[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