[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 88 (Thursday, May 6, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 25305-25312]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-10309]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 130

[Docket No. 00-024-2]
RIN 0579-AB22


Veterinary Diagnostic Services User Fees

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We are amending the regulations to increase the user fees for 
veterinary diagnostic services to reflect changes in our operating 
costs and changes in calculating our costs. We are also setting rates 
for multiple fiscal years. These actions are necessary to ensure that 
we recover the actual costs of providing these services. We are also 
providing for a reasonable balance, or reserve, in the veterinary 
diagnostics user fee account. The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and 
Trade Act of 1990, as amended, authorizes us to set and collect these 
user fees.

DATES: Effective Date: June 7, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning program 
operations, contact Dr. Randall Levings, Director, National Veterinary 
Services Laboratories, 1800 Dayton Road, PO Box 844, Ames, IA 50010; 
(515) 663-7357.
    For information concerning user fee rate development, contact Mrs. 
Kris Caraher, User Fees Section Head, Financial Systems and Services 
Branch, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 54, Riverdale, MD 20737-1232; (301) 
734-5901.

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- and export-related services for live animals and 
birds and animal products are contained in 9 CFR part 130 (referred to 
below as the regulations). These user fees are authorized by Sec.  
2509(c) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990, 
as amended (21 U.S.C. 136a), which provides that the Secretary of 
Agriculture may, among other things, prescribe regulations and collect 
fees to recover the costs of veterinary diagnostics relating to the 
control and eradication of communicable diseases of livestock or 
poultry within the United States.
    On July 24, 2003, we published in the Federal Register (68 FR 
43661-43673, Docket No. 00-024-1) a proposed rule to increase the user 
fees for veterinary diagnostic services to reflect changes in our 
operating costs and changes in calculating our costs, and to establish 
rates for multiple fiscal years. Operating costs have increased since 
these user fees were established in a final rule published in the 
Federal Register on October 7, 1998 (63 FR 53783-53798, Docket No. 94-
115-2). Therefore, the user fees need to be updated to reflect those 
increases. However, the main reason for the increase in the fees is 
cost data gathered through new cost-finding techniques employed by 
APHIS. The Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS) 
No. 4, ``Managerial Cost Accounting Standards and Concepts,'' issued by 
the Office of Management and Budget, mandated that APHIS capture cost 
accounting data in its program costs. We were required to accumulate 
and report the costs of veterinary diagnostic activities on a regular 
basis through the use of cost accounting systems and cost finding 
techniques. In order to comply with SFFAS No. 4, APHIS conducted an 
Activity Based Costing (ABC) project at the National Veterinary 
Services Laboratories in Ames, IA, which identified the sources of all 
costs for veterinary diagnostic services. As a result of that project, 
we determined that costs for user fee-related services were not 
adequately being recovered through user fee collections. Based on this 
determination, we proposed new fees to recover these newly identified 
costs. Each of the updated user fees contains a proportionate share of 
the costs identified in the ABC study.
    We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending 
September 22, 2003. We received two comments by that date, from a 
livestock exporting company and a State laboratory.
    One commenter, the livestock exporter, stated that the proposed fee

[[Page 25306]]

increases could force his company to move its operations to Canada, 
where he says costs are lower, or to cease operations. He described his 
company as the Pacific Northwest's only permanent livestock export 
inspection facility.
    APHIS has received no directly appropriated funds to provide 
import- and export-related services for animals, animal products, 
birds, germ plasm, organisms, and vectors since fiscal year 1992. 
Rather, the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, as 
amended, and the Animal Health Protection Act authorize the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture to prescribe and collect user fees for those 
services. Therefore, to continue to provide those services, we must 
recover our costs from the customers who benefit from those services.
    For reasons described in the economic analysis we provided in the 
proposed rule, we do not anticipate that the fee increases in this rule 
will cause exports to decline or result in decreased testing. While 
APHIS hopes that this fee increase does not cause the commenter's 
inspection facility to close, such facilities operate throughout the 
United States; if the commenter's facility closed, inspections would be 
performed at the next closest or next convenient location. We are not 
making any changes to the proposed rule in response to this comment.
    One commenter stated that the user fee increases in our proposed 
rule would result in a loss of revenue for the National Veterinary 
Services Laboratories, creating a need for further increases in the 
user fees.
    In response, we would like to reiterate that our user fees are 
calculated for full cost recovery only. They are not designed to meet 
any other financial goals, including revenue generation.
    One commenter suggested that the proposed fee increases would 
result in APHIS' veterinary diagnostic services being used less 
frequently, which would in turn negatively affect the agency's 
proficiency levels and information base.
    As mentioned previously, we do not expect that APHIS' veterinary 
diagnostic services will be used less frequently under the new user 
fees. In any case, we believe that our veterinary diagnostic 
professionals have proficiency levels and an information base that are 
adequate to ensure continued competent performance.
    One commenter stated that the fees in our proposed rule did not 
consider economies of scale.
    As discussed in the proposed rule, we considered continuing a 
discount that applied to all diagnostic, non-import-related complement 
fixation, hemagglutination inhibition, fluorescent antibody, indirect 
fluorescent antibody virus neutralization, and peroxidase linked 
antibody tests. This discount applied to the 11th and subsequent tests 
on the same submission by the same submitter for the same test and 
antigen. However, we reevaluated the time it takes to conduct these 
additional tests and determined that it was no longer cost effective to 
perform the tests at a discount. If we determine that our veterinary 
diagnostic services can be provided at a discount at certain volumes, 
we will adjust our user fees accordingly in a subsequent rulemaking.
    One commenter expressed concern about the effect the proposed user 
fees would have on U.S. exporters in general.
    We realize that any increase in user fees will increase the up-
front cost of doing business for exporters, and we have attempted to 
keep the costs of our services as low as possible. However, as we 
explained in the proposed rule, operating costs have increased since 
the user fees for veterinary diagnostic services were established in 
1998, and the ABC project at the National Veterinary Services 
Laboratories demonstrated that APHIS has not been recovering the full 
costs of providing user-fee related services through its established 
user fees. Implementing the user fees in this final rule will ensure 
that APHIS is able to provide veterinary diagnostic services and 
recover the cost of these services by the user fees charged. We are 
making no changes to the proposed rule in response to this comment.
    One commenter suggested that APHIS should not collect user fees for 
tests for animal diseases that can severely impact public health or 
have serious economic consequences for other reasons. The commenter 
gave as an example arboviral encephalitides, stating that the costs for 
diagnosing and controlling this disease were funded through tax dollars 
in New Jersey.
    Our regulations exempt from user fees veterinary diagnostic 
services provided in connection with (1) Federal programs to control or 
eradicate diseases or pests of livestock or poultry in the United 
States (program diseases), (2) zoonotic disease surveillance when the 
Administrator has determined that there is a significant threat to 
human health, and (3) detection of foreign animal diseases. We believe 
that these exemptions address the problem of funding diagnostic 
services for animal diseases that could have major public health or 
economic impacts.
    One commenter suggested that, with the fee increases proposed, 
APHIS would become more like a business than a service organization, 
and the agency's partnership with the States would be strained.
    APHIS is committed to cooperating with the States in order to 
safeguard U.S. animal health, and, as described above, APHIS provides 
many services to help control dangerous animal diseases at no cost. 
However, we must charge user fees that accurately reflect the cost of 
providing veterinary diagnostic services in order to provide those 
services. We are making no changes in response to these comments.
    However, we are making a change to one of the proposed user fees in 
this final rule. The proposed user fee schedule for virus titration, 
which was listed in a table in Sec.  130.14(c), listed the fee for that 
service for fiscal year 2006 as $110.00. The correct fee is $119.00. We 
are correcting the error in this final rule.
    Therefore, for the reasons given in the proposed rule and in this 
document, we are adopting the proposed rule as a final rule, with the 
change discussed above.

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.
    In this final rule, we are increasing the user fees for veterinary 
diagnostic services to reflect changes in operating costs and changes 
in calculating our costs. These actions are necessary to ensure that we 
recover the actual costs of providing these services. We are also 
providing for a reasonable balance, or reserve, in the veterinary 
diagnostics user fee account. The reserve will ensure that we have 
sufficient operating funds in cases of fluctuations in activity 
volumes, bad debt, program shutdown, or customer insolvency. The Food, 
Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, as amended, 
authorizes us to set and collect these user fees.
    In our July 2003 proposed rule, under the heading ``Executive Order 
12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act,'' we provided a detailed analysis 
of the possible economic effects of the proposed fee increases on users 
of veterinary diagnostic services. The conclusions of that analysis are 
summarized below.
    The impacts of the increases in veterinary diagnostic user fees in 
this final rule are expected to be muted. The majority of the changes 
to the user fees

[[Page 25307]]

are either small, associated with few users, or both. Over the period 
covered by this final rule, more than 60 percent of the individual 
increases are less than $50, nearly 16 percent increase by less than 
$10, and about 65 percent are associated with 100 or fewer users. The 
majority of the fees in this final rule should also make only a small 
contribution to the total additional fee collections and, therefore, 
will have a minor impact on the users of those services. This is either 
because the change is small or the projected volume associated with the 
user fee is small, or both. Even in those instances in which the change 
in a user fee will generate a larger total increase in collections, the 
impact should not be significant because the fees are: Small fees 
applied to a large annual volume of users, large fees applied to a very 
small volume of users, fees that represent a small percentage of the 
overall costs associated with a user's output, single fees for reagents 
with numerous final users, or fees that enhance the marketability of 
the user's final outputs. Therefore, the increases are not generally 
expected to substantially reduce profits or impede exports or imports. 
Indeed, the full burden of the user fee changes is not likely to be 
borne entirely by the purchasers of products and services.
    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.

0
Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR part 130 as follows:

PART 130--USER FEES

0
1. The authority citation for part 130 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 5542; 7 U.S.C. 1622 and 8301-8317; 21 U.S.C. 
136 and 136a; 31 U.S.C. 3701, 3716, 3717, 3719, and 3720A; 7 CFR 
2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.

0
2. In Sec.  130.14, the tables in paragraphs (a) through (c) are 
revised to read as follows:


Sec.  130.14  User fees for FADDL veterinary diagnostics.

    (a) * * *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             User fee
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
            Reagent                   Unit         June 7, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2005-
                                                  Sept. 30, 2004  Sept. 30, 2005  Sept. 30, 2006     Beginning
                                                                                                   Oct. 1, 2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bovine antiserum, any agent...  1 mL............         $150.00         $155.00         $160.00         $165.00
Caprine antiserum, any agent..  1 mL............          184.00          189.00          195.00          202.00
Cell culture antigen/           1 mL............          103.00          106.00          109.00          111.00
 microorganism.
Equine antiserum, any agent...  1 mL............          186.00          192.00          198.00          204.00
Fluorescent antibody conjugate  1 mL............          169.00          172.00          176.00          179.00
Guinea pig antiserum, any       1 mL............          184.00          189.00          194.00          200.00
 agent.
Monoclonal antibody...........  1 mL............          222.00          229.00          235.00          243.00
Ovine antiserum, any agent....  1 mL............          176.00          181.00          187.00          193.00
Porcine antiserum, any agent..  1 mL............          152.00          157.00          162.00          167.00
Rabbit antiserum, any agent...  1 mL............          179.00          185.00          190.00          196.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (b) * * *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             User fee
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
             Test                     Unit         June 7, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2005-
                                                  Sept. 30, 2004  Sept. 30, 2005  Sept. 30, 2006     Beginning
                                                                                                   Oct. 1, 2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agar gel immunodiffusion......  Test............          $30.00          $31.00          $32.00          $33.00
Card..........................  Test............           17.00           17.00           18.00           18.00
Complement fixation...........  Test............           36.00           37.00           38.00           40.00
Direct immunofluorescent        Test............           22.00           23.00           24.00           25.00
 antibody.
Enzyme linked immunosorbent     Test............           26.00           27.00           28.00           29.00
 assay.
Fluorescent antibody            Test............          194.00          201.00          208.00          215.00
 neutralization (classical
 swine fever).
Hemagglutination inhibition...  Test............           57.00           59.00           61.00           63.00
Immunoperoxidase..............  Test............           29.00           30.00           31.00           32.00
Indirect fluorescent antibody.  Test............           35.00           36.00           37.00           39.00
In-vitro safety...............  Test............          570.00          589.00          609.00          630.00
In-vivo safety................  Test............        5,329.00        5,387.00        5,447.00        5,509.00
Latex agglutination...........  Test............           23.00           24.00           25.00           26.00
Tube agglutination............  Test............           28.00           28.00           29.00           30.00
Virus isolation (oesophageal/   Test............          180.00          186.00          192.00          199.00
 pharyngeal).
Virus isolation in embryonated  Test............          346.00          358.00          370.00          383.00
 eggs.
Virus isolation, other........  Test............          155.00          160.00          166.00          171.00

[[Page 25308]]

 
Virus neutralization..........  Test............           52.00           54.00           56.00           58.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (c) * * *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             User fee
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
 Veterinary diagnostic service        Unit         June 7, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2005-
                                                  Sept. 30, 2004  Sept. 30, 2005  Sept. 30, 2006     Beginning
                                                                                                   Oct. 1, 2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bacterial isolation...........  Test............         $112.00         $115.00         $119.00         $123.00
Hourly user fee services \1\..  Hour............          445.00          460.00          476.00          492.00
Hourly user fee services--      Quarter hour....          111.00          115.00          119.00          123.00
 Quarter hour.
Infected cells on chamber       Slide...........           49.00           50.00           51.00           53.00
 slides or plates.
Reference animal tissues for    Set.............          171.00          177.00          182.00          187.00
 immunohistochemistry.
Sterilization by gamma          Can.............        1,740.00        1,799.00        1,860.00        1,923.00
 radiation.
Training (school or technical   Per person per            910.00          941.00          973.00        1,006.00
 assistance).                    day.
Virus titration...............  Test............          112.00          115.00          119.00         123.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For all veterinary diagnostic services for which there is no flat rate user fee, the hourly rate user fee
  will be calculated for the actual time required to provide the service.


0
3. In Sec.  130.15, the tables in paragraphs (a) and (b) are revised to 
read as follows:


Sec.  130.15  User fees for veterinary diagnostic isolation and 
identification tests performed at NVSL (excluding FADDL) or other 
authorized site.

    (a) * * *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             User fee
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
             Test                     Unit         June 7, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2005-
                                                  Sept. 30, 2004  Sept. 30, 2005  Sept. 30, 2006     Beginning
                                                                                                   Oct. 1, 2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bacterial identification,       Isolate.........          $48.00          $50.00          $51.00          $53.00
 automated.
Bacterial identification, non-  Isolate.........           81.00           84.00           87.00           90.00
 automated.
Bacterial isolation...........  Sample..........           33.00           34.00           35.00           36.00
Bacterial serotyping, all       Isolate.........           51.00           52.00           53.00           55.00
 other.
Bacterial serotyping,           Isolate.........           16.00           17.00           18.00           18.00
 Pasteurella multocida.
Bacterial serotyping,           Isolate.........           33.00           34.00           35.00           36.00
 Salmonella.
Bacterial toxin typing........  Isolate.........          109.00          112.00          116.00          120.00
Bacteriology requiring special  Test............           83.00           86.00           89.00           92.00
 characterization.
DNA fingerprinting............  Test............           54.00           56.00           58.00           59.00
DNA/RNA probe.................  Test............           77.00           79.00           81.00           83.00
Fluorescent antibody..........  Test............           17.00           17.00           18.00           19.00
Mycobacterium identification    Isolate.........          104.00          107.00          111.00          114.00
 (biochemical).
Mycobacterium identification    Procedure.......           87.00           90.00           93.00           96.00
 (gas chromatography).
Mycobacterium isolation,        Submission......          770.00          791.00          814.00          837.00
 animal inoculations.
Mycobacterium isolation, all    Submission......          136.00          141.00          146.00          151.00
 other.
Mycobacterium paratuberculosis  Submission......           65.00           67.00           70.00           72.00
 isolation.
Phage typing, all other.......  Isolate.........           38.00           39.00           41.00           42.00
Phage typing, Salmonella        Isolate.........           21.00           22.00           23.00           24.00
 enteritidis.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (b) * * *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             User fee
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
             Test                     Unit         June 7, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2005-
                                                  Sept. 30, 2004  Sept. 30, 2005  Sept. 30, 2006     Beginning
                                                                                                   Oct. 1, 2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fluorescent antibody tissue     Test............          $27.00          $27.00          $28.00          $29.00
 section.
Virus isolation...............  Test............           43.00           45.00           46.00           48.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 25309]]


0
4. In Sec.  130.16, the tables in paragraphs (a) and (b) are revised to 
read as follows:


Sec.  130.16  User fees for veterinary diagnostic serology tests 
performed at NVSL (excluding FADDL) or at authorized sites.

    (a) * * *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             User fee
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
             Test                     Unit         June 7, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2005-
                                                  Sept. 30, 2004  Sept. 30, 2005  Sept. 30, 2006     Beginning
                                                                                                   Oct. 1, 2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brucella ring (BRT)...........  Test............          $33.00          $34.00          $35.00          $36.00
Brucella ring, heat             Test............           33.00           34.00           35.00           36.00
 inactivated (HIRT).
Brucella ring, serial (Serial   Test............           49.00           51.00           53.00           54.00
 BRT).
Buffered acidified plate        Test............            6.00            7.00            7.00            7.00
 antigen presumptive.
Card..........................  Test............            4.00            4.00            4.00            4.00
Complement fixation...........  Test............           15.00           15.00           16.00           16.00
Enzyme linked immunosorbent     Test............           15.00           15.00           16.00           16.00
 assay.
Indirect fluorescent antibody.  Test............           13.00           13.00           14.00           14.00
Microscopic agglutination-      Sample..........           21.00           22.00           23.00           24.00
 includes up to 5 serovars.
Microscopic agglutination-each  Sample..........            4.00            4.00            4.00            4.00
 serovar in excess of 5
 serovars.
Particle concentration          Test............           33.00           34.00           35.00           36.00
 fluorescent immunoassay
 (PCFIA).
Plate.........................  Test............            6.00            7.00            7.00            7.00
Rapid automated presumptive...  Test............            6.00            6.00            6.00            7.00
Rivanol.......................  Test............            6.00            7.00            7.00            7.00
Tube agglutination............  Test............            6.00            7.00            7.00            7.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (b) * * *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             User fee
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
             Test                     Unit         June 7, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2005-
                                                  Sept. 30, 2004  Sept. 30, 2005  Sept. 30, 2006     Beginning
                                                                                                   Oct. 1, 2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Agar gel immunodiffusion......  Test............          $15.00          $15.00          $16.00          $16.00
Complement fixation...........  Test............           15.00           15.00           16.00           16.00
Enzyme linked immunosorbent     Test............           15.00           15.00           16.00           16.00
 assay.
Hemagglutination inhibition...  Test............           13.00           13.00           14.00           14.00
Indirect fluorescent antibody.  Test............           13.00           13.00           14.00           14.00
Latex agglutination...........  Test............           15.00           15.00           16.00           16.00
Peroxidase linked antibody....  Test............           14.00           14.00           15.00           15.00
Plaque reduction                Test............           16.00           17.00           17.00           18.00
 neutralization.
Rabies fluorescent antibody     Test............           41.00           42.00           44.00           45.00
 neutralization.
Virus neutralization..........  Test............           12.00           12.00           13.00           13.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


0
5. In Sec.  130.17, the table in paragraph (a) is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec.  130.17  User fees for other veterinary diagnostic laboratory 
tests performed at NVSL (excluding FADDL) or at authorized sites.

    (a) * * *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             User fee
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
             Test                     Unit         June 7, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2005-
                                                  Sept. 30, 2004  Sept. 30, 2005  Sept. 30, 2006     Beginning
                                                                                                   Oct. 1, 2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aflatoxin quantitation........  Test............          $27.00          $28.00          $29.00          $30.00
Aflatoxin screen..............  Test............           26.00           27.00           28.00           29.00
Agar gel immunodiffusion spp.   Test............           11.00           12.00           12.00           13.00
 identification.
Antibiotic (bioautography)      Test............           59.00           61.00           63.00           65.00
 quantitation.
Antibiotic (bioautography)      Test............          108.00          112.00          115.00          119.00
 screen.
Antibiotic inhibition.........  Test............           59.00           61.00           63.00           65.00
Arsenic.......................  Test............           16.00           16.00           17.00           17.00
Ergot alkaloid screen.........  Test............           59.00           61.00           63.00           65.00
Ergot alkaloid confirmation...  Test............           77.00           80.00           83.00           86.00
Feed microscopy...............  Test............           59.00           61.00           63.00           65.00
Fumonisin only................  Test............           33.00           35.00           36.00           37.00
Gossypol......................  Test............           89.00           92.00           95.00           98.00
Mercury.......................  Test............          131.00          135.00          140.00          145.00
Metals screen.................  Test............           40.00           41.00           43.00           44.00
Metals single element           Test............           11.00           12.00           12.00           13.00
 confirmation.

[[Page 25310]]

 
Mycotoxin: aflatoxin-liver....  Test............          108.00          112.00          115.00          119.00
Mycotoxin screen..............  Test............           43.00           44.00           46.00           48.00
Nitrate/nitrite...............  Test............           59.00           61.00           63.00           65.00
Organic compound confirmation.  Test............           79.00           82.00           85.00           88.00
Organic compound screen.......  Test............          137.00          141.00          146.00          151.00
Parasitology..................  Test............           26.00           27.00           28.00           29.00
Pesticide quantitation........  Test............          119.00          123.00          128.00          132.00
Pesticide screen..............  Test............           54.00           56.00           58.00           60.00
pH............................  Test............           24.00           25.00           26.00           26.00
Plate cylinder................  Test............           89.00           92.00           95.00           98.00
Selenium......................  Test............           40.00           41.00           43.00           44.00
Silicate/carbonate              Test............           59.00           61.00           63.00           65.00
 disinfectant.
Temperature disks.............  Test............          118.00          122.00          126.00          130.00
Toxicant quantitation, other..  Test............           99.00          103.00          106.00          110.00
Toxicant screen, other........  Test............           30.00           31.00           32.00           33.00
Vomitoxin only................  Test............           48.00           49.00           51.00           53.00
Water activity................  Test............           30.00           31.00           32.00           33.00
Zearaleone quantitation.......  Test............           48.00           49.00           51.00           53.00
Zearaleone screen.............  Test............           26.00           27.00           28.00           29.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *

0
6. In Sec.  130.18, the tables in paragraphs (a) and (b) are revised to 
read as follows:


Sec.  130.18  User fees for veterinary diagnostic reagents produced at 
NVSL or other authorized site (excluding FADDL).

    (a) * * *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             User fee
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
            Reagent                   Unit         June 7, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2005-
                                                  Sept. 30, 2004  Sept. 30, 2005  Sept. 30, 2006     Beginning
                                                                                                   Oct. 1, 2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anaplasma card test antigen...  2 mL............          $87.00          $89.00          $92.00          $95.00
Anaplasma card test kit         Kit.............          115.00          119.00          123.00          127.00
 without antigen.
Anaplasma CF antigen..........  2 mL............           46.00           46.00           46.00           46.00
Anaplasma stabilate...........  4.5 mL..........          160.00          165.00          170.00          175.00
Avian origin bacterial          1 mL............           43.00           44.00           46.00           47.00
 antiserums.
Bacterial agglutinating         5 mL............           49.00           51.00           52.00           54.00
 antigens other than brucella
 and salmonella pullorum.
Bacterial conjugates..........  1 mL............           87.00           90.00           93.00           96.00
Bacterial disease CF antigens,  1 mL............           26.00           27.00           28.00           29.00
 all other.
Bacterial ELISA antigens......  1 mL............           27.00           27.00           28.00           29.00
Bacterial or protozoal,         1 mL............           54.00           56.00           58.00           60.00
 antiserums, all other.
Bacterial reagent culture \1\.  Culture.........           66.00           68.00           70.00           73.00
Bacterial reference culture     Culture.........          206.00          213.00          221.00          228.00
 \2\.
Bacteriophage reference         Culture.........          155.00          161.00          166.00          172.00
 culture.
Bovine serum factor...........  1 mL............           16.00           17.00           17.00           18.00
Brucella abortus CF antigen...  60 mL...........          136.00          141.00          146.00          151.00
Brucella agglutination          60 mL...........          136.00          141.00          146.00          151.00
 antigens, all other.
Brucella buffered plate         60 mL...........          155.00          161.00          166.00          172.00
 antigen.
Brucella canis tube antigen...  25 mL...........          102.00          105.00          107.00          109.00
Brucella card testantigen       Package.........           81.00           84.00           87.00           90.00
 (packaged).
Brucella card test kit without  Kit.............          106.00          109.00          111.00          113.00
 antigen.
Brucella cells................  Gram............           17.00           17.00           18.00           18.00
Brucella cells, dried.........  Pellet..........            5.00            5.00            5.00            6.00
Brucella ring test antigen....  60 mL...........          218.00          225.00          233.00          241.00
Brucella rivanol solution.....  60 mL...........           27.00           27.00           28.00           29.00
Dourine CF antigen............  1 mL............           81.00           84.00           86.00           89.00
Dourine stabilate.............  4.5 mL..........          102.00          105.00          107.00          109.00
Equine and bovine origin        1 mL............          115.00          119.00          123.00          127.00
 babesia species antiserums.
Equine negative control CF      1 mL............          267.00          272.00          276.00          281.00
 antigen.
Flazo-orange..................  3 mL............           11.00           12.00           12.00           13.00
Glanders CF antigen...........  1 mL............           70.00           73.00           75.00           77.00
Hemoparasitic disease CF        1 mL............          489.00          505.00          522.00          540.00
 antigens, all other.
Leptospira transport medium...  10 mL...........            4.00            4.00            4.00            4.00
Monoclonal antibody...........  1 mL............           88.00           90.00           93.00           95.00
Mycobacterium spp. old          1 mL............           21.00           22.00           23.00           24.00
 tuberculin.
Mycobacterium spp. PPD........  1 mL............           16.00           17.00           18.00           18.00
Mycoplasma hemagglutination     5 mL............          163.00          168.00          174.00          180.00
 antigens.
Negative control serums.......  1 mL............           16.00           17.00           18.00           18.00
Rabbit origin bacterial         1 mL............           47.00           48.00           50.00           52.00
 antiserum.

[[Page 25311]]

 
Salmonella pullorum             5 mL............           14.00           14.00           15.00           15.00
 microagglutination antigen.
Stabilates, all other.........  4.5 mL..........          623.00          640.00          659.00          678.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ A reagent culture is a bacterial culture that has been subcultured one or more times after being tested for
  purity and identity. It is intended for use as a reagent with a diagnostic test such as the leptospiral
  microagglutination test.
\2\ A reference culture is a bacterial culture that has been thoroughly tested for purity and identity. It
  should be suitable as a master seed for future cultures.

    (b) * * *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             User fee
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
            Reagent                   Unit         June 7, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2005-
                                                  Sept. 30, 2004  Sept. 30, 2005  Sept. 30, 2006     Beginning
                                                                                                   Oct. 1, 2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Antigen, except avian           2 mL............          $55.00          $57.00          $59.00          $61.00
 influenza and chlamydia
 psittaci antigens, any.
Avian antiserum except avian    2 mL............           44.00           45.00           47.00           48.00
 influenza antiserum, any.
Avian influenza antigen, any..  2 mL............           30.00           31.00           32.00           33.00
Avian influenza antiserum, any  6 mL............           93.00           96.00          100.00          103.00
Bovine or ovine serum, any....  2 mL............          115.00          119.00          123.00          127.00
Cell culture..................  Flask...........          136.00          141.00          146.00          151.00
Chlamydia psittaci spp. of      Panel...........           88.00           90.00           93.00           95.00
 origin monoclonal antibody
 panel.
Conjugate, any................  1 mL............           66.00           68.00           71.00           73.00
Diluted positive control        2 mL............           22.00           23.00           24.00           24.00
 serum, any.
Equine antiserum, any.........  2 mL............           41.00           42.00           44.00           45.00
Monoclonal antibody...........  1 mL............           94.00           96.00           99.00          102.00
Other spp. antiserum, any.....  1 mL............           51.00           51.00           52.00           52.00
Porcine antiserum, any........  2 mL............           95.00           99.00          102.00          105.00
Porcine tissue sets...........  Tissue set......          152.00          153.00          155.00          157.00
Positive control tissues, all.   2 cm2 section..           55.00           57.00           58.00           60.00
Rabbit origin antiserum.......  1 mL............           47.00           48.00           50.00           52.00
Reference virus, any..........  0.6 mL..........          163.00          169.00          174.00          180.00
Viruses (except reference       0.6 mL..........           27.00           28.00           29.00           30.00
 viruses), chlamydia psittaci
 agent or chlamydia psittaci
 antigen, any.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


0
7. In Sec.  130.19, the table in paragraph (a) is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec.  130.19  User fees for other veterinary diagnostic services or 
materials provided at NVSL (excluding FADDL).

    (a) * * *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                             User fee
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
            Service                   Unit         June 7, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2004-   Oct. 1, 2005-
                                                  Sept. 30, 2004  Sept. 30, 2005  Sept. 30, 2006     Beginning
                                                                                                   Oct. 1, 2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Antimicrobial susceptibility    Isolate.........          $95.00          $98.00         $101.00         $105.00
 test.
Avian safety test.............  Test............        3,774.00        3,871.00        3,972.00        4,075.00
Check tests, culture..........   Kit1...........          162.00          167.00          171.00          176.00
Check tests, serology, all       Kit1...........          326.00          337.00          349.00          361.00
 other.
Fetal bovine serum safety test  Verification....        1,061.00        1,078.00        1,096.00        1,114.00
Hourly user fee services:2
    Hour......................  Hour............           84.00           84.00           84.00           84.00
    Quarter hour..............  Quarter hour....           21.00           21.00           21.00           21.00
    Minimum...................  ................           25.00           25.00           25.00           25.00
Manual, brucellosis culture...  1 copy..........          104.00          107.00          111.00          114.00
Manual, tuberculosis culture    1 copy..........          155.00          161.00          166.00          172.00
 (English or Spanish).
Manual, Veterinary mycology...  1 copy..........          155.00          161.00          166.00          172.00
Manuals or standard operating   1 copy..........           31.00           32.00           33.00           34.00
 procedure (SOP), all other.
Manuals or SOP, per page......  1 page..........            2.00            2.00            2.00            2.00
Training (school or technical   Per person per            300.00          310.00          320.00          331.00
 assistance).                    day.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Any reagents required for the check test will be charged separately.
\2\ For veterinary diagnostic services for which there is no flat rate user fee the hourly rate user fee will be
  calculated for the actual time required to provide the service.


[[Page 25312]]

* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 29th day of April 2004.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 04-10309 Filed 5-5-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P