenters suggested that

the increases in user fees could result in

a decrease in international trade. Most

of the commenters specified trade in

poultry, horses, and cattle to Canada. As

stated above, the increases in the user

fees are small in relation to the value of

the exported animals. While it follows

that some businesses will feel the

impact of these increases, overall, the

revised user fees are not expected to

impede commerce and international

trade.

Although some countries do not

currently charge for import- and exportrelated services, user fees for these

services are being adopted by more and

more countries. In fact, as of May 8,

1995, Canada charges user fees for

certain import- and export-related

services (see May 3, 1995, Canada

Gazette Part II, Vol. 129, No. 9, SOR/

DORS/95–198). In addition, further

supports have been eliminated.

Therefore, we do not believe that U.S.

exporters are at a competitive

disadvantage compared with exporters

in other countries.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 20431

Imports

While most comments addressed

exports, several objected to the increases

in user fees for import-related services.

For import-related services for animals

at all ports of entry, including Canadian

and Mexican borders, and animal

import centers, increases from the

previous user fees range from $0.25 to

$21.00. Except for the increases of

$12.75 to $21.00 for import services for

equines at animal import centers, the

other increases are all $5.50 or less,

while the majority of these user fee

increases are less than $1.00. These

changes represent modest increases and

are a small fraction of the typical cost

of purchasing and importing a breeding

grade animal into the United States,

which ranges between $1,500 and

$5,000 per head. Purchase and import

costs for feeder and slaughter animals

are often significantly lower per animal,

but can easily exceed $1,500 per

shipment depending on the number and

type of animals in the shipment.

The increase in user fees for other

import services related to animal

products and byproducts range from

$0.50 for an application for a permit

renewal, to $10.25 for the inspection of

an approved establishment. Because the

user fees charged in this category of

service are based on either a per load,

inspection, application, or certification

basis, the amount of increase is small in

comparison to the total value of the

animal products and byproducts for

which the services are required. The

majority of the increases are $1.50 or

less. The $1.50 increase per permit for

the importation of germ plasm (from

$38.00 to $39.50), for instance, is not

expected to cause a significant

economic burden to importers, given

that the cost of importing semen could

be over $100,000 per permit when

imported from countries with foot-andmouth disease. Although the breakdown

of entity sizes is unknown, as stated

above, the revised user fees are not

expected to have a significant impact on

either large or small importers of live

animals and animal products.

Shift From Reimbursable Overtime to

Premium User Fees

This rule also changes the way in

which hourly user fees for import- and

export-related services conducted

outside an employee’s normal tour of

duty will be charged. While revising our

user fees, we took many factors into

account, including public confusion

about the way we charged for services

provided during overtime. As a result,

we changed the method of charging

hourly user fees for import- and exportrelated services provided outside of an

employee’s normal tour of duty. Now,

users of these services, previously

charged the hourly user fee plus

reimbursable overtime, will be charged

the single new premium user fee. This

premium user fee reflects both changes

in costs and a change in the structure of

the user fee. The intent of this change

is to avoid any confusion and the

perception of double charging for

services. The impact is to lower the

average hourly user fees for import- and

export-related services performed

outside of an employee’s normal tour of

duty.

The $1 million projected collection

for this category represents a modest

increase, approximately $40,000, to

APHIS collections. All of the projected

calculations are not considered new

user fees or new collections for APHIS

for the following reasons. In FY 95, we

collected $990,900 for import- and

export-related services that involved a

combination of both hourly user fees

and reimbursable overtime. Of this,

$398,425 was collected at the $50.00

hourly user fee, and $592,475 was

collected at the reimbursable overtime

rates specified in 9 CFR 97 (for example,

$37.84 for holidays and overtime other

than on Sundays). As explained below,

a portion of the $398,425 was for

services that began during the regular

tour of duty and for which the hourly

user fee will still be charged.

The hourly user fee charges

($398,425) include the costs for services

which may have begun during the

regular tour of duty but were completed

on overtime in addition to the hourly

user fee charge for the services provided

during overtime. Our accounting system

tracks user fees and reimbursable

overtime separately. While we can

identify total hourly user fees and total

reimbursable overtime hours performed

in conjunction, we cannot specifically

identify the hours of services which

began on regular time and continued

into overtime.

Next, reflecting the change in costs,

we estimated FY 95 collections using

the increased FY 96 hourly rate of

$56.00 plus reimbursable overtime.

With this increase in the hourly user

fee, the projected FY 96 collections

would have been $1,040,298 ($447,823

at $56.00 per hour for hourly user fees

and $592,475 at the reimbursable

overtime rates as described above).

Finally, we changed the method of

charging user fees for hourly services

performed during overtime to a single

premium user fee. To calculate the

projected FY 96 collections for the

premium user fee ($1,033,319), we used

the total FY 95 hours multiplied by the

average premium user fee (6 out of 7

days at $65.00 plus 1 out of 7 days at

$74.00, the sum divided by 7 days in a

week). Our historical accounting data

for reimbursable overtime confirms this

method resulted in a reasonable split

between Sunday and other overtime.

These calculations show an estimated

overall increase of approximately

$40,000. While this is a modest increase

over the previous charges for services

performed outside employees’ normal

tour of duty, this is a decrease of

approximately $7,000 from the increases

which would have been incurred under

the old method. Therefore, entities

should realize a long-term economic

benefit from the lower increase.

Based on the earlier discussion of the

regular time, which is included in the

estimates for reimbursable overtime, it

follows that the premium user fee,

which was estimated for the same

number of hours as the reimbursable

overtime plus hourly user fee, is an

overestimate of charges, as some of

these hours will remain at $56.00 per

hour. Therefore, we anticipate that the

increase will be lower than our estimate

shows.

Summary

In summary, while it follows that, if

the user fees cannot be passed on, the

profit margins of some entities may

decline as user fees for endorsing export

health certificates are increased.

However, the revised user fees represent

a small fraction of the value of the

imported and exported animals and are

not generally expected to reduce profits

or impede exports. Indeed, the full

burden of the user fee increases are not

likely to be borne entirely by the

directly affected entities, as some of the

cost increases are expected to be passed

on to the purchasers of these exported

animals.

Alternatives

One alternative to this rule would be

to take no action. Another alternative to

this rule would be to establish a

different user fee structure for small

businesses. We do not consider taking

no action a reasonable alternative,

because we would not recover the full

cost of providing import- and exportrelated services and would continue to

incur annual deficits of over $1 million.

We also do not consider establishing a

different user fee structure for small

businesses a viable option. As stated

above, Congress does not appropriate

funds to APHIS for these services.

Therefore, APHIS cannot exempt certain

classes of users, such as small

businesses, from the user fees, and

cannot charge user fees that recover less
20432 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

than the full cost of providing the

service.

Another alternative to this rule would

be to spread the 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 increases would

mean that some entities would

subsidize others. The intent of these

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.

Executive Order 12778

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12778, Civil Justice

Reform. This rule (1) Preempts all State

and local laws and regulations that are

inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no

retroactive effect; and (3) does not

require administrative proceedings

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 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 is

amended as follows:

PART 130—USER FEES

1. The authority citation for part 130

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

2. In § 130.1, the definitions for

Germplasm and Pet bird are removed;

the definition for Load is revised; and

definitions for Germ plasm, Pet birds,

Test, and United States are added, in

alphabetical order, to read as follows:

§ 130.1 Definitions.

* * * * *

Germ plasm. Semen, embryos, or ova.

* * * * *

Load. Those animals, birds, or animal

germ plasm, presented for importation

into the United States in a single

shipment, that originate from one

address, are destined for one address,

and require one entry permit or

authorization.

* * * * *

Pet birds. Birds, except ratites, which

are imported for the personal pleasure

of their individual owners and are not

intended for resale.

* * * * *

Test. A single analysis performed on

a single specimen from an animal,

animal product, commercial product, or

animal feed.

United States. The several States of

the United States, the District of

Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of

the Northern Mariana Islands, the

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the

Virgin Islands of the United States, and

all other territories and possessions of

the United States.

* * * * *

3. Section 130.2 is amended as

follows:

a. By revising the section heading and

in paragraph (a), the table, to read as set

forth below.

b. By adding at the end of the section

the OMB control number as set forth

below.

§ 130.2 User fees for individual animals

and certain birds quarantined in APHIS

Animal Import Centers.

(a) * * *

Animal or bird Daily

Birds (including zoo birds, but excluding ratites and pet birds imported in accordance with part 92 of this subchapter):

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

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

Over 1,000 grams, and any bird in nonstandard housing or receiving nonstandard care and handling ............................................ 7.50

Ratites:

Chicks (less than 3 months of age) ..................................................................................................................................................... 5.75

Juveniles (3 months through 10 months of age) ................................................................................................................................. 8.00

Adults (11 months of age and older) .................................................................................................................................................... 16.25

Poultry (including zoo poultry):

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

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

Game cocks, geese, swans, turkeys, any poultry housed in nonstandard housing or receiving nonstandard care and handling .... 8.25

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

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

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

8th and later days ................................................................................................................................................................................. 91.75

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

Zoo animals (except equines, birds, and poultry) ....................................................................................................................................... 32.25

Domestic animals:

Camels, cattle, bison, buffalo ............................................................................................................................................................... 56.50

All others ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 15.00

* * * * *

(Approved by the Office of Management and

Budget under control number 0579–0094.)

4. Section 130.3 is amended as

follows:

a. In paragraph (a)(1), by revising the

table to read as set forth below.

b. By revising paragraph (c)(3) to read

as set forth below.

c. By revising the OMB control

numbers at the end of the section as set

forth below.

§ 130.3 User fees for exclusive use of

space at APHIS Animal Import Centers.

(a)(1) * * *
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 20433

Animal import center Space available

Monthly user

fee

Miami, FL:

South Wing ............................................................................................................................................................ 6,952 sq. ft. ....

(645.9 sq. m.)

$30,285.00

North Wing ............................................................................................................................................................ 6,545 sq. ft. ....

(608.1 sq. m.)

29,377.00

Newburgh, NY:

Space A ................................................................................................................................................................. 5,904 sq. ft. ....

(548.5 sq. m.)

47,609.00

Space B ................................................................................................................................................................. 9,742 sq. ft. ....

(905 sq. m.)

78,555.00

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(3) If the importer chooses to pay for

additional services on an hourly basis,

the user fees for each employee required

to perform the service are:

(i) $56.00 per hour;

(ii) $14.00 per quarter-hour;

(iii) With a minimum of $16.50.

* * * * *

(Approved by the Office of Management and

Budget under control numbers 0579–0040

and 0579–0094.)

§ 130.4 [Removed and reserved]

5. Section 130.4 is removed and

reserved.

6. Section 130.5 is amended as

follows:

a. The section heading, is revised to

read as set forth below.

b. In paragraph (a), before the word

‘‘temporary’’, by adding the words

‘‘permanent or’’.

c. In paragraph (b)(1), by removing

‘‘$50’’ and adding ‘‘$56’’ in its place.

d. In paragraph (b)(2), by removing

‘‘$12.50’’ and adding ‘‘$14.00’’ in its

place.

e. In paragraph (b)(3), by removing

‘‘$16.00’’ and adding ‘‘$16.50’’ in its

place.

f. By adding a new paragraph (c) to

read as set forth below.

g. By adding at the end of the section

the OMB control number as set forth

below.

§ 130.5 User fees for services at privately

operated permanent and temporary importquarantine facilities.

* * * * *

(c) If a service must be conducted on

a Sunday or holiday or at any other time

outside the normal tour of duty of the

employee, then the premium user fee

rate, as provided for in 9 CFR part 97,

in lieu of the user fee listed in paragraph

(b) of this section, must be paid for each

employee required to perform each

service:

(1) $65.00 per hour for weekdays and

holidays;

(2) $16.25 per quarter-hour for

weekdays and holidays;

(3) $74.00 per hour for Sundays;

(4) $18.50 per quarter-hour for

Sundays;

(5) With a minimum of $16.50.

(Approved by the Office of Management and

Budget under control number 0579–0094.)

7. Section 130.6 is amended as

follows:

a. In paragraph (a), by removing

‘‘$16.00’’ and adding ‘‘$16.50’’ in its

place.

b. In paragraph (a), by removing the

phrase ‘‘live animals imported into or

entering the United States’’ and adding

‘‘live animals presented for importation

into or entry into the United States’’ in

its place.

c. In paragraph (a), by revising the

table to read as set forth below.

§ 130.6 User fees for import or entry

services for live animals at land border

ports along the United States-Mexico

border.

(a) * * *

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

* * * * *

8. Section 130.7 is amended as

follows:

a. In paragraph (a), by removing

‘‘$16.00’’ and adding ‘‘$16.50’’ in its

place.

b. In paragraph (a), by removing the

phrase ‘‘live animals imported into or

entering the United States’’ and adding

‘‘live animals presented for importation

into or entry into the United States’’ in

its place.

c. In paragraph (a), by revising the

table to read as set forth below:

§ 130.7 User fees for import or entry

services for live animals at all other ports

of entry.

(a) * * *

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.
20434 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

Type of live animal User fee

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.

* * * * *

9. In § 130.8, paragraph (a) is amended by revising the table to read as follows:

§ 130.8 User fees for other services.

(a) * * *

Service User fee

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.

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

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

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

Germ Plasm Being imported: 1

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

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

Germ Plasm Being exported: 2

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

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

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

pairs.

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.

Fetal Bovine Serum sample verification ........................................................................................................................ 666.00 per verification.

Import compliance assistance ....................................................................................................................................... 24.00 per release.

Release from export agricultural hold ............................................................................................................................ 24.00 per release.

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).

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 part 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.

* * * * *

10. Section 130.9 is amended as

follows:

a. In paragraph (a), introductory text,

by removing ‘‘$50’’ and adding ‘‘$56’’ in

its place, and by removing ‘‘$12.50’’ and

adding ‘‘$14.00’’ in its place.

b. In paragraph (a), introductory text,

by removing ‘‘$16.00’’ and adding

‘‘$16.50, for each employee required to

perform the service’’ in its place.

c. By revising paragraph (b) to read as

set forth below.

§ 130.9 User fees for miscellaneous import

or entry services.

* * * * *

(b) If a service must be conducted on

a Sunday or holiday or at any other time

outside the normal tour of duty of the

employee, then the premium user fee

rate, as provided for in 9 CFR part 97,

in lieu of the user fee listed in paragraph

(a) of this section, must be paid for each

employee required to perform each

service:

(1) $65.00 per hour for weekdays and

holidays;

(2) $16.25 per quarter-hour for

weekdays and holidays;

(3) $74.00 per hour for Sundays;

(4) $18.50 per quarter-hour for

Sundays;

(5) With a minimum of $16.50.

* * * * *

11. In § 130.50(b)(1), footnote 8 and

the reference to it are redesignated as

footnote 9, and in § 130.20(a), footnote

7 and the reference to it, are

redesignated as footnote 8.

12. A new § 130.10 is added to read

as follows:

§ 130.10 User fees for pet birds

quarantined at APHIS-owned or supervised

quarantine facilities.

(a) The person for whom the service

is provided and the person requesting

the service are jointly and severally

liable for the following user fees, which

include standard care, feed, and
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 20435

7 APHIS Animal Import Centers are located in

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

addresses of these facilities are published in part 92

of this chapter.

handling, and which must be paid for

each animal or bird quarantined in an

Animal Import Center 7 or other APHIS

owned or supervised quarantine facility:

Number of birds is isolette

Daily

user

fee

1 ........................................................ $6.50

2 ........................................................ 7.75

3 ........................................................ 9.25

4 ........................................................ 10.75

5 ........................................................ 12.00

(b) Based on the information provided

to APHIS personnel, APHIS personnel

at the Animal Import Center or other

APHIS owned or supervised quarantine

facility will determine the appropriate

number of birds that should be housed

per isolette.

(c) If the person or persons for whom

the service is provided or the person or

persons requesting the service request

additional services on an hourly basis,

the user fees for each employee required

to perform the service are:

(1) $56.00 per hour;

(2) $14.00 per quarter-hour;

(3) With a minimum of $16.50.

(Approved by the Office of Management and

Budget under control number 0579–0094.)

13. Section 130.14 is amended as

follows:

a. By revising the section heading to

read as set forth below.

b. In paragraph (a), after the term

‘‘NVSL’’, by adding the phrase ‘‘or at

authorized import sites (excluding

FADDL)’’.

c. In paragraph (a), by revising the text

of footnote 1 to the table to read as set

forth below.

d. By adding a new paragraph (c) to

read as set forth below.

e. By adding at the end of the section

the OMB control numbers as set forth

below.

§ 130.14 User fees for tests performed by

the NVSL or at authorized import sites

(excluding FADDL).

(a) * * *

1Tests with multiple and subsequent

antigens can be set up for a fraction of the

cost of multiple single-antigen tests. Tests

subsequent to the first antigen used for these

assays are reduced down to 20% of the cost

of using the first antigen. The following are

examples of these cost savings: complement

fixation (CF) tests for equine

encephalomyelitis or vesicular stomatitis;

hemagglutination inhibition (HI) for equine

encephalomyelitis or equine influenza; virus

neutralization (VN) tests for porcine

respiratory and reproductive syndrome. For

example, for CF tests for eastern equine

encephalomyelitis (EEE), western equine

encephalomyelitis (WEE), and Venezuelan

equine encephalomyelitis (VEE) and for VN

tests for the New Jersey and Indiana serovars

of vesicular stomatitis (VS), the costs are as

follows: EEE—$9.00, WEE and VEE—$2.00

each; VS New Jersey—$7.50, VS Indiana—

$1.50. The total of these five assays is $22.00

for each specimen submitted.

* * * * *

(c) The user fees in this section do not

include any costs that may be incurred

due to special mail handling, such as

express, overnight, or foreign mailing. If

a test requires special mail handling, all

costs incurred must be paid by the user

as specified in paragraph (a) of this

section, in addition to the user fee listed

in paragraph (a) of this section.

(Approved by the Office of Management and

Budget under control numbers 0579–0055

and 0579–0094.)

14. Section 130.15 is amended as

follows:

a. In paragraph (a), by revising the text

of footnote 1 to the table to read as set

forth below.

b. By adding a new paragraph (c) to

read as set forth below.

c. By adding at the end of the section

the OMB control numbers as set forth

below.

§ 130.15 User fees for tests performed at

FADDL.

(a) * * *

1Tests with multiple and subsequent

antigens can be set up for a fraction of the

cost of multiple single-antigen tests. Tests

subsequent to the first antigen used for these

assays are reduced down to 20% of the cost

of using the first antigen. The following

assays are examples of these cost savings:

complement fixation (CF) tests for foot-andmouth disease or vesicular stomatitis; virus

neutralization (VN) tests for foot-and-mouth

disease or vesicular stomatitis. For example,

for CF and VN tests for foot-and-mouth

disease A, O, and C antigens, the costs are

as follows: CF A antigen—$30.50, O

antigen—$6.25, and C antigen—$6.25; VN A

antigen—$22.00, O antigen—$4.50, and C

antigen—$4.50. The total of these six assays

is $74.00 for each specimen tested for these

agents.

* * * * *

(c) The user fees in this section do not

include any costs that may be incurred

due to special mail handling, such as

express, overnight, or foreign mailing. If

a test requires special mail handling, all

costs incurred must be paid by the user

as specified in paragraph (a) of this

section in addition to the user fee listed

in paragraph (a) of this section.

(Approved by the Office of Management and

Budget under control numbers 0579–0055

and 0579–0094.)

15. Section 130.16 is amended as

follows:

a. In paragraph (a), in the table, by

revising the entry for ‘‘Virus isolation’’

and by adding a new test in alphabetical

order to read as set forth below.

b. By adding a new paragraph (c) to

read as set forth below.

c. By adding at the end of the section

the OMB control numbers as set forth

below.

§ 130.16 User fees for reference

assistance testing.

(a) * * *

Test User

fee

* * * * *

(3) Other tests:

* * * * *

Virus isolation (except Newcastle

disease virus) ................................ 29.75

Virus isolation for Newcastle disease

virus ............................................... 14.00

* * * * *

* * * * *

(c) The user fees in this section do not

include any costs that may be incurred

due to special mail handling, such as

express, overnight, or foreign mailing. If

a test requires special mail handling, all

costs incurred must be paid by the user

as specified in paragraph (a) of this

section in addition to the user fee listed

in paragraph (a) of this section.

(Approved by the Office of Management and

Budget under control numbers 0579–0055

and 0579–0094.)

16. Section 130.17 is amended as

follows:

a. In paragraph (a), in the table, in the

entry for Johnin: OT, under the Unit

(ml.) column, by removing ‘‘10’’ and

adding ‘‘2’’ in its place.

b. By adding a new paragraph (c) to

read as set forth below.

c. By adding at the end of the section

the OMB control number as set forth

below.

§ 130.17 User fees for diagnostic reagents,

slide sets, and tissue sets.

* * * * *

(c) The user fees in this section do not

include any costs that may be incurred

due to special mail handling, such as

express, overnight, or foreign mailing. If

a test requires special mail handling, all

costs incurred must be paid by the user

as specified in paragraph (a) of this

section in addition to the user fee listed

in paragraph (a) of this section.

(Approved by the Office of Management and

Budget under control number 0579–0094.)
20436 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

8An 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.

9A list of Animal Import Centers and APHIS

offices that accept cash or credit cards may be

17. Section 130.18 is amended as

follows:

a. By redesignating the existing text as

paragraph (a).

b. By adding a new paragraph (b) to

read as set forth below.

c. By adding at the end of the section

the OMB control number as set forth

below.

§ 130.18 User fees for sterilization by

gamma radiation.

(a) * * *

(b) The user fees in this section do not

include any costs that may be incurred

due to special mail handling, such as

express, overnight, or foreign mailing. If

a test requires special mail handling, all

costs incurred must be paid by the user

as specified in paragraph (a) of this

section in addition to the user fee listed

in paragraph (a) of this section.

(Approved by the Office of Management and

Budget under control number 0579–0094.)

18. Section 130.20 is amended as

follows:

a. By revising paragraph (a) to read as

set forth below.

b. By revising (b)(1) to read as set

forth below.

c. In paragraph (c), by removing the

words ‘‘it is endorsed’’ and by adding

the phrase ‘‘the export health certificate

is prepared for endorsement completely

at the site of the inspection’’ in their

place.

d. In paragraph (c), by removing the

reference ‘‘§ 130.7’’ and adding

‘‘§ 130.21’’ in its place.

e. By redesignating paragraph (d) as

paragraph (e) and adding a new

paragraph (d) to read as set forth below.

§ 130.20 User fees for endorsing export

health certificates.

(a) All user fees in this paragraph are

for services provided for the

endorsement of export health

certificates which do not require the

verification of tests or vaccinations. The

person for whom the service is provided

and the person requesting the service

are jointly and severally liable for

paying the following user fees for each

export health certificate 8 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.

Certificate categories User

fee

Slaughter animals, of any type, moving to Canada or Mexico ............... $24.50

Certificate categories User

fee

Nonslaughter horses to Canada ....... 26.25

Poultry ............................................... 21.00

Hatching eggs ................................... 21.00

Animal products ................................ 21.50

Other endorsements or certifications 16.50

(b)(1) All user fees in this paragraph

are for services provided for the

endorsement of export health

certificates which require the

verification of tests or vaccinations. The

person for whom the service is provided

and the person requesting the service

are jointly and severally liable for

paying the following user fees for each

export health certificate endorsed for

animals and birds, depending on the

number of animals covered by the

certificate and the number of tests

required.

Number of

tests/vaccinations

Number of animals or

birds on certificate User fee

1–2 ........... First animal ............... $52.50

Each additional animal.3.00

3–6 ........... First animal ............... 64.75

Each additional animal.5.00

7 or more First animal ............... 75.75

Each additional animal.6.00

* * * * *

(d) The user fees prescribed in this

section will not apply if a requested

export health certificate is not endorsed

by a designated APHIS employee. The

minimum user fee of $16.50 will be

charged for each export health

certificate that is requested and

reviewed, but not endorsed.

* * * * *

19. Section 130.21 is amended as

follows:

a. By revising paragraphs (a)(1)

through (a)(5) to read as set forth below.

b. By adding new paragraphs (a)(6)

and (a)(7) to read as set forth below.

c. In paragraph (b) introductory text,

before the colon, by adding the phrase

‘‘charged per each employee required to

perform the service’’.

d. In paragraph (b)(1), by removing

‘‘$50’’ and adding ‘‘$56’’ in its place.

e. In paragraph (b)(2), by removing the

figure ‘‘$12.50’’ and adding ‘‘$14.00’’ in

its place.

f. In paragraph (b)(3), by removing the

figure ‘‘$16.00’’ and adding ‘‘$16.50’’ in

its place.

g. By revising paragraph (c) to read as

set forth below.

§ 130.21 User fees for inspection and

supervision services provided within the

United States for export animals, birds, and

animal products and byproducts.

(a) * * *

(1) Inspecting an export isolation

facility and the animals in it;

(2) Supervising animal or bird rest

periods prior to export;

(3) Supervising loading or unloading

of animals or birds for export shipment;

(4) Inspecting means of conveyance

used to export animals or birds;

(5) Conducting inspections under

authority of part 156 of this chapter;

(6) Approving or inspecting an

embryo or semen collection center or

the animals in it; and

(7) Other export or embarkation

services not specified elsewhere in this

part.

* * * * *

(c) If a service must be conducted on

a Sunday or holiday or at any other time

outside the normal tour of duty of the

employee, then the premium user fee

rate, as provided for in 9 CFR part 97,

in lieu of the user fee listed in paragraph

(b) of this section, must be paid for each

employee required to perform each

service:

(1) $65.00 per hour for weekdays and

holidays;

(2) $16.25 per quarter-hour for

weekdays and holidays;

(3) $74.00 per hour for Sundays;

(4) $18.50 per quarter-hour for

Sundays;

(5) With a minimum of $16.50.

* * * * *

20. Section 130.50 is amended as

follows:

a. In paragraph (b)(1), newly

designated footnote 9 is revised to read

as set forth below.

b. In paragraph (b)(2), immediately

before the semi-colon, by adding

‘‘drawn on a U.S. bank in U.S. dollars

and made payable to the U.S.

Department of Agriculture or USDA’’.

c. In paragraph (b)(3), immediately

before the semi-colon, by adding

‘‘drawn on a U.S. bank in U.S. dollars

and made payable to the U.S.

Department of Agriculture or USDA’’.

d. By revising paragraph (b)(4) to read

as set forth below.

§ 130.50 Payment of user fees.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(4) Credit cards (VISATM or

MasterCardTM) if payment is made at an

Animal Import Center or an APHIS

office that is equipped to process credit

cards.9
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 20437

obtained from the Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, National

Center for Import and Export, 4700 River Road Unit

38, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231.

* * * * *

Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day

of May 1996.

Terry L. Medley,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 96–11211 Filed 5–6–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

UNITED STATES INFORMATION

AGENCY

22 CFR Part 514

Exchange Visitor Program

AGENCY: United States Information

Agency.

ACTION: Interim rule; partial stay.

SUMMARY: The Agency hereby stays the

effective date of § 514.20(j)(2)(i). This

regulation was promulgated pursuant to

interim rule published on April 8, 1996

(61 FR 15373). This stay will delay by

150 days, the requirement that program

extension requests for professor or

research scholar participants be

received by the Agency ninety days

prior to the expiration of the

participant’s program. This stay will

permit a transition period for the

requirement set forth in § 514.20(j)(2)(i).

This stay does not apply to any other

section of the interim rule published on

April 8, 1996.

DATES: This stay is effective from May

7, 1996, until October 4, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stanley S. Colvin, Assistant General

Counsel, United States Information

Agency, 301 4th Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20547; telephone, (202)

619–4979.

List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 514

Cultural Exchange Programs.

Dated: May 2, 1996.

Les Jin,

General Counsel.

Accordingly, 22 CFR Part 514 is

amended as follows:

PART 514—EXCHANGE VISITOR

PROGRAM

1. The authority citation for Part 514

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(J), 1182,

1258; 22 U.S.C. 1431–1442, 2451–2460;

Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1977, 42 FR

62461, 3 CFR, 1977 Comp. p 200; E.O. 12048,

43 FR 13361, 3 CFR, 1978 Comp. p 168, USIA

Delegation order No. 85–5 (50 FR 27393).

2. Section § 514.20 (j)(2)(i) is stayed

from May 7, 1996 until October 4, 1996.

[FR Doc. 96–11351 Filed 5–6–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Fiscal Service

31 CFR Part 361

Claims Pursuant to the Government

Losses in Shipment Act

AGENCY: Bureau of the Public Debt,

Fiscal Service, Department of the

Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This final rule amends 31

CFR Part 361 to reflect the change of

address which resulted when the

Bureau of the Public Debt’s Division of

Financial Management was moved from

Washington, D.C. to Parkersburg, West

Virginia.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 7, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa

Yoke Martin, Attorney-Adviser, Office

of the Chief Counsel, Bureau of the

Public Debt, Parkersburg, WV, at 304–

480–5197, or via the Internet at

lmartin@bpd.treas.gov, or Kila Frank,

CFO Coordinator, Division of Financial

Management, Bureau of the Public Debt,

Parkersburg, WV, at 304–480–6201. A

copy of this final rule has been made

available for downloading from the

Bureau of the Public Debt home page at

the following address: http://

www.ustreas.gov/treasury/bureaus/

pubdebt/pubdebt.html

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Bureau of the Public Debt has

consolidated many of its functions and

offices, including its Division of

Financial Management, into its offices

in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Accordingly, reports and claims

pursuant to the Government Losses in

Shipment Act should now be sent

directly to the Division’s Parkersburg

address.

Procedural Requirements

This final rule is not a ‘‘significant

regulatory action’’ pursuant to Executive

Order 12866. This final rule merely

reflects the change of address which

resulted when the Bureau of the Public

Debt’s Division of Financial

Management was moved from

Washington, DC to Parkersburg, WV.

Accordingly, notice and public

procedure thereon is unnecessary.

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), good

cause is found for making this rule

effective upon publication. As no notice

of proposed rulemaking is required, the

provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility

Act (5 U.S.C. 601, et seq.) do not apply.

There are no collections of information

required by this rule, and, therefore, the

Paperwork Reduction Act does not

apply.

List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 361

Claims, Common carriers, Fiscal

Service, Freight, Government property.

Dated: May 1, 1996.

Richard L. Gregg,

Commissioner of the Public Debt.

For the reasons set out in the

preamble, 31 CFR Part 361 is amended

as follows:

PART 361—CLAIMS PURSUANT TO

THE GOVERNMENT LOSSES IN

SHIPMENT ACT

1. The authority citation for Part 361

continues to read as follows:

Authority: Sec. 6, 50 Stat. 480; 40 U.S.C.

728.

2. Paragraph (a) of § 361.7 is amended

by revising the first sentence to read as

follows:

§ 361.7 Report of loss, destruction or

damage.

(a) If a consignor receives notice that

loss or destruction of, or damage to,

valuables shipped in accordance with

the Act has occurred, an immediate

written report shall be forwarded by the

consignor to the Secretary, to the

attention of the Bureau of the Public

Debt, Division of Financial

Management, Room 201, P. O. Box 1328,

Parkersburg, WV 26106–1328. * * *

* * * * *

3. Section 361.8 is amended by

revising the first sentence to read as

follows:

§ 361.8 Claim for replacement.

Claim for replacement shall be made

in writing to the Secretary, to the

attention of the Bureau of the Public

Debt, Division of Financial

Management, Room 210, P. O. Box 1328,

Parkersburg, WV 26106–1328. * * *

[FR Doc. 96–11282 Filed 5–6–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4810–39–P