[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 140 (Friday, July 22, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43740-43741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15678]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

19 CFR Part 122

[CBP Dec. 22-16]


Technical Amendment to List of User Fee Airports: Addition of 
Four Airports, Removal of Two Airports

AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection; DHS.

ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment.

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SUMMARY: This document amends U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 
regulations by revising the list of user fee airports. User fee 
airports are airports that have been approved by CBP to receive, for a 
fee, the customs services of CBP officers for processing aircraft, 
passengers, and cargo entering the United States, but do not qualify 
for designation as international or landing rights airports. 
Specifically, this technical amendment reflects the designation of user 
fee status for four additional airports: Coeur d'Alene Airport in 
Hayden, Idaho; Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport in Ithaca, New York; 
University of Illinois-Willard Airport in Savoy, Illinois; and 
Sheboygan County Memorial Airport in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. This 
document also amends CBP regulations by removing the designation of 
user fee status for two airports: Ardmore Industrial Airpark, in 
Ardmore, Oklahoma, and Decatur Airport in Decatur, Illinois.

DATES: Effective July 22, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ryan Flanagan, Director, Alternative 
Funding Program, Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection at [email protected] or 202-550-9566.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Title 19, part 122, of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 CFR part 
122) sets forth regulations relating to the entry and clearance of 
aircraft engaged in international commerce and the transportation of 
persons and cargo by aircraft in international commerce.\1\ Generally, 
a civil aircraft arriving from outside the United States must land at 
an airport designated as an international airport. Alternatively, civil 
aircraft may request permission to land at a specific airport and, if 
landing rights are granted, the civil aircraft may land at that landing 
rights airport.\2\
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    \1\ For purposes of this technical rule, an ``aircraft'' is 
defined as any device used or designed for navigation or flight in 
air and does not include hovercraft. 19 CFR 122.1(a).
    \2\ A landing rights airport is ``any airport, other than an 
international airport or user fee airport, at which flights from a 
foreign area are given permission by Customs to land.'' 19 CFR 
122.1(f).
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    Section 236 of the Trade and Tariff Act of 1984 (Pub. L. 98-573, 98 
stat. 2948, 2994 (1984)), codified at 19 U.S.C. 58b, created an 
alternative option for civil aircraft seeking to land at an airport 
that is neither an international airport nor a landing rights airport. 
This alternative option allows the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection (CBP) to designate an airport, upon request by the 
airport authority or other sponsoring entity, as a user fee airport.\3\ 
Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 58b, a requesting airport may be designated as a 
user fee airport only if CBP determines that the volume or value of 
business at the airport is insufficient to justify the unreimbursed 
availability of customs services at the airport and the governor of the 
state in which the airport is located approves the designation. As the 
volume or value of business cleared through this type of airport is 
insufficient to justify the availability of customs services at no 
cost, customs services provided by CBP at the airport are not funded by 
appropriations from the general treasury of the United States. Instead, 
the user fee airport pays for the customs services provided by CBP. The 
user fee airport must pay the fees charged, which must be in an amount 
equal to the expenses

[[Page 43741]]

incurred by CBP in providing customs and related services at the user 
fee airport, including the salary and expenses of CBP employees to 
provide such services. See 19 U.S.C. 58b; see also 19 CFR 24.17(a)-(b).
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    \3\ Sections 403(1) and 411 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 
(Pub. L. 107-296, 116 stat. 2135, 2178-79 (2002)), codified at 6 
U.S.C. 203(1) and 211, transferred certain functions, including the 
authority to designate user fee facilities, from the U.S. Customs 
Service of the Department of the Treasury to the U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security. The Secretary of Homeland Security delegated the 
authority to designate user fee facilities to the Commissioner of 
CBP through Department of Homeland Security Delegation, Sec. II.A., 
No. 7010.3 (May 11, 2006). The Commissioner subsequently delegated 
this authority to the Executive Assistant Commissioner (EAC) of the 
Office of Field Operations, on March 23, 2020, to designate new 
UFFs. On December 23, 2020, the broader authority to withdraw a 
facility's designation as a UFF, as well as execute, amend, or 
terminate Memorandum of Agreements, was also delegated to the EAC of 
the Office of Field Operations.
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    CBP designates airports as user fee airports in accordance with 19 
U.S.C. 58b and 19 CFR 122.15 on a case-by-case basis. If CBP decides 
that the conditions for designation as a user fee airport are 
satisfied, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is executed between the 
Commissioner of CBP and the sponsor of the user fee airport. Pursuant 
to 19 CFR 122.15(c), the designation of an airport as a user fee 
airport must be withdrawn if either CBP or the airport authority gives 
120 days written notice of termination to the other party or if any 
amounts due to CBP are not paid on a timely basis.
    The list of designated user fee airports is set forth in 19 CFR 
122.15(b). Periodically, CBP updates the list to include newly 
designated airports that were not previously on the list, to reflect 
any changes in the names of the designated user fee airports, and to 
remove airports that are no longer designated as user fee airports.

Recent Changes Requiring Updates to the List of User Fee Airports

    This document updates the list of user fee airports in 19 CFR 
122.15(b) by adding the following four airports: Coeur d'Alene Airport 
in Hayden, Idaho; Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport in Ithaca, New York; 
University of Illinois-Willard Airport in Savoy, Illinois; and 
Sheboygan County Memorial Airport in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin. CBP 
has signed MOAs with the respective airport authorities designating 
each of these four airports as a user fee airport.\4\
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    \4\ The Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Field 
Operations Pete Flores signed a MOA designating Coeur d'Alene 
Airport on May 6, 2022. Then-Acting Commissioner Mark A. Morgan 
signed an MOA designating University of Illinois-Willard Airport on 
February 25, 2020. Then-Executive Assistant Commissioner of the 
Office of Field Operations Todd C. Owen signed MOAs designating 
Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport on June 26, 2020 and Sheboygan 
County Memorial Airport on May 21, 2020.
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    Additionally, this document updates the list of user fee airports 
in 19 CFR 122.15(b) by removing two airports: Ardmore Industrial 
Airpark in Ardmore, Oklahoma and Decatur Airport in Decatur, Illinois. 
The airport authority of Ardmore Industrial Airpark requested to 
terminate its user fee status on March 19, 2020, and the airport 
authority and CBP mutually agreed to terminate the user fee status of 
Ardmore Industrial Airpark effective on July 17, 2020. The airport 
authority of Decatur Airport requested to terminate its user fee status 
on July 17, 2019, and the airport authority and CBP mutually agreed to 
terminate the user fee status of Decatur Airport effective on November 
13, 2019.

Inapplicability of Public Notice and Delayed Effective Date 
Requirements

    Under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(b)), an agency 
is exempted from the prior public notice and comment procedures if it 
finds, for good cause, that such procedures are impracticable, 
unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. This final rule makes 
conforming changes by updating the list of user fee airports to add 
four airports that have already been designated by CBP as user fee 
airports and by removing two airports for which CBP has withdrawn the 
user fee airport designation, in accordance with 19 U.S.C. 58b. Because 
this conforming rule has no substantive impact, is technical in nature, 
and does not impose additional burdens on or take away any existing 
rights or privileges from the public, CBP finds for good cause that the 
prior public notice and comment procedures are impracticable, 
unnecessary, and contrary to the public interest. For the same reasons, 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), a delayed effective date is not 
required.

Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order 12866

    Because no notice of proposed rulemaking is required, the 
provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) do 
not apply. This amendment does not meet the criteria for a 
``significant regulatory action'' as specified in Executive Order 
12866.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    There is no new collection of information required in this 
document; therefore, the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507) are inapplicable.

Signing Authority

    This document is limited to a technical correction of CBP 
regulations. Accordingly, it is being signed under the authority of 19 
CFR 0.1(b). Commissioner Chris Magnus, having reviewed and approved 
this document, is delegating the authority to electronically sign this 
document to Robert F. Altneu, who is the Director of the Regulations 
and Disclosure Law Division for CBP, for purposes of publication in the 
Federal Register.

List of Subjects in 19 CFR Part 122

    Air carriers, Aircraft, Airports, Customs duties and inspection, 
Freight.

Amendments to Regulations

    Part 122 of title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 CFR 
part 122) is amended as set forth below:

PART 122--AIR COMMERCE REGULATIONS

0
1. The general authority citation for part 122 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 301; 19 U.S.C. 58b, 66, 1431, 1433, 1436, 
1448, 1459, 1590, 1594, 1623, 1624, 1644, 1644a, 2071 note.
* * * * *

0
2. In Sec.  122.15, amend the table in paragraph (b) as follows:
0
a. Remove the entries for ``Ardmore, Oklahoma'' and ``Decatur, 
Illinois''; and
0
b. Add entries in alphabetical order for ``Hayden, Idaho'', ``Ithaca, 
New York'', ``Savoy, Illinois'', and ``Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin''.
    The additions read as follows:


Sec.  122.15  User fee airports.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *

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                 Location                               Name
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                                * * * * *
Hayden, Idaho.............................  Coeur d'Alene Airport.
Ithaca, New York..........................  Ithaca Tompkins Regional
                                             Airport.
 
                                * * * * *
Savoy, Illinois...........................  University of Illinois-
                                             Willard Airport.
 
                                * * * * *
Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin................  Sheboygan County Memorial
                                             Airport.
 
                                * * * * *
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    Date: July 18, 2022.
Robert F. Altneu,
Director, Regulations & Disclosure, Law Division, Regulations & 
Rulings, Office of Trade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
[FR Doc. 2022-15678 Filed 7-21-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P