Reauthorization of the United States Grain Standards Act, 3970-3976 [2016-01083]
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3970
Proposed Rules
Federal Register
Vol. 81, No. 15
Monday, January 25, 2016
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.
also be inspected at the mail address
listed above between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30
p.m., Monday through Friday, except
federal holidays. A copy of this
proposed rule is available through the
GIPSA homepage at https://
www.gipsa.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Barry Gomoll, 202–720–8286.
Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication
(Braille, large print, audio tape, etc.)
should contact the USDA Target Center
at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Grain Inspection, Packers and
Stockyards Administration
7 CFR Part 800
RIN 0580–AB13
Reauthorization of the United States
Grain Standards Act
Grain Inspection Packers and
Stockyards Administration, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
The Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Grain Inspection,
Packers and Stockyards Administration
(GIPSA) is proposing to revise existing
regulations and add new regulations
under the United States Grain Standards
Act (USGSA), as amended, in order to
comply with amendments to the USGSA
made by the Agriculture
Reauthorizations Act of 2015.
Specifically, this rulemaking proposes
to eliminate mandatory barge weighing,
remove the discretion for emergency
waivers of inspection and weighing,
revise GIPSA’s fee structure, revise
exceptions to official agency geographic
boundaries, extend the length of
licenses and designations, and impose
new requirements for delegated States.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before February 24, 2016.
ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit
comments on this rule. In your
comments, please include the
Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) and
the volume, date, and page number of
this issue of the Federal Register. You
may submit comments by any of the
following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and follow
the online instructions for submitting
comments.
• Mail, hand deliver, or courier to
Dexter Thomas, GIPSA, USDA, 1400
Independence Avenue SW., Room
2526–S, Washington, DC 20250–3642.
Comments will be available online at
www.regulations.gov. Comments may
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SUMMARY:
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Overview
On September 30, 2015, President
Obama signed into law the Agriculture
Reauthorizations Act of 2015, Public
Law 114–54, (The Reauthorization Act).
In addition to extending certain
provisions of the USGSA (7 U.S.C. 71–
87k) to 2020, the Reauthorization Act
also made several changes to the
existing law. Therefore, this proposed
rule would amend 7 CFR part 800 to
comply with the amendments made by
the Reauthorization Act. Specifically,
this proposed rule would:
• Remove the requirement to
officially weigh inbound barge
shipments at export port locations
(§§ 800.15 and 800.216);
• require GIPSA to approve all
requests for waivers of official
inspection and weighing requirements
for export grain in ‘‘emergencies or
other circumstances which would not
impair the objectives of the [USGSA]’’
(§ 800.18);
• base the portion of fees assessed on
tonnage on the 5-year rolling average of
export tonnage volume (§ 800.71);
• adjust fees annually to maintain a 3
to 6 month operating reserve for
inspection and supervision services
(§ 800.71);
• remove the provision that allows
applicants to request service from an
official agency outside an assigned
geographic region after 90 days of
nonuse of service (§ 800.117);
• waive the geographic boundaries
established for official agencies between
two adjacent official agencies if both
official agencies agree in writing to the
waiver. (§ 800.117);
• without changing current
termination dates, terminate inspection
licenses every 5 years instead of every
3 years (§ 800.175);
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• require delegated States to notify
GIPSA of any intent to temporarily
discontinue official inspection or
weighing services at least 72 hours in
advance, except in the case of a major
disaster (§ 800.195);
• require delegated States to submit
to a GIPSA review of their delegation by
every 5 years in order to certify that they
comply with the requirements for
delegation under the USGSA
(§ 800.195);
• require designated official agencies
to respond to concerns identified during
GIPSA’s consultations with customers
as part of the renewal of a designation
(§ 800.196); and
• extend the minimum length of
designation for official agencies from 3
years to 5 years (§ 800.196).
Fees
GIPSA last made changes to its fee
schedule on May 1, 2013 (78 FR 22151–
66). At that time, GIPSA determined
that the existing fee schedule for
inspection and weighing services would
not generate enough revenue to
adequately cover program costs through
fiscal year 2017. To correct this problem
and to build an operating reserve,
GIPSA increased fees by 5 percent in
fiscal year 2013 and an additional 2
percent for each successive year through
fiscal year 2017.
In addition, GIPSA restructured its
tonnage fees to more accurately reflect
the administrative and supervisory costs
at the national and local level. In order
to establish an equitable tonnage fee for
all export tonnage utilizing the official
system, GIPSA began assessing the
national tonnage fee for all export grain
inspected and/or weighed (excluding
land carrier shipments to Canada and
Mexico) by delegated States and
designated agencies. GIPSA also shifted
workers compensation costs from the
national to the local level to fully reflect
where those workers compensation
costs originated.
Before the Reauthorization Act,
GIPSA used projected future tonnage
volumes as a basis for tonnage fees.
However, the Reauthorization Act
amended the USGSA to require that
tonnage fees be based on the five-year
rolling average of export tonnage
volumes. In order to comply with this
new tonnage fee requirement, under this
proposed rule, GIPSA would adjust both
the national and local tonnage fees on
a yearly basis. Under this proposed rule,
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the national tonnage fee would be the
national program administrative costs
(the costs of management and support of
official inspection and weighing) for the
previous fiscal year divided by the
average export tonnage for the previous
5 fiscal years. Also, the local tonnage
fees would be the Field Office
administrative costs (the costs of
management, support, and maintenance
of each Field Office) for the previous
fiscal year divided by the average
tonnage serviced by that Field Office for
the previous 5 fiscal years.
The Reauthorization Act further
requires adjustment of all of GIPSA’s
fees for the performance, supervision,
and administration of official inspection
and weighing services at least annually
to maintain a 3 to 6 month operating
reserve. Given that the number of
requests for official inspection and
weighing services varies with the
amount of grain produced and exported,
an operating reserve allows funding of
operations in periods with lower than
usual revenue. In order to maintain an
operating reserve, this proposed rule
would increase or decrease inspection
and weighing fees when the operating
reserve is less than 3 times or more than
6 times monthly operating expenses. For
every $1 million that the operating
reserve is below 3 months or above 6
months of operating expenses, GIPSA
would increase or decrease fees by 2
percent respectively. This proposed rule
would also set a 5 percent limit on
changes to fees for service per calendar
year. GIPSA’s annual user fee revenue
for performance, supervision, and
administration of official inspection and
weighing is approximately $40 million.
Therefore, an increase or decrease of 2
to 5 percent would approximately equal
between $0.8 and $2 million annually.
In addition to annual reviews of fees,
GIPSA would continue to evaluate the
financial status of the official inspection
and weighing services to ensure that the
revenue for each service covers the cost
to GIPSA of providing that service. Also,
GIPSA would continue to seek out cost
saving measures and implement
appropriate changes to reduce costs and
minimize the need for fee increases.
This action is authorized under the
USGSA (7 U.S.C. 79(j)), which provides
for the establishment and collection of
fees that are reasonable and, as nearly as
practicable, cover the costs of the
services rendered, including associated
administrative and supervisory costs.
The tonnage fees cover the GIPSA
administrative and supervisory costs for
the performance of GIPSA’s official
inspection and weighing services;
including personnel compensation and
benefits, travel, rent, communications,
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utilities, contractual services, supplies,
and equipment.
Exceptions to Geographic Boundaries
The Reauthorization Act requires
changes to GIPSA’s exception program
for official agencies to operate outside of
their geographically assigned areas.
Before the Reauthorization Act, the
regulations provided for three types of
exceptions: Timely service, nonuse of
service for 90 consecutive days, and
barge probe inspections. The
Reauthorization Act amended the
USGSA to eliminate the nonuse of
service exception and add a provision
for geographically adjacent agencies to
provide service in each other’s assigned
geographic territories if they both agree
in writing at the request of an applicant.
This proposed rule would revise the
current regulations to comply with the
changes to the USGSA by the
Reauthorization Act.
GIPSA currently has 104 agreements
for agencies operating outside of their
assigned territory and GIPSA would
continue to honor those agreements.
Under this proposed rule, an agency
would be permitted to provide service at
a location in another adjacent agency’s
territory, provided that both agencies
and the applicant for service submit an
agreement in writing to GIPSA.
Delegations
As required by the Reauthorization
Act, this proposed rule would impose
new requirements on State agencies that
GIPSA delegates to perform export
inspection and weighing services at
export port locations under the USGSA.
The Reauthorization Act requires the
Secretary to certify that State agencies
are meeting statutory requirements.
Accordingly, every 5 years, a delegated
State agency must submit to a review as
to whether it meets the criteria for
delegation set forth in the USGSA. This
proposed rule would implement a
process mirroring the existing process
that GIPSA uses to renew the
designations of official agencies. The
Reauthorization Act also requires that a
delegated State must notify GIPSA in
writing of any intent to discontinue
providing official service at least 72
hours before any discontinuation. This
proposed rule would add this
requirement to the section of the
regulations concerning responsibilities
of delegated States (7 CFR 800.195(f)).
Emergency Waivers
The Reauthorization Act amended the
USGSA to require GIPSA to waive the
mandatory official inspection and
weighing of export grain ‘‘in emergency
or other circumstances that would not
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impair the objectives of this Act
whenever the parties to a contract for
such shipment mutually agree to the
waiver and documentation of such
agreement is provided to the Secretary
prior to shipment.’’ To clarify what
constitutes an emergency regarding this
provision, this proposed rule would
define the term ‘‘emergency’’ in the
regulations.
The final product of all official
inspection and weighing services is the
official certificate. This certificate is
used to represent the grain shipment in
trade and may be presented as prima
facie evidence in court. Part of GIPSA’s
mission is to facilitate the marketing of
cereals and oilseeds. The inability to
issue a certificate does not achieve this
mission. In the single historical instance
that an emergency was declared, events
outside of the control of the State and
GIPSA prevented inspectors from safely
inspecting grain and accordingly
prevented prompt issuance of
certificates. Therefore, this rule would
define ‘‘emergency’’ to be a situation
outside the control of GIPSA or a
delegated State that prevents prompt
issuance of certificates. This would
allow grain shipments to continue in the
event that the official system is not able
to fully perform all of its duties.
Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 and
the Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Office of Management and Budget
has designated this proposed rule as not
significant under Executive Order
12866, ‘‘Regulatory Planning and
Review’’ and Executive Order 13563,
‘‘Improving Regulation and Regulation
Review.’’ Since grain export volume can
vary significantly from year to year,
estimating the impact in any future fee
changes can be difficult. GIPSA
recognizes the need to provide
predictability to the industry for
inspection and weighing fees. While not
required by the Reauthorization Act,
this proposed rule would limit the
impact of a large annual change in fees
by setting an annual cap of 5 percent for
increases or decreases in inspection and
weighing fees. The statutory
requirement to maintain an operating
reserve between 3 and 6 months of
operating expenses ensures that GIPSA
can adequately cover its costs without
imposing an undue burden on its
customers.
Currently, GIPSA regularly reviews its
user-fee financed programs to determine
if the fees charged for performing
official inspection and weighing
services adequately cover the cost of
providing those services. This policy
remains unchanged in this proposed
regulation. GIPSA will continue to seek
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out cost saving measures and implement
appropriate changes to reduce its costs
to provide alternatives to fee increases.
This proposed rule is unlikely to have
an annual effect of $100 million or
adversely affect the economy. The
changes to the regulation in this
proposed rule are a direct response to
Congressional action. Also, under the
requirements set forth in the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601–12),
GIPSA has considered the economic
impact of this proposed rule on small
entities. The purpose of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act is to fit regulatory actions
to the scale of businesses subject to such
actions. This ensures that small
businesses will not be unduly or
disproportionately burdened. GIPSA is
proposing this rule solely because the
Reauthorization Act amended the
USGSA, which requires that the
regulations be updated to reflect the
changes made to the USGSA by the
Reauthorization Act.
The Small Business Administration
(SBA) defines small businesses by their
North American Industry Classification
System Codes (NAICS). This proposed
rule would affect customers of GIPSA’s
official inspection and weighing
services in the domestic and export
grain markets (NAICS code 115114).
Fees for that program are in Schedules
A (Tables 1–3) and B of § 800.71 of
GIPSA’s regulations (7 CFR 800.71).
Under the USGSA, all grain exported
from the United States must be officially
inspected and weighed. GIPSA provides
mandatory inspection and weighing
services at 45 export facilities in the
United States and 7 facilities for U.S.
grain transshipped through Canadian
ports. Five delegated State agencies
provide mandatory inspection and
weighing services at 13 facilities. All of
these facilities are owned by multinational corporations, large
cooperatives, or public entities that do
not meet the requirements for small
entities established by the SBA. Further,
the provisions of this proposed rule
would apply equally to all entities. The
USGSA requires the registration of all
persons engaged in the business of
buying grain for sale in foreign
commerce. In addition, those persons
who handle, weigh, or transport grain
for sale in foreign commerce must also
register. The regulations found at 7 CFR
800.30 define a foreign commerce grain
business as persons who regularly
engage in buying for sale, handling,
weighing, or transporting grain totaling
15,000 metric tons or more during the
preceding or current calendar year.
Currently, there are 108 registrants
registered to export grain, most of which
are not small businesses.
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Most users of the official inspection
and weighing services do not meet the
SBA requirements for small entities.
Further, GIPSA is required by statute to
make services available to all applicants
and to recover the costs of providing
such services as nearly as practicable,
while maintaining a 3 to 6 month
operating reserve. There would be no
additional reporting, record keeping, or
other compliance requirements imposed
upon small entities as a result of this
proposed rule. GIPSA has not identified
any other federal rules which may
duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this
proposed rule. Because this proposed
rule would not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities, an initial
regulatory flexibility analysis is not
provided.
Executive Order 12988
This proposed rule has been reviewed
under Executive Order 12988, ‘‘Civil
Justice Reform.’’ This proposed rule
would not preempt State or local laws,
regulations, or policies unless they
represent an irreconcilable conflict with
this proposed rule. This proposed rule
would not have retroactive effect.
Executive Order 13132
This proposed rule has been reviewed
under Executive Order 13132,
‘‘Federalism.’’ The policies in this
proposed rule would not have any
substantial direct effect on States, on the
relationship between federal
government and the States, or on the
distribution of power and
responsibilities among various levels of
government, except as required by law.
This proposed rule does not impose
substantial direct compliance costs on
State and local governments. Because
States already retain records for their
ordinary operations, the proposed
§ 800.195(g)(4) should not have a
significant impact on State
governments. Therefore, consultation
with the States is not required.
Executive Order 13175
This proposed rule has been reviewed
under Executive Order 13175,
‘‘Consultation and Coordination with
Indian Tribal Governments.’’ To our
knowledge, this rule would not have
tribal implications that require tribal
consultation under Executive Order
13175. If a Tribe requests consultation,
GIPSA will work with the USDA Office
of Tribal Relations to ensure meaningful
consultation is provided where changes,
additions, and modifications identified
in this rule are not expressly mandated
by the Reauthorization Act.
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Paperwork Reduction Act
In compliance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35), the information collection
and record keeping requirements
included in this proposed rule has been
approved by the OMB under control
number 0580–0013, which expires on
January 31, 2018.
GIPSA is committed to complying
with the Government Paperwork
Elimination Act, which requires
Government agencies in general to
provide the public the option of
submitting information or transacting
business electronically to maximum
extent possible.
E-Government Compliance
GIPSA is committed to complying
with the E-Government Act, to promote
the use of the Internet and other
information technologies to provide
increased opportunities for citizen
access to Government information and
services, and for other purposes.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 800
Administrative practice and
procedure, Exports, Grains, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
For the reasons set out in the
preamble, GIPSA proposes to amend 7
CFR part 800 as follows:
PART 800—GENERAL REGULATIONS
1. The authority citation for part 800
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 71–87k.
2. In § 800.0, add in alphabetical order
definitions for ‘‘Emergency’’, ‘‘Field
Office administrative costs’’, ‘‘National
program administrative costs’’,
‘‘Operating expenses’’, and ‘‘Operating
reserve’’ to read as follows:
■
§ 800.0
Meaning of terms.
*
*
*
*
*
(b) * * *
Emergency. A situation outside the
control of the Service or a delegated
State that prevents prompt issuance of
certificates in accordance with
§ 800.160(c).
*
*
*
*
*
Field Office administrative costs. The
costs of management, support, and
maintenance of a Field Office,
including, but not limited to, the
management and administrative support
personnel, rent, and utilities. This does
not include any costs directly related to
providing original or review inspection
or weighing services.
*
*
*
*
*
National program administrative
costs. The costs of national management
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and support of official grain inspection
and/or weighing. This does not include
the Field Office administrative costs and
any costs directly related to providing
service.
*
*
*
*
*
Operating expenses. The total costs to
the Service to provide official grain
inspection and/or weighing services.
Operating reserve. The amount of
funds the Service has available to
provide official grain inspection and/or
weighing services.
*
*
*
*
*
§ 800.15
[Amended]
3. Amend § 800.15 by removing
paragraph (b)(2) and redesignating
paragraphs (b)(3) and (b)(4) as (b)(2) and
(b)(3), respectively.
■ 4. Revise § 800.18(b)(7) to read as
follows:
■
§ 800.18 Waivers of the official inspection
and Class X weighing requirements.
*
*
*
(b) * * *
*
*
(7) Emergency waiver. (i) Upon
request, the requirements for official
inspection or Class X weighing must be
waived whenever the Service
determines:
(A) That an emergency exists that
precludes official inspection or Class X
weighing;
(B) That granting an emergency
waiver will not impair the objectives of
the Act; and
(C) The buyer and seller mutually
agree to the waiver.
(ii) To qualify for an emergency
waiver, the exporter or elevator operator
must submit a timely written request to
the Service for the emergency waiver
and also comply with all conditions that
the Service may require.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 5. Revise § 800.71 to read as follows:
§ 800.71
Fees assessed by the Service.
(a) Official inspection and weighing
services. The fees shown in Schedule A
apply to official inspection and
weighing services performed by FGIS in
the U.S. and Canada. The fees shown in
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Schedule B apply to official domestic
inspection and weighing services
performed by delegated States and
designated agencies, including land
carrier shipments to Canada and
Mexico. The fees charged to delegated
States by the Service are set forth in the
State’s Delegation of Authority
document. Failure of a delegated State
or designated agency to pay the
appropriate fees to the Service within 30
days after becoming due will result in
an automatic termination of the
delegation or designation. The
delegation or designation may be
reinstated by the Service if fees that are
due, plus interest and any further
expenses incurred by the Service
because of the termination, are paid
within 60 days of the termination.
(1) Schedule A—Fees for official
inspection and weighing services
performed in the United States and
Canada, effective October 1, 2015.
Canada fees include the noncontract
hourly rate, the Toledo Field Office
tonnage fee, and the actual cost of
travel.
TABLE 1 OF SCHEDULE A—FEES FOR OFFICIAL SERVICES PERFORMED AT AN APPLICANT’S FACILITY IN AN ONSITE FGIS
LABORATORY 1
Monday to
Friday
(6 a.m. to
6 p.m.)
(1) Inspection and Weighing Services Hourly Rates (per service representative):
1-year contract ($ per hour) ...............................................................
Noncontract ($ per hour) ....................................................................
Monday to
Friday
(6 p.m. to
6 a.m.)
$40.20 ..................
71.40 ....................
$42.10
71.40
Saturday,
Sunday, and
overtime 2
$48.20
71.40
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(2) Additional Tests (cost per test, assessed in addition to the hourly rate): 3
(i) Aflatoxin (rapid test kit method) ...............................................................................................................................................
(ii) Aflatoxin (rapid test kit method–applicant provides kit) 4 ........................................................................................................
(iii) All other Mycotoxins (rapid test kit method) ...........................................................................................................................
(iv) All other Mycotoxins (rapid test kit method-applicant provides kit) 4 .....................................................................................
(v) NIR or NMR Analysis (protein, oil, starch, etc.) .....................................................................................................................
(vi) Waxy corn (per test) ...............................................................................................................................................................
(vii) Fees for other tests not listed above will be based on the lowest noncontract hourly rate
(viii) Other services
(a) Class Y Weighing (per carrier):
(1) Truck/container .........................................................................................................................................................
(2) Railcar .......................................................................................................................................................................
(3) Barge ........................................................................................................................................................................
(3) Tonnage Fee (assessed in addition to all other applicable fees, only one tonnage fee will be assessed when inspection and
weighing services are performed on the same carrier):
(i) All outbound carriers serviced by the specific Field Office (per-metric ton):
(a) League City ......................................................................................................................................................................
(b) New Orleans ....................................................................................................................................................................
(c) Portland ............................................................................................................................................................................
(d) Toledo ..............................................................................................................................................................................
(e) Delegated States 5 ...........................................................................................................................................................
(f) Designated Agencies 5 ......................................................................................................................................................
Holidays
$71.40
71.40
11.40
9.40
20.80
18.80
2.70
2.70
0.70
1.70
3.00
........................
0.192
0.094
0.191
0.306
0.061
0.061
1 Fees apply to original inspection and weighing, re-inspection, and appeal inspection service and include, but are not limited to, sampling,
grading, weighing, prior to loading stowage examinations, and certifying results performed within 25 miles of an employee’s assigned duty station. Travel and related expenses will be charged for service outside 25 miles as found in § 800.72(a).
2 Overtime rates will be assessed for all hours in excess of 8 consecutive hours that result from an applicant scheduling or requesting service
beyond 8 hours, or if requests for additional shifts exceed existing staffing.
3 Appeal and re-inspection services will be assessed the same fee as the original inspection service.
4 Applicant must provide the test kit, instrument hardware, calibration control, and all supplies required by the test kit manufacturer.
5 Tonnage fee is assessed on export grain inspected and/or weighed, excluding land carrier shipments to Canada and Mexico.
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TABLE 2 OF SCHEDULE A—SERVICES PERFORMED AT OTHER THAN AN APPLICANT’S FACILITY IN AN FGIS LABORATORY 1 2
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(1) Original Inspection and Weighing (Class X) Services:
(i) Sampling only (use hourly rates from Table 1 of this section).
(ii) Stationary lots (sampling, grade/factor, & checkloading):
(a) Truck/trailer/container (per carrier) ............................................................................................................................
(b) Railcar (per carrier) ....................................................................................................................................................
(c) Barge (per carrier) .....................................................................................................................................................
(d) Sacked grain (per hour per service representative plus an administrative fee per hundredweight) (CWT) ............
(iii) Lots sampled online during loading (sampling charge under (1)(i) of this table, plus):.
(a) Truck/trailer container (per carrier) ............................................................................................................................
(b) Railcar (per carrier) ....................................................................................................................................................
(c) Barge (per carrier) .....................................................................................................................................................
(d) Sacked grain (per hour per service representative plus an administrative fee per hundredweight) (CWT) ............
(iv) Other services:.
(a) Submitted sample (per sample—grade and factor) ..................................................................................................
(b) Warehouseman inspection (per sample) ...................................................................................................................
(c) Factor only (per factor—maximum 2 factors) ............................................................................................................
(d) Checkloading/condition examination (use hourly rates from Table 1 of this section, plus an administrative fee
per hundredweight if not previously assessed) (CWT) ...............................................................................................
(e) Re-inspection (grade and factor only. Sampling service additional, item (1)(i) of this table) ...................................
(f) Class X Weighing (per hour per service representative) ...........................................................................................
(v) Additional tests (excludes sampling):.
(a) Aflatoxin (rapid test kit method) .................................................................................................................................
(b) Aflatoxin (rapid test kit method-applicant provides kit) 3 ...........................................................................................
(c) All other Mycotoxins (rapid test kit method) ..............................................................................................................
(d) All other Mycotoxins (rapid test kit method-applicant provides kit) 3 ........................................................................
(e) NIR or NMR Analysis (protein, oil, starch, etc.) ........................................................................................................
(f) Waxy corn (per test) ...................................................................................................................................................
(g) Canola (per test-00 dip test) ......................................................................................................................................
(h) Pesticide Residue Testing: 4.
(1) Routine Compounds (per sample) .....................................................................................................................
(2) Special Compounds (Subject to availability) ......................................................................................................
(i) Fees for other tests not listed above will be based on the lowest noncontract hourly rate from Table 1 of this
section..
(2) Appeal inspection and review of weighing service.5
(i) Board Appeals and Appeals (grade and factor) ................................................................................................................
(a) Factor only (per factor—max 2 factors) ....................................................................................................................
(b) Sampling service for Appeals additional (hourly rates from Table 1 of this section).
(ii) Additional tests (assessed in addition to all other applicable tests):
(a) Aflatoxin (rapid test kit method) .................................................................................................................................
(b) Aflatoxin (rapid test kit method-applicant provides kit) 3 ...........................................................................................
(c) All other Mycotoxins (rapid test kit method) ..............................................................................................................
(d) All other Mycotoxins (rapid test kit method-applicant provides kit) 3 ........................................................................
(e) NIR or NMR Analysis (protein, oil, starch, etc.) ........................................................................................................
(f) Sunflower oil (per test) ...............................................................................................................................................
(g) Mycotoxin (per test-HPLC) ........................................................................................................................................
(h) Pesticide Residue Testing: 4.
(1) Routine Compounds (per sample) .....................................................................................................................
(2) Special Compounds (Subject to availability) ......................................................................................................
(i) Fees for other tests not listed above will be based on the lowest noncontract hourly rate from Table 1 of this
section..
(iii) Review of weighing (per hour per service representative) ..............................................................................................
(3) Stowage examination (service-on-request):4
(i) Ship (per stowage space) (minimum $285.00 per ship) ...................................................................................................
(ii) Subsequent ship examinations (same as original) (minimum $171.00 per ship) ............................................................
(iii) Barge (per examination) ...................................................................................................................................................
(iv) All other carriers (per examination) ..................................................................................................................................
$22.50
33.30
209.10
0.08
13.50
28.10
143.00
0.08
13.50
23.60
6.60
0.08
14.60
71.40
33.60
31.60
43.20
41.20
11.40
11.40
11.40
240.90
128.40
91.50
48.20
33.60
31.60
52.60
50.60
19.80
19.80
157.30
240.90
128.40
92.30
57.00
57.00
45.80
18.00
1 Fees apply to original inspection and weighing, re-inspection, and appeal inspection service and include, but are not limited to, sampling,
grading, weighing, prior to loading stowage examinations, and certifying results performed within 25 miles of an employee’s assigned duty station. Travel and related expenses will be charged for service outside 25 miles as found in § 800.72(a).
2 An additional charge will be assessed when the revenue from the services in Schedule A, Table 2, does not cover what would have been collected at the applicable hourly rate as provided in § 800.72(b).
3 Applicant must provide the test kit, instrument hardware, calibration control, and all supplies required by the test kit manufacturer.
4 If performed outside of normal business, 11/2 times the applicable unit fee will be charged.
5 If, at the request of the Service, a file sample is located and forwarded by the Agency, the Agency may, upon request, be reimbursed at the
rate of $3.50 per sample by the Service.
TABLE 3 OF SCHEDULE A—MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES 1
(1) Grain grading seminars (per hour per service representative) 2 ................................................................................................
(2) Certification of diverter-type mechanical samplers (per hour per service representative) 2 ......................................................
(3) Special weighing services (per hour per service representative): 2
(i) Scale testing and certification ...............................................................................................................................................
(ii) Scale testing and certification of railroad track scales ........................................................................................................
(iii) Evaluation of weighing and material handling systems ......................................................................................................
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25JAP1
$71.40.
71.40.
92.90.
92.90.
92.90.
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TABLE 3 OF SCHEDULE A—MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES 1—Continued
(iv) NTEP Prototype evaluation (other than Railroad Track Scales) ........................................................................................
(v) NTEP Prototype evaluation of Railroad Track Scale ..........................................................................................................
(vi) Use of GIPSA railroad track scale test equipment per facility for each requested service. (Track scales tested under
the Association of American Railroads agreement are exempt.).
(vii) Mass standards calibration and re-verification ...................................................................................................................
(viii) Special projects .................................................................................................................................................................
(4) Foreign travel (hourly fee) 3 ........................................................................................................................................................
(5) Online customized data service:
(i) One data file per week for 1 year .........................................................................................................................................
(ii) One data file per month for 1 year ......................................................................................................................................
(6) Samples provided to interested parties (per sample) .................................................................................................................
(7) Divided-lot certificates (per certificate) ........................................................................................................................................
(8) Extra copies of certificates (per certificate) ................................................................................................................................
(9) Faxing (per page) ........................................................................................................................................................................
(10) Special mailing ..........................................................................................................................................................................
(11) Preparing certificates onsite or during other than normal business hours (use hourly rates from Table 1 of this section).
92.90.
92.90.
557.30.
92.90.
92.90.
92.90.
557.30.
334.40.
3.50.
2.20.
2.20.
2.20.
Actual Cost.
1 Any
requested service that is not listed will be performed at $71.40 per hour.
business hours—Monday through Friday—service provided at other than regular business hours will be charged at 11/2 times the
applicable hourly rate. (See the definition of ‘‘business day’’ in § 800.0(b))
3 Foreign travel charged hourly fee of $92.90 plus travel, per diem, and related expenditures.
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
2 Regular
(2) Schedule B—Fees for FGIS
Supervision of Official Inspection and
Weighing Services Performed by
Delegated States and/or Designated
Agencies in the United States. The
supervision fee charged by the Service
is $0.011 per metric ton of domestic
U.S. grain shipments inspected and/or
weighed, including land carrier
shipments to Canada and Mexico.
(b) Annual review of fees. For each
calendar year, starting with 2017, the
Service will review the fees in Schedule
A and publish fees effective January 1
of each year according to the following:
(1) Tonnage fees. Tonnage fees will
consist of the national tonnage fee and
local tonnage fees and will be calculated
and rounded to the nearest $0.001 per
metric ton. All outbound grain officially
inspected and/or weighed by the Field
Offices in New Orleans, League City,
Portland, and Toledo will be assessed
the national tonnage fee plus the
appropriate local tonnage fee. Export
grain officially inspected and/or
weighed by delegated States and official
agencies, excluding land carrier
shipments to Canada and Mexico, will
be assessed the national tonnage fee
only. The fees will be set according to
the following:
(i) National tonnage fee. The national
tonnage fee is the national program
administrative costs for the previous
fiscal year divided by the average yearly
tons of export grain officially inspected
and/or weighed by delegated States and
designated agencies, excluding land
carrier shipments to Canada and
Mexico, and outbound grain officially
inspected and/or weighed by the
Service during the previous 5 fiscal
years.
(ii) Local tonnage fee. The local
tonnage fee is the Field Office
administrative costs for the previous
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12:22 Jan 22, 2016
Jkt 238001
fiscal year divided by the average yearly
tons of outbound grain officially
inspected and/or weighed by the Field
Office during the previous 5 fiscal years.
The local tonnage fee is calculated
individually for each Field Office.
(2) Operating reserve. In order to
maintain an operating reserve not less
than 3 and not more than 6 months, the
Service will review the value of the
operating reserve at the end of each
fiscal year and adjust fees according to
the following:
(i) Between 3 months and 6 months.
If the operating reserve is greater than or
equal to 3 times the monthly operating
expenses and less than or equal to 6
times the monthly operating expenses,
the Service will not make any fee
adjustments other than provided for in
paragraphs (b)(1) and (c) of this section.
(ii) Less than 3 months. If the
operating reserve is less than 3 times the
monthly operating expenses, the Service
will increase all fees in Schedule A by
2 percent for each $1,000,000, rounded
down, that the operating reserve is less
than 3 times the monthly operating
expense, with a maximum increase of 5
percent annually. Except for fees based
on tonnage or hundredweight, all fees
will be rounded to the nearest $0.10.
(iii) Greater than 6 months. If the
operating reserve is greater than 6 times
the monthly operating expenses, the
Service will decrease all fees in
Schedule A by 2 percent for each
$1,000,000, rounded down, that the
operating reserve is greater than 6 times
the monthly operating expense, with a
maximum decrease of 5 percent
annually. Except for fees based on
tonnage or hundredweight, all fees will
be rounded to the nearest $0.10.
(c) Periodic review. The Service will
periodically review and adjust all fees
in Schedules A and B as necessary to
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
ensure they reflect the true cost of
providing and supervising official
service. This process will incorporate
any fee adjustments from paragraph (b)
of this section.
(d) Miscellaneous fees for other
services—(1) Registration certificates
and renewals. (i) The nature of your
business will determine the fees that
your business must pay for registration
certificates and renewals:
(A) If you operate a business that
buys, handles, weighs, or transports
grain for sale in foreign commerce, you
must pay $135.00.
(B) If you operate a business that
buys, handles, weighs, or transports
grain for sale in foreign commerce and
you are also in a control relationship
(see definition in section 17A(b)(2) of
the Act) with respect to a business that
buys, handles, weighs, or transports
grain for sale in interstate commerce,
you must pay $270.00.
(ii) If you request extra copies of
registration certificates, you must pay
$2.20 for each copy.
(2) Designation amendments. If you
submit an application to amend a
designation, you must pay $75.00.
(3) Scale testing organization. If you
submit an application to operate as a
scale testing organization, you must pay
$250.00.
■ 7. Amend § 800.117 by removing
paragraph (b)(2), redesignating
paragraph (b)(3) as (b)(2), and adding a
new paragraph (b)(3) to read as follows:
§ 800.117
services.
Who shall perform original
*
*
*
*
*
(b) * * *
*
*
*
*
*
(3) Written agreement. If the assigned
official agency agrees in writing with
the adjacent official agency to waive the
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 15 / Monday, January 25, 2016 / Proposed Rules
current geographic area restriction at the
request of the applicant for service, the
adjacent official agency may provide
service at a particular location upon
approval by the Service.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 8. Revise paragraph (a) of § 800.175 to
read as follows:
§ 800.175
Termination of licenses.
(a) Term of license. Each license shall
terminate in accordance with the
termination date shown on the license
and as specified in paragraph (b) of this
section. The termination date for a
license shall be no less than 5 years or
more than 6 years after the issuance date
for the initial license; thereafter, every 5
years. Upon request of a licensee and for
good cause shown, the termination date
may be advanced or delayed by the
Administrator for a period not to exceed
60 days.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 9. Amend § 800.195 by adding
paragraphs (f)(11) and (g)(4) to read as
follows:
§ 800.195
Delegations.
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
*
*
*
*
*
(f) * * *
(11) Notification to Secretary. A
delegated State shall notify the
Secretary of its intention to temporarily
discontinue official inspection and/or
weighing services for any reason, except
in the case of a major disaster. The
delegated State must provide written
notification to the Service no less than
72 hours in advance of the
discontinuation date.
*
*
*
*
*
(g) * * *
(4) Review. At least once every 5
years, a delegated State shall submit to
a review of its delegation by the Service
in accordance with the criteria and
procedures for delegation prescribed in
section 7(e) of the Act, this section of
the regulations, and the instructions.
The Administrator may revoke the
delegation of a State according to this
subsection if the State fails to meet or
comply with any of the criteria for
delegation set forth in the Act,
regulations, and instructions.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 10. Amend § 800.196 by revising
paragraphs (e)(2)(ii) and (iii), adding
paragraph (e)(2)(iv), and revising
paragraph (h)(1)(i) to read as follows:
§ 800.196
Designations.
*
*
*
*
*
(e) * * *
(2) * * *
(ii) The applicant meets the
conditions and criteria specified in the
Act and regulations;
VerDate Sep<11>2014
12:22 Jan 22, 2016
Jkt 238001
(iii) The applicant is better able than
any other applicant to provide official
services; and
(iv) The applicant addresses concerns
identified during consultations that the
Service conducts with applicants for
service to the satisfaction of the Service.
*
*
*
*
*
(h) Termination and renewal—(1)
Every 5 years—(i) Termination. A
designation shall terminate at a time
specified by the Administrator, but not
later than 5 years after the effective date
of the designation. A notice of
termination shall be issued by the
Service to a designated agency at least
120 calendar days in advance of the
termination date. The notice shall
provide instructions for requesting
renewal of the designation. Failure to
receive a notice from the Service shall
not exempt a designated agency from
the responsibility of having its
designation renewed on or before the
specified termination date.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 11. Amend § 800.216 by revising
paragraph (c) to read as follows:
§ 800.216 Activities that shall be
monitored.
*
*
*
*
*
(c) Grain handling activities. Grain
handling activities subject to monitoring
for compliance with the Act include,
but are not limited to:
(1) Shipping export grain without
inspection or weighing;
(2) Violating any Federal law with
respect to the handling, weighing, or
inspection of grain;
(3) Deceptively loading, handling,
weighing, or sampling grain; and
(4) Exporting grain without a
certificate of registration.
*
*
*
*
*
Larry Mitchell,
Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and
Stockyards.
[FR Doc. 2016–01083 Filed 1–22–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–KD–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 100
[Docket Number USCG–2015–1039]
RIN 1625–AA08
Special Local Regulations; Sector Ohio
Valley Annual and Recurring Special
Local Regulations Update
AGENCY:
PO 00000
Coast Guard, DHS.
Frm 00007
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
ACTION:
Notice of proposed rulemaking.
The Coast Guard is amending
and updating its special local
regulations relating to recurring marine
parades, regattas, and other events that
take place in the Coast Guard Sector
Ohio Valley area of responsibility
(AOR). This document informs the
public of regularly scheduled events
that require additional safety measures
through establishing a special local
regulation. Through this document the
current list of recurring special local
regulations is updated with revisions,
additional events, and removal of events
that no longer take place in Sector Ohio
Valley’s AOR. When these special local
regulations are enforced, certain
restrictions are placed on marine traffic
in specified areas. Additionally, this one
proposed rulemaking project reduces
administrative costs involved in
producing separate proposed rules for
each individual recurring special local
regulation and serves to provide notice
of the known recurring special local
regulations throughout the year.
DATES: Comments and related material
must be received by the Coast Guard on
or before April 25, 2016.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by docket number USCG–
2015–1039 using the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at https://
www.regulations.gov. See the ‘‘Public
Participation and Request for
Comments’’ portion of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for
further instructions on submitting
comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If
you have questions on this proposed
rule, call or email Petty Officer James
Robinson, Sector Ohio Valley, U.S.
Coast Guard; telephone (502) 779–5347,
email James.C.Robinson@uscg.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
I. Table of Abbreviations
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
DHS Department of Homeland Security
E.O. Executive order
FR Federal Register
NPRM Notice of proposed rulemaking
Pub. L. Public Law
§ Section
U.S.C. United States Code
II. Background, Purpose, and Legal
Basis
The Captain of the Port (COTP) Ohio
Valley is proposing to establish, amend,
and update its current list of recurring
special local regulations.
These special local regulations are
proposed to be added, amended, and
updated to the list of annually recurring
special local regulations under 33 CFR
E:\FR\FM\25JAP1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 15 (Monday, January 25, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 3970-3976]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01083]
========================================================================
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.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 15 / Monday, January 25, 2016 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 3970]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration
7 CFR Part 800
RIN 0580-AB13
Reauthorization of the United States Grain Standards Act
AGENCY: Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers
and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) is proposing to revise existing
regulations and add new regulations under the United States Grain
Standards Act (USGSA), as amended, in order to comply with amendments
to the USGSA made by the Agriculture Reauthorizations Act of 2015.
Specifically, this rulemaking proposes to eliminate mandatory barge
weighing, remove the discretion for emergency waivers of inspection and
weighing, revise GIPSA's fee structure, revise exceptions to official
agency geographic boundaries, extend the length of licenses and
designations, and impose new requirements for delegated States.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 24, 2016.
ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments on this rule. In your
comments, please include the Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) and the
volume, date, and page number of this issue of the Federal Register.
You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Mail, hand deliver, or courier to Dexter Thomas, GIPSA,
USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 2526-S, Washington, DC 20250-
3642.
Comments will be available online at www.regulations.gov. Comments
may also be inspected at the mail address listed above between 8:00
a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. A
copy of this proposed rule is available through the GIPSA homepage at
https://www.gipsa.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry Gomoll, 202-720-8286.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for
communication (Braille, large print, audio tape, etc.) should contact
the USDA Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Overview
On September 30, 2015, President Obama signed into law the
Agriculture Reauthorizations Act of 2015, Public Law 114-54, (The
Reauthorization Act). In addition to extending certain provisions of
the USGSA (7 U.S.C. 71-87k) to 2020, the Reauthorization Act also made
several changes to the existing law. Therefore, this proposed rule
would amend 7 CFR part 800 to comply with the amendments made by the
Reauthorization Act. Specifically, this proposed rule would:
Remove the requirement to officially weigh inbound barge
shipments at export port locations (Sec. Sec. 800.15 and 800.216);
require GIPSA to approve all requests for waivers of
official inspection and weighing requirements for export grain in
``emergencies or other circumstances which would not impair the
objectives of the [USGSA]'' (Sec. 800.18);
base the portion of fees assessed on tonnage on the 5-year
rolling average of export tonnage volume (Sec. 800.71);
adjust fees annually to maintain a 3 to 6 month operating
reserve for inspection and supervision services (Sec. 800.71);
remove the provision that allows applicants to request
service from an official agency outside an assigned geographic region
after 90 days of nonuse of service (Sec. 800.117);
waive the geographic boundaries established for official
agencies between two adjacent official agencies if both official
agencies agree in writing to the waiver. (Sec. 800.117);
without changing current termination dates, terminate
inspection licenses every 5 years instead of every 3 years (Sec.
800.175);
require delegated States to notify GIPSA of any intent to
temporarily discontinue official inspection or weighing services at
least 72 hours in advance, except in the case of a major disaster
(Sec. 800.195);
require delegated States to submit to a GIPSA review of
their delegation by every 5 years in order to certify that they comply
with the requirements for delegation under the USGSA (Sec. 800.195);
require designated official agencies to respond to
concerns identified during GIPSA's consultations with customers as part
of the renewal of a designation (Sec. 800.196); and
extend the minimum length of designation for official
agencies from 3 years to 5 years (Sec. 800.196).
Fees
GIPSA last made changes to its fee schedule on May 1, 2013 (78 FR
22151-66). At that time, GIPSA determined that the existing fee
schedule for inspection and weighing services would not generate enough
revenue to adequately cover program costs through fiscal year 2017. To
correct this problem and to build an operating reserve, GIPSA increased
fees by 5 percent in fiscal year 2013 and an additional 2 percent for
each successive year through fiscal year 2017.
In addition, GIPSA restructured its tonnage fees to more accurately
reflect the administrative and supervisory costs at the national and
local level. In order to establish an equitable tonnage fee for all
export tonnage utilizing the official system, GIPSA began assessing the
national tonnage fee for all export grain inspected and/or weighed
(excluding land carrier shipments to Canada and Mexico) by delegated
States and designated agencies. GIPSA also shifted workers compensation
costs from the national to the local level to fully reflect where those
workers compensation costs originated.
Before the Reauthorization Act, GIPSA used projected future tonnage
volumes as a basis for tonnage fees. However, the Reauthorization Act
amended the USGSA to require that tonnage fees be based on the five-
year rolling average of export tonnage volumes. In order to comply with
this new tonnage fee requirement, under this proposed rule, GIPSA would
adjust both the national and local tonnage fees on a yearly basis.
Under this proposed rule,
[[Page 3971]]
the national tonnage fee would be the national program administrative
costs (the costs of management and support of official inspection and
weighing) for the previous fiscal year divided by the average export
tonnage for the previous 5 fiscal years. Also, the local tonnage fees
would be the Field Office administrative costs (the costs of
management, support, and maintenance of each Field Office) for the
previous fiscal year divided by the average tonnage serviced by that
Field Office for the previous 5 fiscal years.
The Reauthorization Act further requires adjustment of all of
GIPSA's fees for the performance, supervision, and administration of
official inspection and weighing services at least annually to maintain
a 3 to 6 month operating reserve. Given that the number of requests for
official inspection and weighing services varies with the amount of
grain produced and exported, an operating reserve allows funding of
operations in periods with lower than usual revenue. In order to
maintain an operating reserve, this proposed rule would increase or
decrease inspection and weighing fees when the operating reserve is
less than 3 times or more than 6 times monthly operating expenses. For
every $1 million that the operating reserve is below 3 months or above
6 months of operating expenses, GIPSA would increase or decrease fees
by 2 percent respectively. This proposed rule would also set a 5
percent limit on changes to fees for service per calendar year. GIPSA's
annual user fee revenue for performance, supervision, and
administration of official inspection and weighing is approximately $40
million. Therefore, an increase or decrease of 2 to 5 percent would
approximately equal between $0.8 and $2 million annually.
In addition to annual reviews of fees, GIPSA would continue to
evaluate the financial status of the official inspection and weighing
services to ensure that the revenue for each service covers the cost to
GIPSA of providing that service. Also, GIPSA would continue to seek out
cost saving measures and implement appropriate changes to reduce costs
and minimize the need for fee increases.
This action is authorized under the USGSA (7 U.S.C. 79(j)), which
provides for the establishment and collection of fees that are
reasonable and, as nearly as practicable, cover the costs of the
services rendered, including associated administrative and supervisory
costs. The tonnage fees cover the GIPSA administrative and supervisory
costs for the performance of GIPSA's official inspection and weighing
services; including personnel compensation and benefits, travel, rent,
communications, utilities, contractual services, supplies, and
equipment.
Exceptions to Geographic Boundaries
The Reauthorization Act requires changes to GIPSA's exception
program for official agencies to operate outside of their
geographically assigned areas. Before the Reauthorization Act, the
regulations provided for three types of exceptions: Timely service,
nonuse of service for 90 consecutive days, and barge probe inspections.
The Reauthorization Act amended the USGSA to eliminate the nonuse of
service exception and add a provision for geographically adjacent
agencies to provide service in each other's assigned geographic
territories if they both agree in writing at the request of an
applicant. This proposed rule would revise the current regulations to
comply with the changes to the USGSA by the Reauthorization Act.
GIPSA currently has 104 agreements for agencies operating outside
of their assigned territory and GIPSA would continue to honor those
agreements. Under this proposed rule, an agency would be permitted to
provide service at a location in another adjacent agency's territory,
provided that both agencies and the applicant for service submit an
agreement in writing to GIPSA.
Delegations
As required by the Reauthorization Act, this proposed rule would
impose new requirements on State agencies that GIPSA delegates to
perform export inspection and weighing services at export port
locations under the USGSA. The Reauthorization Act requires the
Secretary to certify that State agencies are meeting statutory
requirements. Accordingly, every 5 years, a delegated State agency must
submit to a review as to whether it meets the criteria for delegation
set forth in the USGSA. This proposed rule would implement a process
mirroring the existing process that GIPSA uses to renew the
designations of official agencies. The Reauthorization Act also
requires that a delegated State must notify GIPSA in writing of any
intent to discontinue providing official service at least 72 hours
before any discontinuation. This proposed rule would add this
requirement to the section of the regulations concerning
responsibilities of delegated States (7 CFR 800.195(f)).
Emergency Waivers
The Reauthorization Act amended the USGSA to require GIPSA to waive
the mandatory official inspection and weighing of export grain ``in
emergency or other circumstances that would not impair the objectives
of this Act whenever the parties to a contract for such shipment
mutually agree to the waiver and documentation of such agreement is
provided to the Secretary prior to shipment.'' To clarify what
constitutes an emergency regarding this provision, this proposed rule
would define the term ``emergency'' in the regulations.
The final product of all official inspection and weighing services
is the official certificate. This certificate is used to represent the
grain shipment in trade and may be presented as prima facie evidence in
court. Part of GIPSA's mission is to facilitate the marketing of
cereals and oilseeds. The inability to issue a certificate does not
achieve this mission. In the single historical instance that an
emergency was declared, events outside of the control of the State and
GIPSA prevented inspectors from safely inspecting grain and accordingly
prevented prompt issuance of certificates. Therefore, this rule would
define ``emergency'' to be a situation outside the control of GIPSA or
a delegated State that prevents prompt issuance of certificates. This
would allow grain shipments to continue in the event that the official
system is not able to fully perform all of its duties.
Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 and the Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Office of Management and Budget has designated this proposed
rule as not significant under Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory
Planning and Review'' and Executive Order 13563, ``Improving Regulation
and Regulation Review.'' Since grain export volume can vary
significantly from year to year, estimating the impact in any future
fee changes can be difficult. GIPSA recognizes the need to provide
predictability to the industry for inspection and weighing fees. While
not required by the Reauthorization Act, this proposed rule would limit
the impact of a large annual change in fees by setting an annual cap of
5 percent for increases or decreases in inspection and weighing fees.
The statutory requirement to maintain an operating reserve between 3
and 6 months of operating expenses ensures that GIPSA can adequately
cover its costs without imposing an undue burden on its customers.
Currently, GIPSA regularly reviews its user-fee financed programs
to determine if the fees charged for performing official inspection and
weighing services adequately cover the cost of providing those
services. This policy remains unchanged in this proposed regulation.
GIPSA will continue to seek
[[Page 3972]]
out cost saving measures and implement appropriate changes to reduce
its costs to provide alternatives to fee increases.
This proposed rule is unlikely to have an annual effect of $100
million or adversely affect the economy. The changes to the regulation
in this proposed rule are a direct response to Congressional action.
Also, under the requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601-12), GIPSA has considered the economic impact
of this proposed rule on small entities. The purpose of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act is to fit regulatory actions to the scale of businesses
subject to such actions. This ensures that small businesses will not be
unduly or disproportionately burdened. GIPSA is proposing this rule
solely because the Reauthorization Act amended the USGSA, which
requires that the regulations be updated to reflect the changes made to
the USGSA by the Reauthorization Act.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) defines small businesses by
their North American Industry Classification System Codes (NAICS). This
proposed rule would affect customers of GIPSA's official inspection and
weighing services in the domestic and export grain markets (NAICS code
115114). Fees for that program are in Schedules A (Tables 1-3) and B of
Sec. 800.71 of GIPSA's regulations (7 CFR 800.71).
Under the USGSA, all grain exported from the United States must be
officially inspected and weighed. GIPSA provides mandatory inspection
and weighing services at 45 export facilities in the United States and
7 facilities for U.S. grain transshipped through Canadian ports. Five
delegated State agencies provide mandatory inspection and weighing
services at 13 facilities. All of these facilities are owned by multi-
national corporations, large cooperatives, or public entities that do
not meet the requirements for small entities established by the SBA.
Further, the provisions of this proposed rule would apply equally to
all entities. The USGSA requires the registration of all persons
engaged in the business of buying grain for sale in foreign commerce.
In addition, those persons who handle, weigh, or transport grain for
sale in foreign commerce must also register. The regulations found at 7
CFR 800.30 define a foreign commerce grain business as persons who
regularly engage in buying for sale, handling, weighing, or
transporting grain totaling 15,000 metric tons or more during the
preceding or current calendar year. Currently, there are 108
registrants registered to export grain, most of which are not small
businesses.
Most users of the official inspection and weighing services do not
meet the SBA requirements for small entities. Further, GIPSA is
required by statute to make services available to all applicants and to
recover the costs of providing such services as nearly as practicable,
while maintaining a 3 to 6 month operating reserve. There would be no
additional reporting, record keeping, or other compliance requirements
imposed upon small entities as a result of this proposed rule. GIPSA
has not identified any other federal rules which may duplicate,
overlap, or conflict with this proposed rule. Because this proposed
rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is
not provided.
Executive Order 12988
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988,
``Civil Justice Reform.'' This proposed rule would not preempt State or
local laws, regulations, or policies unless they represent an
irreconcilable conflict with this proposed rule. This proposed rule
would not have retroactive effect.
Executive Order 13132
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 13132,
``Federalism.'' The policies in this proposed rule would not have any
substantial direct effect on States, on the relationship between
federal government and the States, or on the distribution of power and
responsibilities among various levels of government, except as required
by law. This proposed rule does not impose substantial direct
compliance costs on State and local governments. Because States already
retain records for their ordinary operations, the proposed Sec.
800.195(g)(4) should not have a significant impact on State
governments. Therefore, consultation with the States is not required.
Executive Order 13175
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 13175,
``Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments.'' To
our knowledge, this rule would not have tribal implications that
require tribal consultation under Executive Order 13175. If a Tribe
requests consultation, GIPSA will work with the USDA Office of Tribal
Relations to ensure meaningful consultation is provided where changes,
additions, and modifications identified in this rule are not expressly
mandated by the Reauthorization Act.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35), the information collection and record keeping requirements
included in this proposed rule has been approved by the OMB under
control number 0580-0013, which expires on January 31, 2018.
GIPSA is committed to complying with the Government Paperwork
Elimination Act, which requires Government agencies in general to
provide the public the option of submitting information or transacting
business electronically to maximum extent possible.
E-Government Compliance
GIPSA is committed to complying with the E-Government Act, to
promote the use of the Internet and other information technologies to
provide increased opportunities for citizen access to Government
information and services, and for other purposes.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 800
Administrative practice and procedure, Exports, Grains, Reporting
and recordkeeping requirements.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, GIPSA proposes to amend 7
CFR part 800 as follows:
PART 800--GENERAL REGULATIONS
0
1. The authority citation for part 800 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 71-87k.
0
2. In Sec. 800.0, add in alphabetical order definitions for
``Emergency'', ``Field Office administrative costs'', ``National
program administrative costs'', ``Operating expenses'', and ``Operating
reserve'' to read as follows:
Sec. 800.0 Meaning of terms.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
Emergency. A situation outside the control of the Service or a
delegated State that prevents prompt issuance of certificates in
accordance with Sec. 800.160(c).
* * * * *
Field Office administrative costs. The costs of management,
support, and maintenance of a Field Office, including, but not limited
to, the management and administrative support personnel, rent, and
utilities. This does not include any costs directly related to
providing original or review inspection or weighing services.
* * * * *
National program administrative costs. The costs of national
management
[[Page 3973]]
and support of official grain inspection and/or weighing. This does not
include the Field Office administrative costs and any costs directly
related to providing service.
* * * * *
Operating expenses. The total costs to the Service to provide
official grain inspection and/or weighing services.
Operating reserve. The amount of funds the Service has available to
provide official grain inspection and/or weighing services.
* * * * *
Sec. 800.15 [Amended]
0
3. Amend Sec. 800.15 by removing paragraph (b)(2) and redesignating
paragraphs (b)(3) and (b)(4) as (b)(2) and (b)(3), respectively.
0
4. Revise Sec. 800.18(b)(7) to read as follows:
Sec. 800.18 Waivers of the official inspection and Class X weighing
requirements.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(7) Emergency waiver. (i) Upon request, the requirements for
official inspection or Class X weighing must be waived whenever the
Service determines:
(A) That an emergency exists that precludes official inspection or
Class X weighing;
(B) That granting an emergency waiver will not impair the
objectives of the Act; and
(C) The buyer and seller mutually agree to the waiver.
(ii) To qualify for an emergency waiver, the exporter or elevator
operator must submit a timely written request to the Service for the
emergency waiver and also comply with all conditions that the Service
may require.
* * * * *
0
5. Revise Sec. 800.71 to read as follows:
Sec. 800.71 Fees assessed by the Service.
(a) Official inspection and weighing services. The fees shown in
Schedule A apply to official inspection and weighing services performed
by FGIS in the U.S. and Canada. The fees shown in Schedule B apply to
official domestic inspection and weighing services performed by
delegated States and designated agencies, including land carrier
shipments to Canada and Mexico. The fees charged to delegated States by
the Service are set forth in the State's Delegation of Authority
document. Failure of a delegated State or designated agency to pay the
appropriate fees to the Service within 30 days after becoming due will
result in an automatic termination of the delegation or designation.
The delegation or designation may be reinstated by the Service if fees
that are due, plus interest and any further expenses incurred by the
Service because of the termination, are paid within 60 days of the
termination.
(1) Schedule A--Fees for official inspection and weighing services
performed in the United States and Canada, effective October 1, 2015.
Canada fees include the noncontract hourly rate, the Toledo Field
Office tonnage fee, and the actual cost of travel.
Table 1 of Schedule A--Fees for Official Services Performed at an Applicant's Facility in an Onsite FGIS
Laboratory \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday to
Monday to Friday (6 Friday (6 Saturday,
a.m. to 6 p.m.) p.m. to 6 Sunday, and Holidays
a.m.) overtime \2\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Inspection and Weighing Services
Hourly Rates (per service
representative):
1-year contract ($ per hour)...... $40.20.................. $42.10 $48.20 $71.40
Noncontract ($ per hour).......... 71.40................... 71.40 71.40 71.40
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) Additional Tests (cost per test, assessed in addition to the hourly rate): \3\
(i) Aflatoxin (rapid test kit method)....................................................... 11.40
(ii) Aflatoxin (rapid test kit method-applicant provides kit) \4\........................... 9.40
(iii) All other Mycotoxins (rapid test kit method).......................................... 20.80
(iv) All other Mycotoxins (rapid test kit method-applicant provides kit) \4\................ 18.80
(v) NIR or NMR Analysis (protein, oil, starch, etc.)........................................ 2.70
(vi) Waxy corn (per test)................................................................... 2.70
(vii) Fees for other tests not listed above will be based on the lowest noncontract hourly
rate
(viii) Other services
(a) Class Y Weighing (per carrier):
(1) Truck/container................................................................. 0.70
(2) Railcar......................................................................... 1.70
(3) Barge........................................................................... 3.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) Tonnage Fee (assessed in addition to all other applicable fees, only one tonnage fee will be ..............
assessed when inspection and weighing services are performed on the same carrier):
(i) All outbound carriers serviced by the specific Field Office (per-metric ton):
(a) League City......................................................................... 0.192
(b) New Orleans......................................................................... 0.094
(c) Portland............................................................................ 0.191
(d) Toledo.............................................................................. 0.306
(e) Delegated States \5\................................................................ 0.061
(f) Designated Agencies \5\............................................................. 0.061
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Fees apply to original inspection and weighing, re-inspection, and appeal inspection service and include,
but are not limited to, sampling, grading, weighing, prior to loading stowage examinations, and certifying
results performed within 25 miles of an employee's assigned duty station. Travel and related expenses will be
charged for service outside 25 miles as found in Sec. 800.72(a).
\2\ Overtime rates will be assessed for all hours in excess of 8 consecutive hours that result from an applicant
scheduling or requesting service beyond 8 hours, or if requests for additional shifts exceed existing
staffing.
\3\ Appeal and re-inspection services will be assessed the same fee as the original inspection service.
\4\ Applicant must provide the test kit, instrument hardware, calibration control, and all supplies required by
the test kit manufacturer.
\5\ Tonnage fee is assessed on export grain inspected and/or weighed, excluding land carrier shipments to Canada
and Mexico.
[[Page 3974]]
Table 2 of Schedule A--Services Performed at Other Than an Applicant's
Facility in an FGIS Laboratory 1 2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Original Inspection and Weighing (Class X)
Services:
(i) Sampling only (use hourly rates from Table 1
of this section)................................
(ii) Stationary lots (sampling, grade/factor, &
checkloading):
(a) Truck/trailer/container (per carrier).... $22.50
(b) Railcar (per carrier).................... 33.30
(c) Barge (per carrier)...................... 209.10
(d) Sacked grain (per hour per service 0.08
representative plus an administrative fee
per hundredweight) (CWT)....................
(iii) Lots sampled online during loading
(sampling charge under (1)(i) of this table,
plus):..........................................
(a) Truck/trailer container (per carrier).... 13.50
(b) Railcar (per carrier).................... 28.10
(c) Barge (per carrier)...................... 143.00
(d) Sacked grain (per hour per service 0.08
representative plus an administrative fee
per hundredweight) (CWT)....................
(iv) Other services:.............................
(a) Submitted sample (per sample--grade and 13.50
factor).....................................
(b) Warehouseman inspection (per sample)..... 23.60
(c) Factor only (per factor--maximum 2 6.60
factors)....................................
(d) Checkloading/condition examination (use 0.08
hourly rates from Table 1 of this section,
plus an administrative fee per hundredweight
if not previously assessed) (CWT)...........
(e) Re-inspection (grade and factor only. 14.60
Sampling service additional, item (1)(i) of
this table).................................
(f) Class X Weighing (per hour per service 71.40
representative).............................
(v) Additional tests (excludes sampling):........
(a) Aflatoxin (rapid test kit method)........ 33.60
(b) Aflatoxin (rapid test kit method- 31.60
applicant provides kit) \3\.................
(c) All other Mycotoxins (rapid test kit 43.20
method).....................................
(d) All other Mycotoxins (rapid test kit 41.20
method-applicant provides kit) \3\..........
(e) NIR or NMR Analysis (protein, oil, 11.40
starch, etc.)...............................
(f) Waxy corn (per test)..................... 11.40
(g) Canola (per test-00 dip test)............ 11.40
(h) Pesticide Residue Testing: \4\...........
(1) Routine Compounds (per sample)....... 240.90
(2) Special Compounds (Subject to 128.40
availability)...........................
(i) Fees for other tests not listed above
will be based on the lowest noncontract
hourly rate from Table 1 of this section....
(2) Appeal inspection and review of weighing
service.\5\
(i) Board Appeals and Appeals (grade and factor). 91.50
(a) Factor only (per factor--max 2 factors).. 48.20
(b) Sampling service for Appeals additional
(hourly rates from Table 1 of this section).
(ii) Additional tests (assessed in addition to
all other applicable tests):
(a) Aflatoxin (rapid test kit method)........ 33.60
(b) Aflatoxin (rapid test kit method- 31.60
applicant provides kit) \3\.................
(c) All other Mycotoxins (rapid test kit 52.60
method).....................................
(d) All other Mycotoxins (rapid test kit 50.60
method-applicant provides kit) \3\..........
(e) NIR or NMR Analysis (protein, oil, 19.80
starch, etc.)...............................
(f) Sunflower oil (per test)................. 19.80
(g) Mycotoxin (per test-HPLC)................ 157.30
(h) Pesticide Residue Testing: \4\...........
(1) Routine Compounds (per sample)....... 240.90
(2) Special Compounds (Subject to 128.40
availability)...........................
(i) Fees for other tests not listed above
will be based on the lowest noncontract
hourly rate from Table 1 of this section....
(iii) Review of weighing (per hour per service 92.30
representative).................................
(3) Stowage examination (service-on-request):\4\
(i) Ship (per stowage space) (minimum $285.00 per 57.00
ship)...........................................
(ii) Subsequent ship examinations (same as 57.00
original) (minimum $171.00 per ship)............
(iii) Barge (per examination).................... 45.80
(iv) All other carriers (per examination)........ 18.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Fees apply to original inspection and weighing, re-inspection, and
appeal inspection service and include, but are not limited to,
sampling, grading, weighing, prior to loading stowage examinations,
and certifying results performed within 25 miles of an employee's
assigned duty station. Travel and related expenses will be charged for
service outside 25 miles as found in Sec. 800.72(a).
\2\ An additional charge will be assessed when the revenue from the
services in Schedule A, Table 2, does not cover what would have been
collected at the applicable hourly rate as provided in Sec.
800.72(b).
\3\ Applicant must provide the test kit, instrument hardware,
calibration control, and all supplies required by the test kit
manufacturer.
\4\ If performed outside of normal business, 11/2 times the applicable
unit fee will be charged.
\5\ If, at the request of the Service, a file sample is located and
forwarded by the Agency, the Agency may, upon request, be reimbursed
at the rate of $3.50 per sample by the Service.
Table 3 of Schedule A--Miscellaneous Services \1\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Grain grading seminars (per hour per $71.40.
service representative) \2\.
(2) Certification of diverter-type 71.40.
mechanical samplers (per hour per
service representative) \2\.
(3) Special weighing services (per hour ..............................
per service representative): \2\
(i) Scale testing and certification. 92.90.
(ii) Scale testing and certification 92.90.
of railroad track scales.
(iii) Evaluation of weighing and 92.90.
material handling systems.
[[Page 3975]]
(iv) NTEP Prototype evaluation 92.90.
(other than Railroad Track Scales).
(v) NTEP Prototype evaluation of 92.90.
Railroad Track Scale.
(vi) Use of GIPSA railroad track 557.30.
scale test equipment per facility
for each requested service. (Track
scales tested under the Association
of American Railroads agreement are
exempt.).
(vii) Mass standards calibration and 92.90.
re-verification.
(viii) Special projects............. 92.90.
(4) Foreign travel (hourly fee) \3\..... 92.90.
(5) Online customized data service: ..............................
(i) One data file per week for 1 557.30.
year.
(ii) One data file per month for 1 334.40.
year.
(6) Samples provided to interested 3.50.
parties (per sample).
(7) Divided-lot certificates (per 2.20.
certificate).
(8) Extra copies of certificates (per 2.20.
certificate).
(9) Faxing (per page)................... 2.20.
(10) Special mailing.................... Actual Cost.
(11) Preparing certificates onsite or
during other than normal business hours
(use hourly rates from Table 1 of this
section).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Any requested service that is not listed will be performed at $71.40
per hour.
\2\ Regular business hours--Monday through Friday--service provided at
other than regular business hours will be charged at 11/2 times the
applicable hourly rate. (See the definition of ``business day'' in
Sec. 800.0(b))
\3\ Foreign travel charged hourly fee of $92.90 plus travel, per diem,
and related expenditures.
(2) Schedule B--Fees for FGIS Supervision of Official Inspection
and Weighing Services Performed by Delegated States and/or Designated
Agencies in the United States. The supervision fee charged by the
Service is $0.011 per metric ton of domestic U.S. grain shipments
inspected and/or weighed, including land carrier shipments to Canada
and Mexico.
(b) Annual review of fees. For each calendar year, starting with
2017, the Service will review the fees in Schedule A and publish fees
effective January 1 of each year according to the following:
(1) Tonnage fees. Tonnage fees will consist of the national tonnage
fee and local tonnage fees and will be calculated and rounded to the
nearest $0.001 per metric ton. All outbound grain officially inspected
and/or weighed by the Field Offices in New Orleans, League City,
Portland, and Toledo will be assessed the national tonnage fee plus the
appropriate local tonnage fee. Export grain officially inspected and/or
weighed by delegated States and official agencies, excluding land
carrier shipments to Canada and Mexico, will be assessed the national
tonnage fee only. The fees will be set according to the following:
(i) National tonnage fee. The national tonnage fee is the national
program administrative costs for the previous fiscal year divided by
the average yearly tons of export grain officially inspected and/or
weighed by delegated States and designated agencies, excluding land
carrier shipments to Canada and Mexico, and outbound grain officially
inspected and/or weighed by the Service during the previous 5 fiscal
years.
(ii) Local tonnage fee. The local tonnage fee is the Field Office
administrative costs for the previous fiscal year divided by the
average yearly tons of outbound grain officially inspected and/or
weighed by the Field Office during the previous 5 fiscal years. The
local tonnage fee is calculated individually for each Field Office.
(2) Operating reserve. In order to maintain an operating reserve
not less than 3 and not more than 6 months, the Service will review the
value of the operating reserve at the end of each fiscal year and
adjust fees according to the following:
(i) Between 3 months and 6 months. If the operating reserve is
greater than or equal to 3 times the monthly operating expenses and
less than or equal to 6 times the monthly operating expenses, the
Service will not make any fee adjustments other than provided for in
paragraphs (b)(1) and (c) of this section.
(ii) Less than 3 months. If the operating reserve is less than 3
times the monthly operating expenses, the Service will increase all
fees in Schedule A by 2 percent for each $1,000,000, rounded down, that
the operating reserve is less than 3 times the monthly operating
expense, with a maximum increase of 5 percent annually. Except for fees
based on tonnage or hundredweight, all fees will be rounded to the
nearest $0.10.
(iii) Greater than 6 months. If the operating reserve is greater
than 6 times the monthly operating expenses, the Service will decrease
all fees in Schedule A by 2 percent for each $1,000,000, rounded down,
that the operating reserve is greater than 6 times the monthly
operating expense, with a maximum decrease of 5 percent annually.
Except for fees based on tonnage or hundredweight, all fees will be
rounded to the nearest $0.10.
(c) Periodic review. The Service will periodically review and
adjust all fees in Schedules A and B as necessary to ensure they
reflect the true cost of providing and supervising official service.
This process will incorporate any fee adjustments from paragraph (b) of
this section.
(d) Miscellaneous fees for other services--(1) Registration
certificates and renewals. (i) The nature of your business will
determine the fees that your business must pay for registration
certificates and renewals:
(A) If you operate a business that buys, handles, weighs, or
transports grain for sale in foreign commerce, you must pay $135.00.
(B) If you operate a business that buys, handles, weighs, or
transports grain for sale in foreign commerce and you are also in a
control relationship (see definition in section 17A(b)(2) of the Act)
with respect to a business that buys, handles, weighs, or transports
grain for sale in interstate commerce, you must pay $270.00.
(ii) If you request extra copies of registration certificates, you
must pay $2.20 for each copy.
(2) Designation amendments. If you submit an application to amend a
designation, you must pay $75.00.
(3) Scale testing organization. If you submit an application to
operate as a scale testing organization, you must pay $250.00.
0
7. Amend Sec. 800.117 by removing paragraph (b)(2), redesignating
paragraph (b)(3) as (b)(2), and adding a new paragraph (b)(3) to read
as follows:
Sec. 800.117 Who shall perform original services.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
* * * * *
(3) Written agreement. If the assigned official agency agrees in
writing with the adjacent official agency to waive the
[[Page 3976]]
current geographic area restriction at the request of the applicant for
service, the adjacent official agency may provide service at a
particular location upon approval by the Service.
* * * * *
0
8. Revise paragraph (a) of Sec. 800.175 to read as follows:
Sec. 800.175 Termination of licenses.
(a) Term of license. Each license shall terminate in accordance
with the termination date shown on the license and as specified in
paragraph (b) of this section. The termination date for a license shall
be no less than 5 years or more than 6 years after the issuance date
for the initial license; thereafter, every 5 years. Upon request of a
licensee and for good cause shown, the termination date may be advanced
or delayed by the Administrator for a period not to exceed 60 days.
* * * * *
0
9. Amend Sec. 800.195 by adding paragraphs (f)(11) and (g)(4) to read
as follows:
Sec. 800.195 Delegations.
* * * * *
(f) * * *
(11) Notification to Secretary. A delegated State shall notify the
Secretary of its intention to temporarily discontinue official
inspection and/or weighing services for any reason, except in the case
of a major disaster. The delegated State must provide written
notification to the Service no less than 72 hours in advance of the
discontinuation date.
* * * * *
(g) * * *
(4) Review. At least once every 5 years, a delegated State shall
submit to a review of its delegation by the Service in accordance with
the criteria and procedures for delegation prescribed in section 7(e)
of the Act, this section of the regulations, and the instructions. The
Administrator may revoke the delegation of a State according to this
subsection if the State fails to meet or comply with any of the
criteria for delegation set forth in the Act, regulations, and
instructions.
* * * * *
0
10. Amend Sec. 800.196 by revising paragraphs (e)(2)(ii) and (iii),
adding paragraph (e)(2)(iv), and revising paragraph (h)(1)(i) to read
as follows:
Sec. 800.196 Designations.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
(2) * * *
(ii) The applicant meets the conditions and criteria specified in
the Act and regulations;
(iii) The applicant is better able than any other applicant to
provide official services; and
(iv) The applicant addresses concerns identified during
consultations that the Service conducts with applicants for service to
the satisfaction of the Service.
* * * * *
(h) Termination and renewal--(1) Every 5 years--(i) Termination. A
designation shall terminate at a time specified by the Administrator,
but not later than 5 years after the effective date of the designation.
A notice of termination shall be issued by the Service to a designated
agency at least 120 calendar days in advance of the termination date.
The notice shall provide instructions for requesting renewal of the
designation. Failure to receive a notice from the Service shall not
exempt a designated agency from the responsibility of having its
designation renewed on or before the specified termination date.
* * * * *
0
11. Amend Sec. 800.216 by revising paragraph (c) to read as follows:
Sec. 800.216 Activities that shall be monitored.
* * * * *
(c) Grain handling activities. Grain handling activities subject to
monitoring for compliance with the Act include, but are not limited to:
(1) Shipping export grain without inspection or weighing;
(2) Violating any Federal law with respect to the handling,
weighing, or inspection of grain;
(3) Deceptively loading, handling, weighing, or sampling grain; and
(4) Exporting grain without a certificate of registration.
* * * * *
Larry Mitchell,
Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards.
[FR Doc. 2016-01083 Filed 1-22-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-KD-P
