[Federal Register: October 23, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 204)]
[
Proposed Rules]
[Page 54758]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23oc09-8]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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[[Page 54758]]
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;
Public Meeting
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: We are informing the public of an upcoming meeting to address
affected stakeholders' questions and concerns regarding the
agricultural quarantine and inspection user fee increases scheduled to
go into effect on November 1, 2009. The meeting is being organized by
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
DATES: The meeting will be held on October 27, 2009, from 9 a.m. to 1
p.m. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the USDA Center at
Riverside, 4700 River Road, Riverdale, MD.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. William E. Thomas, Director,
Quarantine Policy, Analysis, and Support, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road,
Unit 131, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734-5214.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In an interim rule \1\ 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.
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\1\ To view and comment upon the interim rule and its supporting
documents, go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/
main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2009-0048.
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The interim rule was scheduled to become effective on October 1,
2009. However, we subsequently published a document in the Federal
Register on October 2, 2009 (74 FR 50915, Docket No. APHIS-2009-0048),
in which we delayed the effective date of the user fee increases until
November 1, 2009. This delay was intended to provide entities affected
by the changes in AQI user fees additional time to make the necessary
preparations to comply with the new fees. In conjunction with the
delay, we held a public meeting on October 15, 2009, in Riverdale, MD.
Transcripts of that meeting are available for viewing on the
Regulations.gov Web site.\2\
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\2\ See footnote 1.
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APHIS will continue to accept public comments on the interim rule
until November 27, 2009. In order to gather additional feedback and to
address questions and concerns that stakeholders potentially affected
by the AQI user fee increases may have, we plan to hold a second public
meeting. The public meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 27, 2009,
in the USDA Center at Riverside, 4700 River Road, Riverdale, MD.
Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. The public meeting will begin at 9
a.m. and is scheduled to end at 1 p.m. Additional information regarding
the meeting may be obtained from the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
Security Procedures
Upon entering the building, visitors should inform security
personnel that they are attending the AQI user fee public meeting.
State-issued photo identification is required and all bags will be
screened. Security personnel will direct visitors to the registration
tables located outside of the conference center on the first floor.
Registration upon arrival is required for all participants.
Done in Washington, DC, this 20th day of October 2009.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E9-25548 Filed 10-22-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P