65FR38179 Veterinary Services User Fees; Pet Food Facility Inspection and Approval Fees
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Posting-number: Volume 65, Issue 119, Page 38179
[Federal Register: June 20, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 119)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 38179-38182]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20jn00-3]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Part 130
[Docket No. 98-045-2]
Veterinary Services User Fees; Pet Food Facility Inspection and
Approval Fees
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: We are amending user fees for the inspection and approval of
pet food manufacturing, rendering, blending, digest, and spraying and
drying facilities. We are replacing hourly rate user fees previously
used to cover costs for this service with flat rate user fees that
cover the cost of all inspections required for annual approval. We are
taking this action in order to make it easier for users to know their
costs in advance, while still ensuring that we recover our costs.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 20, 2000.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Donna Ford, Section Head,
Financial Systems and Services Branch, Budget and Accounting Service
Enhancement Unit, MRPBS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 54, Riverdale, MD
20737-1232; (301) 734-8351.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
User fees to reimburse APHIS for the costs of providing veterinary
diagnostic services and import- and export-related services for live
animals and birds and animal products are contained in 9 CFR part 130.
Section 130.8 lists miscellaneous flat rate user fees. Section 130.21
lists the hourly rate user fees charged for APHIS' export services.
Prior to this final rule, the hourly rate user fees listed in
Sec. 130.21 included fees for inspecting and approving pet food
facilities under 9 CFR part 156, ``Voluntary Inspection and
Certification Service.''
On January 5, 2000, we published in the Federal Register (65 FR
391-394, Docket No. 98-045-1) a proposal to replace the hourly rate
user fees for the inspection and approval of pet food manufacturing,
rendering, blending, digest, and spraying and drying facilities with
flat rate user fees that would cover the cost of all inspections
required for annual approval.
We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending
March 6, 2000. We did not receive any comments. Therefore, for the
reasons given in the proposed rule, we are adopting the proposed rule
as a final rule without change.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. The rule
has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of Executive
Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the Office of
Management and Budget.
User fees to reimburse APHIS for the costs of providing veterinary
diagnostic services and import- and export-related services for live
animals and birds and animal products are contained in 9 CFR part 130.
Prior to the effective date of this rule, we charged hourly rate user
fees for inspection and approval of manufacturing, rendering, blending,
digest, and spraying and drying facilities. This rule replaces those
hourly rate user fees with two sets of flat rate annual user fees: One
for the inspection and approval of pet food manufacturing, rendering,
blending, and digest facilities, and one for the inspection and
approval of pet food spraying and drying facilities.
We arrived at the flat rate annual user fees by calculating the
average number of hours required for an APHIS inspector to complete an
inspection (including travel time), multiplying by the average number
of inspections performed during a year (two per facility), and adding
the average direct labor involved and proportional shares of support
costs, overhead, and departmental charges.
The resulting flat rate user fees for manufacturing, rendering,
blending, or digest facilities are $404.75 for initial inspection and
approval and $289.00 for renewal of approval; for spraying and drying
facilities, they are $275.00 for initial inspection and approval and
$162.50 for renewal of approval. These fees are not significantly
different from the amount customers have paid yearly in the past at
hourly rates for initial inspection and approval.
The table below shows the difference between the average cost for
initial and renewed inspection and approval for each of the five
categories of pet food facilities using hourly rate user fees and the
new flat rate user fees.
Change in Cost of Inspection and Approval Under the Flat Rate User Fees
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Average cost to Cost to facilities under Change in user fee
facilities at hourly new flat rate user fees collections
rate user fees ---------------------------------------------------
Type of pet food facility --------------------------
Initial Renewed Initial Renewed Initial Renewed
approval approval approval approval approval approval
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Manufacturing..................... $415.00 $353.25 $404.75 $289.00 -$10.25 -$64.25
Rendering......................... 376.75 272.75 404.75 289.00 28.00 16.25
Blending.......................... 436.25 316.00 404.75 289.00 -31.50 27.00
Digest............................ 390.75 213.75 404.75 289.00 14.00 76.00
Spraying/Drying................... 275.00 162.50 275.00 162.50 0 0
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As shown in the table, the user fees collected for the inspection
and approval of pet food manufacturing and blending facilities are
expected to decrease overall when the flat fees are implemented. Pet
food spraying and drying facilities will not be affected by this rule.
For the inspection and approval of the rendering and digest facilities,
user fee collections are expected to increase.
However, as shown in the table below, the total amount of fees
collected is not expected to change significantly.
[[Page 38180]]
Comparison of Total Hourly (A) and Flat (B) Rate User Fee Collections, Based on the Number of Approvals (C)
Issued in 1997 for Manufacturing, Rendering, Blending, and Digest Pet Food Facilities
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A B C (A*C) (B*C)
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Manufacturing facilities...... [(415+353.25)/2] [(404.75+289)/2] 88 $33,803.00 $30,525.00
= $384.13 = $346.88
Rendering facilities.......... [(376.75+272.75)/2] [(404.75+289)/2] 148 48,063.00 51,337.50
= $324.75 = $346.88
Blending facilities........... [(436.25+316)/2] [(404.75+289)/2] 7 2,428.13 2,428.13
= $376.13 =$346.88
Digest facilities............. [(390.75+213.75)/2] [(404.75+289)/2] 12 3,627.00 4,162.50
= $302.25 = $346.88
Total collections using ....................... ...................... ..... 87,921.13 88,453.13
the two different methods
(A and B).
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In the table above, columns ``A'' and ``B'' depict the average
charges by APHIS for an initial inspection and a license renewal, using
the average hourly rate user fee and using the new flat rate user fee.
Column ``C'' shows the number of facilities that were approved by APHIS
in 1997 within each of the pet food industries.
The last two columns (``A*C'') and (``B*C'') represent the dollar
amounts collected by APHIS using the two different methods. Column
``A*C'' represents the dollar amount collected by APHIS when it used an
hourly rate user fee. Column ``B*C'' represents the dollar amount that
will be collected by APHIS when it uses the new flat rate user fee.
Based on the difference between the total collections under the two
methods, the new flat rate fee will result in a 0.6 percent increase in
total collections.
Effects on Small Entities
The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that agencies consider the
economic effects of rules on small business, organizations, and
governmental jurisdictions. The entities that could be affected by this
rule are pet food manufacturing, rendering, blending, digest, and
spraying and drying facilities. According to Small Business
Administration data, there are 1,100 firms in the United States that
produce cat and dog food or ingredients that go into pet food, 1,030
(over 93 percent) of which would be considered small (employing fewer
than 500 people). However, as shown above, the economic effects of this
rule on those entities, whether small or large, should be
insignificant.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action will
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Executive Order 12372
This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372,
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local
officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)
Executive Order 12988
This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988,
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
This final rule contains no new information collection or
recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 130
Animals, Birds, Diagnostic reagents, Exports, Imports, Poultry and
poultry products, Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements,
Tests.
Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR part 130 as follows:
PART 130--USER FEES
1. The authority citation for part 130 continues 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, 134c, 134d, 134f, 136, and
136a; 31 U.S.C. 3701, 3716, 3717, 3719, and 3720A; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80,
and 371.2(d).
2. In Sec. 130.1, definitions for pet food blending facility, pet
food digest facility, pet food manufacturing facility, pet food
rendering facility, and pet food spraying and drying facility are added
in alphabetical order to read as follows:
Sec. 130.1 Definitions.
* * * * *
Pet food blending facility. A facility that blends animal or plant
protein meal for use in pet food.
Pet food digest facility. A facility that produces enzymatic
protein meals in powdered or liquid form for use as pet food flavor
enhancers.
Pet food manufacturing facility. A facility that produces,
processes, or packages pet food for sale in the United States or for
export to another country.
Pet food rendering facility. A facility that processes slaughter
byproducts, animals unfit for human consumption, and meat scraps by
cooking them down into protein meal for use as ingredients in pet food.
Pet food spraying and drying facility. A facility that produces
powdered blood meal for use as a flavor enhancer in pet food.
* * * * *
3. In Sec. 130.8, paragraph (a), the table is revised to read as
follows:
Sec. 130.8 User fees for other services.
(a) * * *
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Service User fee
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Germ plasm being exported: \1\
Embryo:
(Up to 5 donor pairs).............. $54.75 per certificate.
(each additional group of donor $24.75 per group of donor
pairs, up to 5 pairs per group, on pairs.
the same certificate).
[[Page 38181]]
Semen.................................. 33.50 per certificate.
Germ plasm being imported: \2\
Embryo................................. $39.50 per load.
Semen.................................. $39.50 per load.
Import compliance assistance:
Simple (2 hours or less)............... $51.25 per release.
Complicated (more than 2 hours)........ $131.75 per release.
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 $208.50 per application.
when facility inspection is required.
For all other permits.................. $27.50 per application.
Amended application.................... $11.50 per amended
application.
Application renewal.................... $15.00 per application.
Release from export agricultural hold:
Simple (2 hours or less)............... $51.25 per release.
Complicated (more than 2 hours)........ $131.75 per release.
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\1\ This 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 rate user fee would apply.
\2\ For inspection of empty containers being imported into the United
States, the applicable hourly rate user fee would apply, unless a user
fee has been assessed under 7 CFR 354.3.
4. A new Sec. 130.11 is added to read as follows:
Sec. 130.11 User fees for inspecting and approving import/export
facilities and establishments.
(a) User fees for the inspection of various import and export
facilities and establishments are listed in the following table. The
person for whom the service is provided and the person requesting the
service are jointly and severally liable for payment of these user fees
in accordance with Secs. 130.50 and 130.51.
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Service User fee
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Embryo collection center inspection and $278.50 for all inspections
approval. required during the year
for facility approval.
Inspection for approval of pet food
manufacturing, rendering, blending, or
digest facilities:
Initial approval....................... $404.75 for all inspections
required during the year.
Renewal................................ $289.00 for all inspections
required during the year.
Inspection for approval of biosecurity $977.00 for all costs of
level three laboratories. inspection related to
approving the laboratory
for handling one defined
set of organisms or
vectors.
Inspection for approval of pet food
spraying and drying facilities:
Initial approval....................... $275.00 for all inspections
required during the year.
Renewal................................ $162.00 for all inspections
required during the year.
Inspection for approval of slaughter
establishment:
Initial approval....................... $246.50 for all inspections
required during the year.
Renewal................................ $213.50 for all inspections
required during the year.
Inspection of approved establishments,
warehouses, and facilities under 9 CFR
parts 94 through 96:
Initial approval....................... $262.75 for first year of 3-
year approval (for all
inspections required
during the year).
Renewal................................ $152.00 per year for second
and third years of 3-year
approval (for all
inspections required
during the year).
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[[Page 38182]]
Done in Washington, DC, this 14th day of June 2000.
Richard L. Dunkle,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 00-15494 Filed 6-19-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-U