[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 190 (Friday, October 2, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 50915]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-23930]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 190 / Friday, October 2, 2009 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 50915]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 354
[Docket No. APHIS-2009-0048]
RIN 0579-AC99
User Fees for Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection Services
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim rule; delay of effective date.
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SUMMARY: On September 28, 2009, we published an interim rule in the
Federal Register to adjust the fees charged for certain agricultural
quarantine and inspection (AQI) services that are provided in
connection with certain commercial vessels, commercial trucks,
commercial railroad cars, commercial aircraft, and international
airline passengers arriving at ports in the customs territory of the
United States. That interim rule was scheduled to become effective on
October 1, 2009. We are delaying the effective date of the interim rule
until November 1, 2009. This delay will provide entities affected by
the changes in AQI user fees additional time to make the necessary
preparations to comply with the new fees.
DATES: The effective date for the interim rule amending 7 CFR part 354
published at 74 FR 49311-49315 on September 28, 2009, is delayed until
November 1, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning program
operations, contact Mr. William E. Thomas, Director, Quarantine Policy,
Analysis, and Support, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 131,
Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734-5214. For information concerning rate
development, contact Mrs. Kris Caraher, User Fee Section, Financial
Services Branch, Financial Management Division, MRPBS, APHIS, 4700
River Road Unit 55, Riverdale, MD 20737-1232; (301) 734-0882.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In an interim rule published in the Federal Register on September
28, 2009 (74 FR 49311-49315, Docket No. APHIS-2009-0048), we amended
the user fee regulations in 7 CFR part 354 by adjusting the fees
charged for certain agricultural quarantine and inspection (AQI)
services that are provided in connection with certain commercial
vessels, commercial trucks, commercial railroad cars, commercial
aircraft, and international airline passengers arriving at ports in the
customs territory of the United States. In the interim rule, we
explained that the recent downturn in the U.S. economy has negatively
impacted travel volumes, and, as a result, our user fee collections,
which fund these services, have diminished. Although the volume of
international travel and trade has decreased, inspection and related
support services continue to be provided at their existing levels, so
expenses have not decreased. As a result, our user fee collections have
not been sufficient to enable us to provide those services and maintain
a reasonable reserve balance. We therefore found it necessary to
increase our AQI user fees in order to provide adequate funds for these
purposes.
The interim rule was scheduled to become effective on October 1,
2009. We are delaying the effective date of the interim rule until
November 1, 2009. This delay will provide entities affected by the
changes in AQI user fees additional time to make the necessary
preparations to comply with the new fees.
Accordingly, the effective date for the interim rule amending 7 CFR
part 354 published at 74 FR 49311-49315 on September 28, 2009, is
delayed until November 1, 2009.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701-7772, 7781-7786, and 8301-8317; 21
U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 49 U.S.C. 80503; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
Done in Washington, DC, this 30th day of September 2009.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E9-23930 Filed 9-30-09; 4:15 pm]
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