[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 220 (Friday, November 14, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 61005-61007]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-29990]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Part 130
[Docket No. 96-089-1]
Import/Export User Fees; Exemptions
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We are amending the user fee regulations to provide that user
fees are not charged for veterinary diagnostic services in the
following cases: When veterinary diagnostic services are provided in
connection with Federal programs to control or eradicate diseases or
pests of livestock or poultry in the United States (program diseases)
or in support of zoonotic disease surveillance when there is a
significant risk to human health; and when veterinary diagnostic
reagents are distributed within the United States for testing for
foreign animal diseases. In addition, we are eliminating the user fee
for export health certificates that are requested and reviewed, but not
endorsed. We are making these changes to eliminate confusion, clarify
when certain user fees apply, and eliminate an unnecessary user fee.
DATES: Interim rule effective November 7, 1997. Consideration will be
given only to comments received on or before January 13, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to
Docket No. 96-089-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS,
suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please
state that your comments refer to Docket No. 96-089-1. Comments
received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th
Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to
inspect comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to
facilitate entry into the comment reading room.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Donna Ford, Section Head,
Financial Systems and Services Branch, Budget and Accounting Division,
M&B, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 54, Riverdale, MD 20737-1232, (301)
734-8351.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
User fees to reimburse the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) for the costs of providing veterinary diagnostic
services, and import-related and export-related services for live
animals and birds and animal products are contained in 9 CFR part 130.
Sections 130.14 through 130.18 list the various veterinary diagnostic
services for which user fees are charged and the associated user fees.
We are proposing to amend 9 CFR part 130 (the regulations) to
provide that user fees will not be charged for veterinary diagnostic
services listed in Secs. 130.14 through 130.18 in the following cases:
(1) When veterinary diagnostic services are provided in connection with
Federal programs to control or eradicate diseases or pests of animals
in the United States (program diseases) or in support of zoonotic
disease surveillance when there is a significant risk to human health;
and (2) when veterinary diagnostic reagents are distributed within the
United States for testing for foreign animal diseases. In addition, we
are eliminating the user fee listed in Sec. 130.20(d) for export health
certificates that are requested and reviewed, but not endorsed.
Veterinary Diagnostic Services
Veterinary diagnostics is the work performed in a laboratory to
determine if a disease-causing organism or
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chemical agent is present in body tissues or cells and to identify
those organisms or agents. Services in this category include performing
laboratory tests at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories
(NVSL) and providing diagnostic reagents and other veterinary
diagnostic materials and services. Diagnostic reagents are biological
materials used in diagnostic tests to detect disease agents or
antibodies by causing an identifiable reaction. NVSL also collects data
and compiles statistics on the incidence of various livestock diseases
based on the results of the veterinary diagnostic tests.
We do not charge user fees for veterinary diagnostic services
provided in connection with Federal programs to control or eradicate
diseases or pests (program diseases). Examples of program diseases are
tuberculosis, brucellosis, and pseudorabies. These activities are
covered by appropriated funding. Our policy not to charge for these
services was specified in the background portion in previously
published proposed and final rules concerning user fees for veterinary
diagnostic services (58 FR 15292-15301, Docket No. 91-021-4, March 22,
1993, and 58 FR 38954-38961, Docket No. 91-021-5, July 21, 1993). In
this document, we are amending the regulations to specify that user
fees are not charged for these services.
While not specified in earlier user fee rules, there are other
activities which we cover by appropriated funding instead of user fees.
We routinely distribute veterinary diagnostic reagents free of charge
to laboratories throughout the United States for testing for foreign
animal diseases. This allows these laboratories to immediately test
animals suspected of being infected with a foreign animal disease. The
distribution of these diagnostic reagents is covered by appropriated
funding to ensure that we are able to identify foreign animal diseases
as quickly as possible. In this document, we are clarifying the
regulations by specifying that this service is exempt from user fees.
In addition, we provide veterinary diagnostic services in support
of zoonotic disease surveillance. Zoonotic diseases are those that
affect both animals and humans and are communicable from animals to
humans. Examples of zoonotic diseases are anthrax, brucellosis,
leptospirosis, rabies, salmonellosis, tuberculosis, and vesicular
stomatitis. Some of these are program diseases and, therefore, user
fees are not charged, as stated above. Occasionally, there are zoonotic
diseases that pose a significant threat to human health, and a thorough
knowledge of the prevalence of the disease in animals will directly
benefit control of the disease in humans. In these cases, we believe
that the cost of the testing related to the zoonotic disease
surveillance should be covered by appropriated funds. At this time,
salmonellosis is the only zoonotic disease that falls into this second
category, and user fees are not charged for the salmonella testing that
will provide direct benefit to control of disease in humans. User fees
are charged for other salmonellosis testing. Therefore, we are amending
our regulations to state that user fees are not charged for veterinary
diagnostic services provided in relation to zoonotic diseases when the
Administrator has determined that there is a significant threat to
human health.
We are adding a new Sec. 130.49 to the regulations that lists the
circumstances under which we do not charge user fees for veterinary
diagnostic services. The exemptions will be specified as follows: User
fees for veterinary diagnostic services, including, but not limited to,
tests and diagnostic reagents specified in Secs. 130.14 through 130.18,
are not charged under the following conditions:
(1) When veterinary diagnostic services are provided in connection
with Federal programs to control or eradicate diseases or pests of
animals in the United States (program diseases);
(2) When veterinary diagnostic services are provided in support of
zoonotic disease surveillance when the Administrator has determined
that there is a significant risk to human health; and
(3) When veterinary diagnostic reagents are distributed within the
United States for testing for foreign animal diseases.
Nonendorsed Export Health Certificates
We established a user fee for nonendorsed export health
certificates in a final rule published in the Federal Register on May
7, 1996 (61 FR 20421-20437, Docket No. 92-174-2). These are
certificates that are requested from the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) and then are reviewed by APHIS, but either
withdrawn or returned without being endorsed. The user fee was intended
to cover the costs of the APHIS review. We have reviewed this user fee
and have determined that we do not need to charge for these services
because these services are comparable to those consultation services
that we provide via the telephone to customers requesting information
about animal or animal product exportation requirements. Most export
health certificates that are returned by the APHIS veterinarian for
corrective action are later resubmitted and endorsed. The user fee for
the endorsement of these export health certificates recovers the costs
for the full review including any consultations. Therefore, we are
removing Sec. 130.20(d) from the regulations and will not charge a user
fee for export health certificates that are reviewed but not endorsed.
Immediate Action
The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
has determined that there is good cause for publishing this interim
rule without prior opportunity for public comment. Immediate action is
warranted to encourage participation in programs to control and
eradicate disease and pests of livestock or poultry, eliminate
confusion about when user fees are charged, and to eliminate an
unnecessary user fee. These changes will benefit users and help ensure
that veterinary diagnostic services will continue to be requested for
testing in connection with program diseases and zoonotic disease
surveillance when there is a significant risk to human health.
Because prior notice and other public procedures with respect to
this action are impracticable and contrary to the public interest under
these conditions, we find good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 to make it
effective upon signature. We will consider comments that are received
within 60 days of publication of this rule in the Federal Register.
After the comment period closes, we will publish another document in
the Federal Register. It will include a discussion of any comments we
receive and any amendments we are making to the rule as a result of the
comments.
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.
This rule provides that we do not charge user fees for (1)
veterinary diagnostic services related to program diseases, (2)
veterinary diagnostic services related to zoonotic disease surveillance
when there is a significant risk to human health, (3) the distribution
of diagnostic reagents within the United States used in testing for
foreign animal diseases, or (4) services provided to review, but not
endorse, export health certificates. Our policy, has been not to charge
user fees for these services, and we are now
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clarifying that policy in the regulations. Therefore, this rule should
have no impact on entities whether they are large or small.
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 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 rule contains no information collection or recordkeeping
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.).
Regulatory Reform
This action is part of the President's Regulatory Reform
Initiative, which, among other things, directs agencies to remove
obsolete and unnecessary regulations and to find less burdensome ways
to achieve regulatory goals.
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, 9 CFR part 130 is amended 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, 134b, 134c, 134d, 134f, 135,
136, and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(d).
Sec. 130.20 [Amended]
2. Section 130.20 is amended by removing paragraph (d) and
redesignating paragraph (e) as paragraph (d).
3. A new Sec. 130.49 is added to read as follows.
Sec. 130.49 Exemptions.
(a) Veterinary diagnostics. User fees for veterinary diagnostic
services, including, but not limited to, tests and diagnostic reagents
specified in Secs. 130.14 through 130.18, are not charged under the
following conditions:
(1) When veterinary diagnostic services are provided in connection
with Federal programs to control or eradicate diseases or pests of
livestock or poultry in the United States (program diseases);
(2) When veterinary diagnostic services are provided in support of
zoonotic disease surveillance when the Administrator has determined
that there is a significant threat to human health; and
(3) When veterinary diagnostic reagents are distributed within the
United States for testing for foreign animal diseases.
(b) [Reserved].
Done in Washington, DC, this 7th day of November 1997.
Charles Schwalbe,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 97-29990 Filed 11-13-97; 8:45 am]
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