[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 189 (Monday, October 1, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55712-55717]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-19215]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration

21 CFR Part 1314

[Docket No. DEA-298P]
RIN 1117-AB13


Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005: Fee for Self-
Certification for Regulated Sellers of Scheduled Listed Chemical 
Products

AGENCY: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Justice.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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

SUMMARY: As part of its implementation of the Combat Methamphetamine 
Epidemic Act of 2005 (CMEA), ``regulated sellers'' or persons and 
entities selling scheduled listed chemical products at retail locations 
are required to self-certify with DEA relative to certain requirements 
of the CMEA. The Diversion Control Program is required to recover the 
full costs of the certification process, under the Controlled 
Substances Act; as such the DEA is proposing to charge regulated 
sellers, who are not DEA registrants, a fee for self-certification.

DATES: Written comments must be postmarked, and electronic comments 
must be sent, on or before November 30, 2007.

ADDRESSES: To ensure proper handling of comments, please reference 
``Docket No. DEA-298'' on all written and electronic correspondence. 
Written comments being sent via regular mail should be sent to the 
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Diversion Control, Drug 
Enforcement Administration, Washington, DC 20537, Attention: DEA 
Federal Register Representative/ODL. Written comments sent via express 
mail should be sent to DEA Headquarters, Attention: DEA Federal 
Register Representative/ODL, 2401 Jefferson-Davis Highway, Alexandria, 
VA 22301. Comments may be directly sent to DEA electronically by 
sending an electronic message to [email protected]. 
Comments may also be sent electronically through http://www.regulations.gov using the electronic comment form provided on that 
site. An electronic copy of this document is also available at the 
http://www.regulations.gov Web site. DEA will accept attachments to 
electronic comments in Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, Adobe PDF, or Excel 
file formats only. DEA will not accept any file formats other than 
those specifically listed here.
    Posting of Public Comments: Please note that all comments received 
are considered part of the public record and made available for public 
inspection online at http://www.regulations.gov and in the DEA's public 
docket. Such information includes personal identifying information 
(such as your name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the 
commenter.
    If you want to submit personal identifying information (such as 
your name, address, etc.) as part of your comment, but do not want it 
to be posted online or made available in the public docket, you must 
include the phrase ``PERSONAL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION'' in the first 
paragraph of your comment. You must also place all the personal 
identifying information you do not want posted online or made available 
in the public docket in the first paragraph of your comment and 
identify what information you want redacted.
    If you want to submit confidential business information as part of 
your comment, but do not want it to be posted online or made available 
in the public docket, you must include the phrase ``CONFIDENTIAL 
BUSINESS INFORMATION'' in the first paragraph of your comment. You must 
also prominently identify confidential business information to be 
redacted within the comment. If a comment has so much confidential 
business information that it cannot be effectively redacted, all or 
part of that comment may not be posted online or made available in the 
public docket.
    Personal identifying information and confidential business 
information identified and located as set forth above will be redacted 
and posted online and placed in the DEA's public docket file. If you 
wish to inspect the agency's public docket file in person by 
appointment, please see the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT paragraph.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark W. Caverly, Chief, Liaison and 
Policy Section, Office of Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement 
Administration, Washington, DC 20537; Telephone (202) 307-7297.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 55713]]

Background

    DEA implements the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control 
Act of 1970, often referred to as the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) 
and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 801-
971), as amended. DEA publishes the implementing regulations for these 
statutes in Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 
1300 to 1399. These regulations are designed to ensure that there is a 
sufficient supply of controlled substances for legitimate medical, 
scientific, research, and industrial purposes and to deter the 
diversion of controlled substances to illegal purposes. The CSA 
mandates that DEA establish a closed system of control for 
manufacturing, distributing, and dispensing controlled substances. Any 
person who manufactures, distributes, dispenses, imports, exports, or 
conducts research or chemical analysis with controlled substances must 
register with DEA (unless exempt) and comply with the applicable 
requirements for the activity. The CSA as amended also requires DEA to 
regulate the manufacture and distribution of chemicals that may be used 
to manufacture controlled substances illegally. Listed chemicals that 
are classified as List I chemicals are important to the manufacture of 
controlled substances. Those classified as List II chemicals may be 
used to manufacture controlled substances.
    On March 9, 2006, the President signed the Combat Methamphetamine 
Epidemic Act of 2005 (CMEA), which is Title VII of the USA PATRIOT 
Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-177). The CMEA 
amends the CSA to change the regulations for selling nonprescription 
products that contain ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, 
their salts, optical isomers, and salts of optical isomers. DEA 
implemented the retail provisions of CMEA through an Interim Rule 
entitled ``Retail Sales of Scheduled Listed Chemical Products; Self-
Certification of Regulated Sellers of Scheduled Listed Chemical 
Products'' published in the Federal Register September 26, 2006 (71 FR 
56008, corrected at 71 FR 60609, October 13, 2006). In that Interim 
Rule, DEA extensively discussed its intent to publish this Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking, including the various costs to be included in the 
certification fee and the methodology for calculating fees (see 
specifically 71 FR 56013-56015, corrected at 71 FR 60609, October 13, 
2006).
    Section 886a of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) defines the 
Diversion Control Program as ``the controlled substance and chemical 
diversion control activities of the Drug Enforcement Administration,'' 
which are further defined as the ``activities related to the 
registration and control of the manufacture, distribution and 
dispensing, importation and exportation of controlled substances and 
listed chemicals.'' The CSA also states that reimbursements from the 
Diversion Control Fee Account `` * * * shall be made without 
distinguishing between expenses related to controlled substances 
activities and expenses related to chemical activities.'' [Pub. L. 108-
447 Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2005]
    In addition, Section 111(b)(3) of the Departments of Commerce, 
Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations 
Act of 1993 (Pub. L. 102-395), codified at 21 U.S.C. 886a(3), requires 
that ``fees charged by the Drug Enforcement Administration under its 
diversion control program shall be set at a level that ensures the 
recovery of the full costs of operating the various aspects of that 
program.''
    The CMEA of 2005 implements new requirements governing the sale of 
scheduled listed chemical products, defined as nonprescription drug 
products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine. 
As part of these requirements, CMEA requires self-certification for all 
regulated sellers of scheduled listed chemical products, defining 
regulated seller to mean a retail distributor (including a pharmacy and 
mobile retail vendors). The CMEA requires that on and after September 
30, 2006, a regulated seller or any of its employees must not sell 
scheduled listed chemical products unless it has self-certified to DEA, 
through DEA's Web site. The certification requires the regulated seller 
to confirm the following:
     Its employees who will be engaged in the sale of scheduled 
listed chemical products have undergone training regarding provisions 
of CMEA.
     Records of the training are maintained.
     Daily sales to individuals do not exceed 3.6 grams of 
ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine. (Mobile retail 
vendors must also confirm that sales to an individual in a 30-day 
period do not exceed 7.5 grams.)
     Nonliquid forms are packaged as required.
     Scheduled listed chemical products are stored behind the 
counter or in a locked cabinet.
     A written or electronic logbook containing the required 
information on sales of these products is maintained.
     The logbook information will be disclosed only to federal, 
State, or local law enforcement and only to ensure compliance with 
Title 21 of the United States Code or to facilitate a product recall.
    The seller must train its employees and certify before either the 
seller or individual employees may sell scheduled listed chemical 
products. The certification is subject to the provisions of 18 U.S.C. 
1001. A regulated seller who knowingly or willfully certifies to facts 
that are not true is subject to fines and imprisonment.
    The CMEA also exempts retail distributors from registration 
requirements under the CSA; however, in practice, retail distributors 
have not previously registered with DEA because they limited their 
sales to below-threshold quantities and to products sold in blister 
packs.

Self-Certification Fee

    DEA considers the self-certification requirements of the CMEA to 
fall within the legal definition of control as governed by Section 886a 
of the CSA (see above). Accordingly, these activities fall under the 
general operation of the Diversion Control Program and are subject to 
the requirements of the Appropriations Act of 1993 that mandates that 
fees charged shall be set at a level that ensures the recovery of the 
full costs of operating the various aspects of the Diversion Control 
Program. The self-certification requirements of CMEA fall under these 
``various aspects.'' Therefore, DEA is hereby proposing to charge a fee 
for each self-certification to comply with these statutory requirements 
to ensure that the full costs of operating the Diversion Control 
Program are covered by fees as required by law.
    The fee for certification will cover all associated costs, 
including the initial one-time costs of setting up the certification 
program, web site, and programmatic infrastructure, as well as ongoing 
costs associated with the provision of certifications, call center 
support, maintenance of the self-certification system, printing costs 
for certificates that regulated sellers cannot print, financial 
management, and other related costs. DEA has established a training 
program for its employees to implement new requirements of the CMEA, 
and must establish the infrastructure necessary for the self-

[[Page 55714]]

certification program. Required systems include creation of history, 
renewal cycles, investigative tools, business validation rules, and 
development and maintenance of the self-certification Web site.
    Other DEA activities associated with self-certification and 
compliance with CMEA include enforcement and judicial proceedings. CMEA 
gives DEA the authority to prohibit a regulated seller from selling 
scheduled listed chemical products for certain violations of CMEA. If 
DEA issues an order to a regulated seller prohibiting that regulated 
seller from selling scheduled listed chemical products, the regulated 
seller is entitled to an administrative hearing if the seller files a 
timely request for a hearing. The costs of these enforcement activities 
and the subsequent proceedings must be supported through fees pursuant 
to the above described statutory requirements. However, these costs are 
not reflected in the proposed self-certification fees contained in this 
rulemaking, as DEA is uncertain of their utilization. Once DEA is able 
to determine the frequency of use of these tools and their associated 
costs, these costs will be recovered through fees associated with self-
certification as established in future rulemakings.
    Regulated sellers submit a certification online via the DEA self-
certification web site and will pay a fee by credit card at the time of 
each self-certification. DEA calculated this fee based on estimated 
set-up costs in Fiscal Year 2006 ($96,000) and Fiscal Year 2007 
operating costs ($1,341,000) totaling $1,437,000, as shown in Table 1 
below. The initial systems development and set-up costs will not be 
repeated in subsequent years. The operational and maintenance costs for 
Fiscal year 2008 are estimated to be $811,000. Thus, the total amount 
to be recovered for Fiscal Years 2006 through 2008 is $2,248,000. Total 
annual costs associated with operating the certification process 
include staff costs, operational and administrative costs, web hosting, 
monitoring and maintenance costs (including hardware and software 
maintenance), and annual inflation adjustments.
    To calculate the fee, DEA divided the total costs for Fiscal Years 
2006 through 2008 by the anticipated population of affected regulated 
sellers of 73,000. As of April 10, 2007, 72,258 retailers had self-
certified that they were in compliance with the rule.
    All costs are shown in the table below for Fiscal Years 2006 
through 2008. The self-certification costs reflect the cost per each 
self-certification per each facility as required by CMEA.
    To minimize administrative and collection burdens, it is DEA's 
policy to round all fees up to the nearest dollar when calculating 
fees. This is done to ensure that the full cost of the Diversion 
Control Program is collected as mandated by statute. Therefore, the fee 
for self-certifications will be $16.00.

                             Table 1.--Self-certification Costs and Fee Calculation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Project detail                        2006*           2007            2008         Total cost
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Planning........................................          $4,000         $37,000         $38,000         $79,000
Design, Development, Deployment.................          44,000         704,000          72,000         820,000
Call Center, Finance, Mail Room, Printing.......          36,000         426,000         433,000         895,000
Maintenance.....................................          12,000         174,000         177,000         363,000
Enhancements....................................  ..............  ..............          91,000          91,000
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................          96,000       1,341,000         811,000       2,248,000
Population......................................  ..............          73,000          73,000  ..............
Cost per certification..........................  ..............           19.68           11.11          15.40
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*2006 is only 1 month of operations.


PLANNING...............................  5 - FTE, 3% OF THEIR TIME, 1 -
                                          DI 5% OF THEIR TIME.
Design, Development, Deployment........  10% allocation of effort.
Creation of Registration System*.......  2 months planning; 6 months
                                          development; 2 months testing,
                                          Q/A, CM, C&A, deployment.
Operations Support Operations include..  Call Center, finance,
                                          distribution & printing.
 
* Registration system includes creation of history, renewal cycles,
  investigative tools, business validation rules.


                                          Table 2.--Calculation of Fee
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Number estimated  to     Self-certification                             Fee for  self-
 Cost for  FY2006-2008       self-certify           and one renewal                               certification
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         $2,248,000                /(73,000                     *2)                = $15.40     = $16.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Methodology Regarding Establishment of Fee

    CMEA specifically states that a separate certification is required 
for each separate location at which scheduled listed chemical products 
are sold. As such, mobile retail vendors must certify for each location 
at which sales transactions occur, e.g., a fairground one week, a 
convention center the next, etc. Similarly, large corporate chains such 
as chain pharmacies must certify for each individual location at which 
scheduled listed chemical products are sold. Each location must self-
certify for itself. In its Interim Final Rule implementing the retail 
provisions of the CMEA (71 FR 56008, September 26, 2006; corrected at 
71 FR 60609, October 13, 2006), DEA requested comments on who should be 
authorized to sign the self-certification for the regulated seller, 
given that the person must be in a position to confirm all the self-
certification requirements listed above and should be authorized to 
sign documents for the regulated seller.
    Additionally, CMEA mandates self-certification for all regulated 
sellers irrespective of the extent such entities or persons handle 
scheduled listed chemical products. Accordingly, DEA may not alter the 
fee structure to account for the extent to which self-certifiers handle 
these products. An example would include adjusting self-certification 
fees according to sales volume or size of establishment.

[[Page 55715]]

    Finally, as mentioned elsewhere in this NPRM, CMEA requires that 
all persons selling scheduled listed chemical products at retail self-
certify to DEA, regardless of whether those persons are registered with 
DEA to handle controlled substances or List I chemicals.
    In a separate Interim Final Rule (71 FR 56008, September 26, 2006; 
corrected at 71 FR 60609, October 13, 2006) implementing the retail 
provisions of the CMEA, DEA conducted an extensive Economic Impact 
Analysis in which it estimated approximately 89,000 persons would self-
certify to sell scheduled listed chemical products at retail. A brief 
discussion of this Economic Impact Analysis is found below in this 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. DEA has used this Economic Impact 
Analysis in the establishment of fees, as well as actual information 
regarding the number of persons self-certified to sell scheduled listed 
chemical products, dividing the total costs of self-certification by 
the estimated number of persons who will self-certify.
    CMEA required persons wishing to continue to sell scheduled listed 
chemical products at retail to self-certify with DEA prior to September 
30, 2006. In its Interim Final Rule establishing self-certification and 
other requirements, DEA established that certification must be renewed 
annually. However, to spread the population of self-certifiers 
throughout the year (i.e., to prevent all persons who are self-
certified from continuing to renew in the month of September every 
year), DEA in its Interim Final Rule indicated that it will assign 
self-certifiers to one of 12 groups. Each group will have an expiration 
date that will be the last day of a month from 12 to 23 months after 
the initial filing. The expiration date is contained in each person's 
or entity's self-certification certificate. After the second 
certification, regulated sellers will be required to certify annually. 
Thus, between September 30, 2006, and the end of Fiscal Year 2008 on 
September 30, 2008, all self-certifiers will have initially self-
certified and renewed their certification once, assuming they continue 
to sell scheduled listed chemical products at retail.
    In implementing the self-certification fee, DEA must comply with 
the CMEA as well as the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1993 that 
requires that fees charged shall be set at a level that ensures the 
recovery of the full costs of operating the various aspects of the 
Diversion Control Program. In developing the self-certification program 
and fee structure, DEA considered two options. The first option would 
be to set an annual fee for certification. However, this methodology 
would not allow DEA to recover the full costs of the program for 
certification from fees, as persons selling scheduled listed chemical 
products will have initially self-certified prior to establishment of 
the fee. Therefore, DEA decided to establish a fixed fee for Fiscal 
Years 2006 through 2008, based on the total estimated operating costs 
of the self-certification process for those Fiscal Years and the 
anticipated population of regulated sellers that will be required to 
self-certify. This approach offers a clear fixed fee for this period to 
entities required to self-certify.
    To relieve administrative burdens for the regulated industry and 
DEA, and for simplicity in accounting and auditing, DEA has rounded 
these fee calculations up to the nearest dollar. The annual self-
certification fee will be clearly defined on the self-certification web 
site. However, in setting this fee DEA notes that it is based on 
assumptions about the total number of regulated sellers who will be 
required to certify. Should the total number of regulated sellers be 
significantly more or less than 73,000, DEA may adjust the 
certification fee as appropriate through future rulemakings. Also, as 
noted above, this fee does not account for certain enforcement and 
judicial costs associated with self-certification. These costs are not 
reflected in the proposed self-certification fees contained in this 
rulemaking, as DEA is uncertain of their utilization. Once DEA is able 
to determine the frequency of use of these tools and their associated 
costs, these costs will be recovered through fees associated with self-
certification as established in future rulemakings. In any case, DEA 
will not exceed its operating budget as authorized by Congress.
    In implementing this fee, DEA also notes that many of the affected 
regulated sellers are already registered with DEA to dispense 
controlled substances and therefore already pay a registration/
reregistration fee to DEA. The CSA requires that all manufacturers, 
importers, exporters, distributors and dispensers (e.g., pharmacies) of 
controlled substances, and List I chemicals obtain an annual 
registration with DEA. This process also is under the administration of 
the Diversion Control Program. For example, pharmacies registered with 
the DEA to distribute controlled substances pay a three-year 
registration fee of $551 (an annual equivalent of $184). This annual 
(or three-year) registration fee supports the operations of the 
Diversion Control Program, including program priorities and field 
management oversight; coordination of major investigations; drafting 
and promulgating of regulations relating to the enforcement of the CSA 
and other legislation; advice and leadership on state legislation/
regulation; legal control of drugs and chemicals not previously under 
federal control; control of imports and exports of licit controlled 
substances and chemicals; program resource planning and allocation, and 
investigation, inspection, and cooperative efforts with other law 
enforcement entities and the regulated industries, among other 
activities.
    DEA considered several options regarding charging fees to 
registrants and to the new non-registrants regulated pursuant to the 
Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005. DEA invites comment on its 
proposed decision regarding the structuring of self-certification fees. 
DEA considered charging the full costs of the self-certification 
aspects of the Diversion Control Program only to registrants. However, 
this would mean that registrants would subsidize the self-certification 
of non-registrants, and any costs attendant with those self-
certifications. Alternatively, DEA could charge only non-registrants 
for the costs of the self-certification aspects of the Diversion 
Control Program, as registrants already pay fees to support the 
Program. However, if DEA were to charge the $2,248,000 cost of the 
self-certification aspects of the Diversion Control Program to the 
approximately 18,000 non-registrants, this would result in a renewal 
fee of $63 per non-registrant self-certifier. As DEA noted previously, 
both registrants and non-registrants are required to self-certify. 
Therefore, DEA has elected to spread the costs of self-certification 
across all registrants, but to waive the self-certification fee for 
persons registered with DEA.
    Additionally, in the course of developing the proposed fee 
structure, DEA considered an alternative of basing the level of the fee 
on the size of a business or the volume of the business's sales. Such a 
fee structure, for example, would allow small businesses below a 
certain threshold to self-certify without being charged the proposed 
$16 self-certification fee. In analyzing this option, DEA considered 
whether the $16 fee would pose a significant hurdle for small 
businesses and might potentially reduce access to these products if 
small businesses opted to discontinue carrying scheduled listed

[[Page 55716]]

chemical products due to the annual cost of self-certification. Such a 
fee schedule would need to distinguish between small retailers who sell 
limited quantities and similarly-sized retailers who, based on their 
unusual sales volume, may present an increased concern about drug 
diversion.
    However, after careful consideration of this alternative, DEA was 
concerned that, while it may have the statutory authority to waive a 
fee under certain circumstances, the agency may not have sufficient 
statutory authority to collect the kinds of information needed to 
administer the type of waiver discussed above. DEA would first need to 
determine an equitable threshold for the size of business or volume of 
sales below which a waiver would be granted. As DEA does not have 
historical information regarding size of business or volume of sales, 
and is not aware of a source of such data, such a determination seems 
difficult. Further, DEA has concerns about what statute, if any, would 
provide statutory authority to collect sales data, or other similar 
information, from persons self-certifying to handle scheduled listed 
chemical products. If DEA has no statutory authority to collect sales 
or other information necessary to enforce the fee waiver, then it 
cannot verify sales or other information on which a waiver would 
potentially be based, and would have difficulty verifying the veracity 
of any waiver provisions. For those reasons, DEA has initially proposed 
not to waive the fee for self-certification based on size of business 
or volume of sales. DEA invites comment on its interpretation regarding 
its statutory authority and how to structure self-certification fees in 
the final rule. In addition, DEA would welcome information about what 
sort of data might be available to enforce a different fee schedule for 
small businesses.
    That said, DEA notes that while lowering or eliminating the fee 
depending on the size of a business would reduce the financial burden 
on small businesses, DEA would have to increase the proposed fee 
charged to the remaining covered entities to fully fund the self-
certification program. In addition to the cost of the proposed self-
certification fee, regulated sellers are currently required under 
existing DEA regulations to maintain a logbook, store covered products 
behind the counter, and train staff concerning sales and recordkeeping. 
Because of the costs associated with these existing requirements, DEA 
currently does not anticipate that the proposed $16 self-certification 
fee will result in a significant incremental increase in the relative 
costs of the program for entities carrying covered products, and thus 
does not currently believe the fee will pose a barrier to access. DEA 
encourages commenters to provide information on this issue.
    While existing registrants are required by the CMEA to self-certify 
with DEA if selling scheduled listed chemical products, the self-
certification fee will be waived upon submission of an active DEA 
registration number because these registrants already pay an annual fee 
(or annual fee equivalent) to support the operations of the Diversion 
Control Program. DEA requests comments on this aspect of this 
rulemaking.

Regulatory Certifications

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This rulemaking has been drafted in accordance with the provisions 
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612). The Administrator 
of DEA hereby certifies that this regulation will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    The proposed rule will affect a substantial number of small 
entities, but will not have a significant economic effect. The fee is 
minimal--$16 a year. In its Interim Final Rule implementing the retail 
provisions of the CMEA (71 FR 56008, September 26, 2006; corrected at 
71 FR 60609, October 13, 2006), DEA estimated that the other 
implementation costs associated with the retail sale of scheduled 
listed chemical products were also low. DEA estimated that the time 
required for training sales personnel and filing the self-certification 
is less than three hours a year. Many of the smallest firms, which are 
likely to be convenience stores, may limit their sales to single 
packages of pseudoephedrine where the package contains not more than 60 
milligrams. Such sales are exempt from the recordkeeping requirements 
of the CMEA, which would eliminate the need for logbooks and checking 
of identification. There will be some cost to move the product behind 
the counter, but these moves will make open display areas available for 
other products; the shelf-space costs will, therefore, be offset to 
some degree. For firms that conduct sales transactions subject to all 
of the CMEA requirements, most of the cost will derive from the cost of 
checking identification and completing the logbook entries. That cost 
will depend on the number of sales. DEA has determined that the 
smallest stores sold between $20 and $40 a month in these products. 
This level of sales is the equivalent of five to ten sales per month of 
packages covered by the logbook requirement or, at the upper limit, 
about an additional $3.50 per month in transaction costs for the time 
required to check the identification. For the smallest firms, the 
annual cost of the rule, with the fee, is likely to be less than $100.
    The smallest firms potentially covered are general merchandise 
stores where the average sales of the smallest firms are $60,000 a year 
according to the 2002 Retail Trade-Subject Series of the Economic 
Census. The smallest firms in the other sectors, except for discount 
department stores and superstores, have annual sales of between 
$120,000 and $150,000. There are no discount department stores or 
superstores with annual sales of less than $1 million and $5 million, 
respectively. The annual fee, therefore, would represent less than 0.03 
percent of sales for the smallest store and generally about 0.01 
percent of sales. The total cost of the rules for retail sales for the 
smallest firms is less than 0.2 percent of sales.

Executive Order 12866

    The Deputy Administrator further certifies that this rulemaking has 
been drafted in accordance with the principles in Executive Order 12866 
Section 1(b). It has been determined that this is a significant 
regulatory action. Therefore, this action has been reviewed by the 
Office of Management and Budget.
    Regulated Sellers. As of April 10, 2007, 72,258 retailers had self-
certified with DEA. Table 3 presents the number of retailers by sector 
and indicates whether they have indicated that they are DEA 
registrants.

      Table 3.--Sectors Selling Scheduled Listed Chemical Products
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Registrants       Non-registrants
              NAICS                    certified           certified
------------------------------------------------------------------------
44511 Grocery stores............               5,628                 913
44611 Pharmacy and drug stores..              42,769               1,513

[[Page 55717]]

 
452112 Discount Department                     2,854                  46
 Stores.........................
45291 Warehouse Clubs and                      2,948                   3
 Superstores....................
                                 ---------------------------------------
    Subtotal....................              54,199               2,475
44512 Convenience stores........                  12               6,166
44711 Gas Stations with                           38               8,377
 convenience stores.............
45299 All other general                           19                 672
 merchandise stores.............
Other...........................                 173                 127
                                 ---------------------------------------
    Total.......................              54,441              17,817
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Costs/Benefits. As discussed in the previous sections, DEA has 
estimated costs of $2,248,000 for Fiscal Years 2006 through 2008 for 
DEA to establish and support the regulated seller self-certification 
program, which CMEA mandates. As required by law, this cost would be 
recovered from regulated sellers through a self-certification fee. As 
noted in the previous section, the proposed fee imposes a minimal 
burden on regulated sellers. CMEA requires self-certification as a 
condition of selling these products. The fee will allow DEA to operate 
a program needed to permit regulated sellers to continue offering 
scheduled listed chemical products to their customers.

Executive Order 12988

    This regulation meets the applicable standards set forth in 
Sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988 Civil Justice 
Reform.

Executive Order 13132

    This rulemaking does not preempt or modify any provision of state 
law; nor does it impose enforcement responsibilities on any state; nor 
does it diminish the power of any state to enforce its own laws. 
Accordingly, this rulemaking does not have federalism implications 
warranting the application of Executive Order 13132.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    This rule will not result in the expenditure by State, local, and 
tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of 
$120,000,000 or more (adjusted for inflation) in any one year, and will 
not significantly or uniquely affect small governments. Therefore, no 
actions were deemed necessary under the provisions of the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995.

Congressional Review Act

    This rule is not a major rule as defined by Section 804 of the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (Congressional 
Review Act). This rule will not result in an annual effect on the 
economy of $100,000,000 or more; a major increase in costs or prices; 
or significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, 
productivity, innovation, or on the ability of United States-based 
companies to compete with foreign-based companies in domestic and 
export markets.

List of Subjects in 21 CFR Part 1314

    Drug traffic control, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
    For the reasons set out above, 21 CFR part 1314 is proposed to be 
amended as follows:

PART 1314--RETAIL SALE OF SCHEDULED LISTED CHEMICAL PRODUCTS

    1. The authority citation for part 1314 is proposed to be revised 
to read as follows:

    Authority: 21 U.S.C. 802, 830, 842, 871(b), 875, 877, 886a.

    2. Section 1314.42 is proposed to be added to read as follows:


Sec.  1314.42  Self-certification fee; time and method of fee payment.

    (a) A regulated seller shall pay a fee for each self-certification. 
For each initial application to self-certify, and for the renewal of 
each existing self-certification, a regulated seller shall pay a fee of 
$16.
    (b) The fee for self-certification shall be waived for any person 
holding a current, valid DEA registration as a pharmacy to dispense 
controlled substances.
    (c) A regulated seller shall pay the fee at the time of self-
certification.
    (d) Payment shall be made by credit card.
    (e) The self-certification fee is not refundable.

    Dated: September 19, 2007.
Michele M. Leonhart,
Deputy Administrator.
 [FR Doc. E7-19215 Filed 9-28-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-09-P