[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 17, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13025-13026]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-6882]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Customs Service
19 CFR Parts 101 and 122
Customs Service Field Organization: Establishment of Port of
Entry in Fort Myers, FL
AGENCY: U.S. Customs Service, Department of the Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: This document proposes to amend the Customs Regulations
pertaining to the field organization of the Customs Service by
designating Fort Myers, Florida, as a port of entry. The new port of
entry would include Southwest Florida International Airport, which is
currently a user fee airport. The geographical boundaries of the new
port will be the same as those of Lee County, Florida. The change is
being proposed as part of Customs continuing program to obtain more
efficient use of its personnel, facilities, and resources, and to
provide better service to carriers, importers and the general public.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 18, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Written comments (preferably in triplicate) may be submitted
to the Regulations Branch, Office of Regulations and Rulings, U.S.
Customs Service, Third Floor, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20229.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harry Denning, Office of Field
Operations, 202-927-0196.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
As part of a continuing program to obtain more efficient use of its
personnel, facilities, and resources, and to provide better service to
carriers, importers, and the general public, Customs is proposing to
amend Secs. 101.3(b)(1) and 122.15(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR
101.3(b)(1) and 122.15(b)), by designating Fort Myers, Florida, as a
port of entry. The Lee County Port Authority of Florida requested this
designation. The geographical boundaries of the new port will be the
same as those of Lee County, Florida, and will include the Southwest
Florida International Airport (hereafter known as SFIA). SFIA is
currently a user fee airport.
The criteria used by Customs in determining whether to establish a
port of entry are found in T.D. 82-37 (47 FR 10137), as revised by T.D.
86-14 (51 FR 4559) and T.D. 87-65 (52 FR 16328). Under these criteria,
which are not absolute, a community requesting a port of entry
designation must: (1) Demonstrate that the benefits to be derived
justify the Federal Government expense involved; (2) be serviced by at
least two major modes of transportation (rail, air, water or highway);
(3) have a minimum population of 300,000 within the immediate service
area (approximately a 70 mile radius); and (4) make a commitment to
make optimal use of electronic data transfer capabilities to permit
integration with Customs Automated Commercial System (ACS), which
provides a means for the electronic processing of entries
[[Page 13026]]
of imported merchandise. Further, the actual or potential Customs
workload (i.e., number of transactions per year) at the proposed port
of entry must meet one of several alternative minimum requirements,
among which are 15,000 passenger arrivals per year. Finally, facilities
at the proposed port of entry must include cargo and passenger
facilities, warehousing space for the secure storage of imported cargo
pending final Customs inspection and release, and administrative office
space, inspection areas, storage areas and other space necessary for
regular Customs operations.
The request for port of entry status states that there will be
several Federal Government benefits if the port of entry is approved.
As tourism is on the rise in the Fort Myers area and there is an ever
increasing demand for goods in that area, the SFIA airport located
within the proposed port of entry would assist in moving aircraft,
passengers and cargo efficiently.
The proposed port of Fort Myers is serviced by air, by highway and
by railroad spur. SFIA is ranked the 56th busiest airport in North
America. It is located three miles from Interstate 75, providing easy
access to other points in Florida and the United States. The airport is
adjacent to a railroad spur which allows Seminole Gulf Railway to
provide freight service to the area.
The proposed port of Fort Myers includes all of Lee County,
Florida. In a 70 mile radius, including Sarasota, the population is
already well over one million people.
The proposed port of Fort Myers meets the criteria for a port of
entry in terms of number of international passengers; SFIA far exceeds
the 15,000 international passengers per year criterion. In 1996,
Customs cleared flights carrying 57,962 arriving international
passengers at SFIA. There were 58,431 outbound international passengers
during the same time period.
All the U.S. government agencies which must be included in a port
are already in place because SFIA is currently a user fee airport. In
addition, Customs has the concurrence of other necessary federal
agencies. The facilities required for these other federal agencies are
already present because SFIA is a user fee airport. The requisite
electronic data processing systems are also in place.
Based on the information provided above, Customs believes that Fort
Myers meets the current standards for port of entry designations set
forth in T. D. 82-37, as revised by T. D. 86-14 and T. D. 87-65. If
Fort Myers is established as a port of entry, SFIA would lose its
status as a user fee airport.
Proposed Limits of Port of Entry
The geographical limits of the proposed port of entry of Fort
Myers, Florida, would be the same as those of Lee County, Florida,
which includes SFIA and the city of Fort Myers.
Proposed Amendments
If the proposed port of entry designation is adopted, the list of
Customs ports of entry in 19 CFR 101.3(b)(1) and the list of user fee
airports in Sec. 122.15(b) will be amended accordingly.
Comments
Before adopting this proposal, consideration will be given to any
written comments timely submitted to Customs. Comments submitted will
be available for public inspection in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), Sec. 1.4, Treasury Department
Regulations (31 CFR 1.4) and Sec. 103.11(b), Customs Regulations (19
CFR 103.11(b)), on regular business days between the hours of 9 a.m.
and 4:30 p.m. at the Regulations Branch, Office of Regulations and
Rulings, U.S. Customs Service, Third Floor, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue
N.W., Washington, D.C.
Authority
This change is proposed under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 301 and 19
U.S.C. 2, 66 and 1624.
The Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order 12866
Customs establishes, expands, and consolidates Customs ports of
entry throughout the United States to accommodate the volume of
Customs-related activity in various parts of the country. Although this
document is being issued for public comment, it is not subject to the
notice and public procedure requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553 because it
relates to agency management and organization. Accordingly, this
document is not subject to the provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Agency organization matters such as this
are exempt from consideration under Executive Order 12866.
Drafting Information: The principal author of this document was
Janet L. Johnson, Regulations Branch. However, personnel from other
offices participated in its development.
D. M. Browning,
Acting Commissioner of Customs.
Approved: February 23, 1998.
Dennis M. O'Connell,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
[FR Doc. 98-6882 Filed 3-16-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P