[Federal Register: July 5, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 127)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 38637-38639]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05jy05-17]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Customs and Border Protection
19 CFR Parts 101 and 122
Establishing a New Port of Entry at New River Valley, VA, and
Terminating the User-Fee Status of New River Valley Airport
AGENCY: Customs and Border Protection; Department of Homeland Security.
[[Page 38638]]
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: This document proposes to amend the Department of Homeland
Security's Regulations pertaining to the Bureau of Customs and Border
Protection's field organization by conditionally establishing a new
port of entry at New River Valley, Virginia, and terminating the user-
fee status of New River Valley Airport. The new port of entry would
consist of all the area surrounded by the continuous outer boundaries
of the Montgomery, Pulaski and Roanoke counties in the state of
Virginia, including New River Valley Airport, which is currently
operated as a user-fee airport. These changes will assist the Bureau of
Customs and Border Protection in its continuing efforts to provide
better service to carriers, importers and the general public.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 6, 2005.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by the title of this
document, by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Regulations Branch, Office of Regulations and
Rulings, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, 1300 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW., (Mint Annex), Washington, DC 20229.
Comments submitted may be inspected at the Regulations Branch,
Office of Regulations and Rulings, Bureau of Customs and Border
Protection, 799 9th Street, NW., 5th Floor, Washington, DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis Dore, Office of Field
Operations, 202-344-2776.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
As part of its continuing efforts to provide better service to
carriers, importers, and the general public, the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), is
proposing to amend 19 CFR 101.3(b)(1) by conditionally establishing a
new port of entry at New River Valley, Virginia. The new port of entry
would include the area surrounded by the continuous outer boundaries of
the Montgomery, Pulaski and Roanoke counties in the Commonwealth of
Virginia. This area includes New River Valley Airport, located in the
town of Dublin, Virginia, which currently operates and is listed as a
user-fee airport at 19 CFR 122.15(b). This proposed change of status
for New River Valley Airport from a user-fee airport to inclusion
within the boundaries of a port of entry would subject the airport to
the passenger processing fee provided for at 19 U.S.C. 58c(a)(5)(B).
Port of Entry Criteria
The criteria considered by CBP in determining whether to establish
a port of entry are found in Treasury Decision (T.D.) 82-37 (Revision
of Customs Criteria for Establishing Ports of Entry and Stations, 47 FR
10137), as revised by T.D. 86-14 (51 FR 4559) and T.D. 87-65 (52 FR
16328). Under these criteria, CBP will evaluate whether there is a
sufficient volume of import business (actual or potential) to justify
the expense of maintaining a new office or expanding service at an
existing location. Specifically, CBP will consider whether the proposed
port of entry location can:
(1) Demonstrate that the benefits to be derived justify the Federal
Government expense involved;
(2) Except in the case of land border ports, be serviced by at
least two major modes of transportation (rail, air, water, or highway);
and
(3) Except in the case of land border ports, have a minimum
population of 300,000 within the immediate service area (approximately
a 70-mile radius).
In addition, one of the following actual or potential workload
criteria (minimum number of transactions per year), or an appropriate
combination thereof, must be met in the area to be serviced by the
proposed port of entry:
(1) 15,000 international air passengers;
(2) 2,500 formal entries for consumption in United States commerce
(each valued over $2,000), with the applicant location committing to
optimal use of electronic data input means to permit integration with
any CBP system for electronic processing of entries, with no more than
half of the 2,500 entries being attributed to one private party;
(3) For land border ports, 150,000 vehicles;
(4) 2,000 scheduled international aircraft arrivals (passengers
and/or crew); or
(5) 350 cargo vessel arrivals.
Finally, facilities at the proposed port of entry must include,
where appropriate, wharfage and anchorage adequate for oceangoing
vessels, cargo and passenger facilities; warehouse space for the secure
storage of imported cargo pending final CBP inspection and release; and
administrative office space, inspection areas, storage areas, and other
space as necessary for regular CBP operations.
In certain cases, where the potential workload at a given location
shows pronounced growth, CBP will consider granting conditional port-
of-entry status to the location, pending further review of the actual
workload generated within the new port of entry. See T.D. 96-3 and 97-
64.
New River Valley's Workload Statistics
The proposal in this document to conditionally establish New River
Valley, Virginia, as a port of entry is based on CBP's analysis of the
following information:
1. New River Valley is serviced by three modes of transportation:
(a) rail (The Norfolk Southern Railway and the CSX Corporation);
(b) air (Roanoke Regional Airport (US Airways, United Express,
Northwest, Delta), New River Valley User-Fee Airport, and Virginia
Tech/ Montgomery Executive Airport);
(c) highway (three U.S. interstate highways, I-81, I-64 and I-77).
2. The area within the immediate service area (approximately a 70-
mile radius) of the New River Valley airport had a population, as of
the 2000 census, of over 702,000.
3. Regarding the five actual or potential workload criteria:
(a) the number of consumption entries valued at over $2,000 each
and filed in the port of New River Valley, Virginia, increased from
1,257 in FY 2001 to 1,817 in FY 2003, a rate of increase of forty-five
percent;
(b) the projected number of such entries to be filed in FY 2004 is
1,776, an increase of forty-one percent over the number filed in FY
2001; and
(c) CBP's projection is that, according to the data, over 2,500
consumption entries, each valued at over $2,000, will be filed per year
by FY 2007, and possibly by FY 2006, in the area to be included in the
port of New River Valley, Virginia, with no more than half of those
entries being made by one private party.
CBP facilities are already in place at the New River Valley User
Fee Airport and will continue to be provided at no cost to the Federal
Government, as discussed below. CBP believes that the establishment of
this port will provide significant benefits to the New River Valley
community, further enhancing the economic growth that is already being
experienced in this area, by providing enhanced business
competitiveness for existing enterprises and enabling the retention and
expansion of the number of jobs in the area.
(d) The New River Valley User Fee Airport in Dublin, Virginia, has,
for over
[[Page 38639]]
three years, provided and maintained administrative office space for a
CBP office. Roanoke Regional Airport and Virginia Tech/Montgomery
Executive Airport have also provided adequate facilities for regular
CBP operations, including passenger and cargo inspection areas, and
storage areas as necessary.
CBP believes that the New River Valley community is committed to
making optimal use of electronic data transfer capability to permit
integration with the CBP Automated Commercial System for processing
entries. The New River Valley User Fee Airport has, for over three
years, provided and maintained electronic data equipment software
necessary to conduct regular CBP business. CBP has been informed that
the airport is committed to upgrade equipment as necessary and, in
fact, is currently in the process of installing a frame relay computer
system, at no expense to the Federal Government, in order that adequate
integration may be maintained with the Department of Homeland Security
and the CBP systems.
Conditional Status
Based on the information above and the level and pace of
development in New River Valley and the surrounding area, CBP believes
that there is sufficient justification for the establishment of New
River Valley, Virginia, as a port of entry on a conditional basis. If,
after reviewing the public comments, CBP decides to create a port of
entry at New River Valley and terminate New River Valley Airport's
designation as a user-fee airport, then CBP will notify the airport of
that determination in accordance with the provisions of 19 CFR
122.15(c). However, it is noted that this proposal relies on potential
(within approximately 3 years), rather than actual, workload figures.
Therefore, even if the proposed port of entry designation is adopted as
a final rule, CBP will, in 3 years, review the actual workload
generated within the new port of entry. If that review indicates that
the actual workload is below the T.D. 82-37 (as amended) standards,
procedures may be instituted to revoke the port of entry status. In
such case, the airport may reapply to become a user-fee airport under
the provisions of 19 U.S.C. 58b.
Description of Proposed Port of Entry Limits
The geographical limits of the proposed New River Valley port of
entry would be as follows: The continuous outer boundaries of the
Montgomery, Pulaski and Roanoke counties in the Commonwealth of
Virginia.
Proposed Amendments to Regulations
If the proposed port of entry designation is adopted, the list of
CBP ports of entry at 19 CFR 101.3(b)(1) will be amended to add New
River Valley as a port of entry in Virginia, and New River Valley
Airport will be deleted from the list of user-fee airports at 19 CFR
122.15(b).
Comments
Before adopting this proposal as a final rule, consideration will
be given to any written comments timely submitted to CBP, including
comments on the clarity of this proposed rule and how it may be made
easier to understand. Comments submitted will be available for public
inspection in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C.
552) and 19 CFR 103.11(b), on regular business days between the hours
of 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Regulations Branch, Office of
Regulations and Rulings, Customs and Border Protection, 799 9th Street,
NW., 5th Floor, Washington, DC. Arrangements to inspect submitted
comments should be made in advance by calling Mr. Joseph Clark at (202)
572-8768.
Authority
This change is proposed under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 301 and 19
U.S.C. 2, 66, and 1624.
Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory Flexibility Act
With DHS approval, CBP establishes, expands and consolidates CBP
ports of entry throughout the United States to accommodate the volume
of CBP-related activity in various parts of the country. The Office of
Management and Budget has determined that this regulatory proposal is
not a significant regulatory action as defined under Executive Order
12866. This proposed rule also will not have significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities. Accordingly, it is
certified that this document is not subject to the additional
requirements of the provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
Signing Authority
The signing authority for this document falls under 19 CFR 0.2(a)
because the establishment of a new port of entry and the termination of
the user-fee status of an airport are not within the bounds of those
regulations for which the Secretary of the Treasury has retained sole
authority. Accordingly, the notice of proposed rulemaking may be signed
by the Secretary of Homeland Security (or his or her delegate).
Drafting Information
The principal author of this document was Steven Bratcher,
Regulations Branch, Office of Regulations and Rulings, CBP. However,
personnel from other offices participated in its development.
Dated: April 29, 2005.
Robert C. Bonner,
Commissioner, Customs and Border Protection.
Dated: June 23, 2005.
Michael Chertoff,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-13120 Filed 7-1-05; 8:45 am]
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