[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 27, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 28909-28911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13994]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 180

[OPP-30114; FRL-5775-4]


Tolerance Processing Fees

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This rule increases fees charged for processing tolerance 
petitions for pesticides under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 
(FFDCA). The change in fees reflects a 2.45 percent increase in 
locality pay for civilian Federal General Schedule (GS) employees 
working in the Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD metropolitan area in 1998.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 26, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning this rule: 
By mail: Ed Setren, Immediate Office, Resources Management Staff 
(7501C), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 
401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. Office location, telephone number 
and e-mail address: Rm. 101E, CM#2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Highway, 
Arlington, VA (703) 305-5927, e-mail: [email protected]. 
For further information concerning tolerance petitions and individual 
fees contact: Sonya Brooks at the same address, telephone (703) 308-
6428, e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EPA is charged with administration of 
section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). 
Section 408 authorizes the Agency to establish tolerance levels and 
exemptions from the requirements for tolerances for food commodities. 
Section 408(o) requires that the Agency collect fees as will, in the 
aggregate, be sufficient to cover the costs of processing petitions for 
pesticide products, i.e., that the tolerance process be as self-
supporting as possible.
    The current fee schedule for tolerance petitions (40 CFR 180.33) 
was published in the Federal Register on May 9, 1997 (62 FR 25524) 
(FRL-5714-1) and

[[Page 28910]]

became effective on June 9, 1997. At that time the fees were increased 
3.33 percent in accordance with a provision in the regulation that 
provides for automatic annual adjustments to the fees based on annual 
percentage changes in Federal salaries. The specific language in the 
regulation is contained in paragraph (o) of Sec. 180.33 and reads in 
part as follows:
    (o)  This fee schedule will be changed annually by the same 
percentage as the percent change in the Federal General Schedule (GS) 
pay scale... When automatic adjustments are made based on the GS pay 
scale, the new fee schedule will be published in the Federal Register 
as a final rule to become effective thirty days or more after 
publication, as specified in the rule.


    The Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (FEPCA) 
initiated locality-based comparability pay, known as ``locality pay''. 
The intent of the legislation is to make Federal pay more responsive to 
local labor market conditions by adjusting General Schedule salaries on 
the basis of a comparison with non-Federal rates on a geographic, 
locality basis.
    The processing and review of tolerance petitions is conducted by 
EPA employees working in the Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD pay area. The 
pay raise in 1998 for Federal General Schedule employees working in the 
Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD metropolitan pay area is 2.45 percent; 
therefore, the tolerance petition fees are being increased 2.45 
percent. The entire fee schedule, Sec. 180.33, is presented for the 
reader's convenience. (All fees have been rounded to the nearest 
$25.00.)
    This action does not require review by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) under Executive Order 12866, entitled Regulatory Planning 
and Review (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., or Executive Order 13045, entitled 
Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks 
(62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997). Nor does it require any action under 
Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) (Pub. L. 
104-4), Executive Order 12875, entitled Enhancing the Intergovernmental 
Partnership (58 FR 58093, October 28, 1993), or Executive Order 12898, 
entitled Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority 
Populations and Low-Income Populations (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 
Since this action does not require any proposal, no action is needed 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A), as added by the Small Business 
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, the Agency will submit a 
report containing this rule and other required information to the U.S. 
Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General 
of the General Accounting Office prior to publication of this rule in 
today's Federal Register. This is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 
U.S.C. 804(2).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 180

    Administrative practice and procedure, Agricultural commodities, 
Pesticides and pests, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: May 6, 1998.

Marcia E. Mulkey,
Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.

    Therefore, 40 CFR part 180 amended as follows:

PART 180-[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for Part 180 continues to read as 
follows:
    Authority: 21 U.S.C. 346a and 371.


    2. Section 180.33 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 180.33  Fees.

    (a) Each petition or request for the establishment of a new 
tolerance or a tolerance higher than already established, shall be 
accompanied by a fee of $65,600, plus $1,650 for each raw agricultural 
commodity more than nine on which the establishment of a tolerance is 
requested, except as provided in paragraphs (b), (d), and (h) of this 
section.
    (b) Each petition or request for the establishment of a tolerance 
at a lower numerical level or levels than a tolerance already 
established for the same pesticide chemical, or for the establishment 
of a tolerance on additional raw agricultural commodities at the same 
numerical level as a tolerance already established for the same 
pesticide chemical, shall be accompanied by a fee of $15,000 plus 
$1,000 for each raw agricultural commodity on which a tolerance is 
requested.
    (c) Each petition or request for an exemption from the requirement 
of a tolerance or repeal of an exemption shall be accompanied by a fee 
of $12,100.
    (d) Each petition or request for a temporary tolerance or a 
temporary exemption from the requirement of a tolerance shall be 
accompanied by a fee of $26,200 except as provided in paragraph (e) of 
this section. A petition or request to renew or extend such temporary 
tolerance or temporary exemption shall be accompanied by a fee of 
$3,725.
    (e) A petition or request for a temporary tolerance for a pesticide 
chemical which has a tolerance for other uses at the same numerical 
level or a higher numerical level shall be accompanied by a fee of 
$13,050 plus $1,000 for each raw agricultural commodity on which the 
temporary tolerance is sought.
    (f) Each petition or request for repeal of a tolerance shall be 
accompanied by a fee of $8,200. Such fee is not required when, in 
connection with the change sought under this paragraph, a petition or 
request is filed for the establishment of new tolerances to take the 
place of those sought to be repealed and a fee is paid as required by 
paragraph (a) of this section.
    (g) If a petition or a request is not accepted for processing 
because it is technically incomplete, the fee, less $1,650 for handling 
and initial review, shall be returned. If a petition is withdrawn by 
the petitioner after initial processing, but before significant Agency 
scientific review has begun, the fee, less $1,650 for handling and 
initial review, shall be returned. If an unacceptable or withdrawn 
petition is resubmitted, it shall be accompanied by the fee that would 
be required if it were being submitted for the first time.
    (h) Each petition or request for a crop group tolerance, regardless 
of the number of raw agricultural commodities involved, shall be 
accompanied by a fee equal to the fee required by the analogous 
category for a single tolerance that is not a crop group tolerance, 
i.e., paragraphs (a) through (f) of this section, without a charge for 
each commodity where that would otherwise apply.
    (i) Objections under section 408(d)(5) of the Act shall be 
accompanied by a filing fee of $3,275.
    (j)(1) In the event of a referral of a petition or proposal under 
this section to an advisory committee, the costs shall be borne by the 
person who requests the referral of the data to the advisory committee.
    (2) Costs of the advisory committee shall include compensation for 
experts as provided in Sec.  180.11(c) and the expenses of the 
secretariat, including the costs of duplicating petitions and other 
related material referred to the committee.
    (3) An advance deposit shall be made in the amount of $32,750 to 
cover the costs of the advisory committee. Further advance deposits of 
$32,750 each shall be made upon request of the Administrator when 
necessary to

[[Page 28911]]

 prevent arrears in the payment of such costs. Any deposits in excess 
of actual expenses will be refunded to the depositor.
    (k) The person who files a petition for judicial review of an order 
under section 408(d)(5) or (e) of the Act shall pay the costs of 
preparing the record on which the order is based unless the person has 
no financial interest in the petition for judicial review.
    (l) No fee under this section will be imposed on the Inter-Regional 
Research Project Number 4 (IR-4 Program).
    (m) The Administrator may waive or refund part or all of any fee 
imposed by this section if the Administrator determines in his or her 
sole discretion that such a waiver or refund will promote the public 
interest or that payment of the fee would work an unreasonable hardship 
on the person on whom the fee is imposed. A request for waiver or 
refund of a fee shall be submitted in writing to the Environmental 
Protection Agency, Office of Pesticide Programs, Registration Division 
(7505C), Washington, DC 20460. A fee of $1,650 shall accompany every 
request for a waiver or refund, except that the fee under this sentence 
shall not be imposed on any person who has no financial interest in any 
action requested by such person under paragraphs (a) through (k) of 
this section. The fee for requesting a waiver or refund shall be 
refunded if the request is granted.
    (n) All deposits and fees required by the regulations in this part 
shall be paid by money order, bank draft, or certified check drawn to 
the order of the Environmental Protection Agency. All deposits and fees 
shall be forwarded to the Environmental Protection Agency, Headquarters 
Accounting Operations Branch, Office of Pesticide Programs (Tolerance 
Fees), P.O. Box 360277M, Pittsburgh, PA 15251. The payments should be 
specifically labeled ``Tolerance Petition Fees'' and should be 
accompanied only by a copy of the letter or petition requesting the 
tolerance. The actual letter or petition, along with supporting data, 
shall be forwarded within 30 days of payment to the Environmental 
Protection Agency, Office of Pesticide Programs, Registration Division, 
(7504C) Washington, DC 20460. A petition will not be accepted for 
processing until the required fees have been submitted. A petition for 
which a waiver of fees has been requested will not be accepted for 
processing until the fee has been waived or, if the waiver has been 
denied, the proper fee is submitted after notice of denial. A request 
for waiver or refund will not be accepted after scientific review has 
begun on a petition.
    (o) This fee schedule will be changed annually by the same 
percentage as the percent change in the Federal General Schedule (GS) 
pay scale. In addition, processing costs and fees will periodically be 
reviewed and changes will be made to the schedule as necessary. When 
automatic adjustments are made based on the GS pay scale, the new fee 
schedule will be published in the Federal Register as a Final Rule to 
become effective 30 days or more after publication, as specified in the 
rule. When changes are made based on periodic reviews, the changes will 
be subject to public comment.

[FR Doc. 98-13994 Filed 5-26-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F