Grain Fees for Official Inspection and Weighing Services Under the United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA), 11926-11927 [2019-06079]

Download as PDF 11926 Notices Federal Register Vol. 84, No. 61 Friday, March 29, 2019 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency statements of organization and functions are examples of documents appearing in this section. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE [Doc. No. AMS–FGIS–18–0092] Grain Fees for Official Inspection and Weighing Services Under the United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA) Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA) provides the Secretary of Agriculture with the authority to charge and collect reasonable fees to cover the costs of performing official services and the costs associated with managing the program. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing the 2019 fee schedule for official inspection and weighing services performed under the SUMMARY: Metric tons 117,560,767 118,758,937 122,330,979 135,017,935 129,687,652 124,671,254 jbell on DSK30RV082PROD with NOTICES The field offices fiscal year tons for the previous 5 fiscal years and Field office FY 2014 New Orleans ........ League City .......... Portland ................ Toledo .................. VerDate Sep<11>2014 62,862,914 12,623,510 6,065,934 1,802,339 17:48 Mar 28, 2019 Jkt 247001 The national program administrative costs for fiscal year 2018 were $8,075,737. The fiscal year 2019 national tonnage fee, prior to the operating reserve review, is calculated to be at $0.065 per metric ton. 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. calculated 5-year rolling average are as follows: FY 2015 65,244,517 12,474,343 4,111,533 2,484,604 PO 00000 Frm 00001 FY 2016 66,077,535 12,581,236 4,645,754 2,030,506 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 FY 2017 70,439,862 13,307,780 5,175,459 2,229,920 E:\FR\FM\29MRN1.SGM FY 2018 66,996,126 8,424,216 4,643,241 1,802,762 29MRN1 5-year rolling average 66,324,191 11,882,217 4,928,384 2,070,026 EN29MR19.003</GPH> 2014 ................................ 2015 ................................ 2016 ................................ 2017 ................................ 2018 ................................ 5-year Rolling Average ... $1,000,000, rounded down, that the operating reserve varies from the target of 41⁄2 months, FGIS will adjust all Schedule A fees by 2 percent. If the operating reserve exceeds the target, all Schedule A fees will be reduced. If the operating reserve does not meet the target, all Schedule A fees will be increased. The maximum annual increase or decrease in fees is 5 percent (7 CFR 800.71(b)(2)(i)–(ii)). Tonnage fees for the 5-year rolling average tonnage were calculated on the previous 5 fiscal years 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Tonnage fees consist of the national tonnage fee and local tonnage fee and are calculated and rounded to the nearest $0.001 per metric ton. The tonnage fees are calculated as following: 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 FGIS during the previous 5 fiscal years. EN29MR19.002</GPH> Fiscal year USGSA, as amended, and the Agriculture Reauthorizations Act of 2015. This notice publishes the annual review of Schedule A fees calculation and the resulting fees that went into effect on January 1, 2019. DATES: Effective January 1, 2019. ADDRESSES: Prospective customers can find the fee scheduled posted on the Agency’s public website. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denise Ruggles, FGIS Executive Program Analyst, USDA AMS; Telephone: (816) 659–8406; Email: Denise.M.Ruggles@ usda.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations require that Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) annually review the national tonnage fees, local tonnage fees, and fees for service. After calculating the tonnage fees according to the regulatory formula in 7 CFR 800.71(b)(1), FGIS then reviews the amount of funds in the operating reserve at the end of the fiscal year (FY2018 in this case) to ensure that it has 41⁄2 months of operating expenses as required by section 800.71(b)(2) of the regulations. If the operating reserve has more, or less than 41⁄2 months of operating expenses, then FGIS must adjust all Schedule A fees. For each 11927 Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 61 / Friday, March 29, 2019 / Notices The local field office administrative costs for fiscal year 2018 and the fiscal year 2019 calculated local field office tonnage fee, prior to the operating reserve review, are as follows: FY 2018 local administrative costs Field office New Orleans ................................................................................................................................................ League City .................................................................................................................................................. Portland ........................................................................................................................................................ Toledo .......................................................................................................................................................... Operating reserve. In order to maintain an operating reserve not less than 3 and not more than 6 months, FGIS reviewed the value of the operating reserve at the end of FY2018 to ensure that an operating reserve of 4 1⁄2 months is maintained. The program operating reserve at the end of fiscal year 2018 was $21,561,945 with a monthly operating expense of $3,276,796. The target of 4.5 months of operating reserve is $14,745,582. Therefore, the operating reserve is greater than 4.5 times the monthly operating expenses by $6,816,363. For each $1,000,000, rounded down, above the target level, all Schedule A fees must be reduced by 2 percent. The operating reserve is $6.8 million above the target level resulting in a calculated 12 percent reduction. As required by 800.71(b)(2)(ii), the reduction is limited to 5 percent. Therefore, for 2019, FGIS is reducing all the 2018 Schedule A fees for service in Schedule A in paragraph (a)(1) by the maximum 5 percent. All Schedule A fees for service are rounded to the nearest $0.10, except for fees based on tonnage or hundredweight. The resulting fees from the annual review went into effect on January 1, 2019 and this notice formalizes this change. The fee Schedule A has been published on the agency’s public website. jbell on DSK30RV082PROD with NOTICES GIPSA/AMS Merger GIPSA formerly fell within the mission area overseen by the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs (MRP), along with AMS. The Under Secretary for MRP’s authority over GIPSA is further demonstrated by the published delegations of authority in Part 2 of Title 7 of the CFR. In 7 CFR 2.22(a)(3), the Secretary of Agriculture delegated to the Under Secretary for MRP authorities ‘‘related to grain inspection, packers and stockyards.’’ In 7 CFR 2.81, the Under Secretary for MRP further delegated these authorities to the Administrator of GIPSA. In a November 14, 2017 Secretary’s Memorandum, the Secretary directed that the authorities at 7 CFR 2.81 be re- VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:48 Mar 28, 2019 Jkt 247001 delegated to the Administrator of AMS, and that the delegations to the Administrator of GIPSA be revoked. But these changes did not affect the existing delegations to the Under Secretary of MRP related to grain inspection, packers and stockyards at 7 CFR 2.22(a)(3). Authority: 7 U.S.C. 71–87k. Dated: March 26, 2019. Bruce Summers, Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service. [FR Doc. 2019–06079 Filed 3–28–19; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–02–P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13. Comments are requested regarding (1) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of burden including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments regarding this information collection received by April 29, 2019 will be considered. Written comments should be addressed to: Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), New Executive Office Building, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20502. Frm 00002 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 $1,641,144 878,868 380,435 239,862 $0.025 0.074 0.077 0.116 Commenters are encouraged to submit their comments to OMB via email to: OIRA_Submission@OMB.EOP.GOV or fax (202) 395–5806 and to Departmental Clearance Office, USDA, OCIO, Mail Stop 7602, Washington, DC 20250– 7602. Copies of the submission(s) may be obtained by calling (202) 720–8958. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control number and the agency informs potential persons who are to respond to the collection of information that such persons are not required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Foreign Agricultural Service March 26, 2019. PO 00000 Calculated FY 2019 local tonnage fee Title: Agricultural Trade Promotion Program. OMB Control Number: 0551–0049. Summary of Collection: The authority for the Agricultural Trade Promotion Program (ATP) is contained in the authority derived from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act, 15 U.S.C. 714c(f)—Specific Powers of Corporation. Program regulations were necessary to establish this new CCC program. The ATP is a cost-share program that is designed to reimburse nonprofit U.S. agricultural trade organizations, nonprofit state regional trade groups, U.S. agricultural cooperatives, and state agencies that conduct approved foreign market development activities and have suffered damages because of tariffs imposed on U.S. agricultural products in 2018/2019. Financial assistance for the ATP is made available on a competitive basis. The program is administered by the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). Need and Use of the Information: The information collected is used by FAS marketing specialists and program managers for the allocation of funds, program management, planning, and evaluation. The integrity of the program hinges on information received from or maintained by the industry. E:\FR\FM\29MRN1.SGM 29MRN1

Agencies

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 61 (Friday, March 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11926-11927]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-06079]


========================================================================
Notices
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
appearing in this section.

========================================================================


Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 61 / Friday, March 29, 2019 / 
Notices

[[Page 11926]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

[Doc. No. AMS-FGIS-18-0092]


Grain Fees for Official Inspection and Weighing Services Under 
the United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA)

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA) provides the 
Secretary of Agriculture with the authority to charge and collect 
reasonable fees to cover the costs of performing official services and 
the costs associated with managing the program. The Agricultural 
Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing the 2019 fee schedule for 
official inspection and weighing services performed under the USGSA, as 
amended, and the Agriculture Reauthorizations Act of 2015. This notice 
publishes the annual review of Schedule A fees calculation and the 
resulting fees that went into effect on January 1, 2019.

DATES: Effective January 1, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Prospective customers can find the fee scheduled posted on 
the Agency's public website.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denise Ruggles, FGIS Executive Program 
Analyst, USDA AMS; Telephone: (816) 659-8406; Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations require that Federal Grain 
Inspection Service (FGIS) annually review the national tonnage fees, 
local tonnage fees, and fees for service. After calculating the tonnage 
fees according to the regulatory formula in 7 CFR 800.71(b)(1), FGIS 
then reviews the amount of funds in the operating reserve at the end of 
the fiscal year (FY2018 in this case) to ensure that it has 4\1/2\ 
months of operating expenses as required by section 800.71(b)(2) of the 
regulations. If the operating reserve has more, or less than 4\1/2\ 
months of operating expenses, then FGIS must adjust all Schedule A 
fees. For each $1,000,000, rounded down, that the operating reserve 
varies from the target of 4\1/2\ months, FGIS will adjust all Schedule 
A fees by 2 percent. If the operating reserve exceeds the target, all 
Schedule A fees will be reduced. If the operating reserve does not meet 
the target, all Schedule A fees will be increased. The maximum annual 
increase or decrease in fees is 5 percent (7 CFR 800.71(b)(2)(i)-(ii)).
    Tonnage fees for the 5-year rolling average tonnage were calculated 
on the previous 5 fiscal years 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. 
Tonnage fees consist of the national tonnage fee and local tonnage fee 
and are calculated and rounded to the nearest $0.001 per metric ton. 
The tonnage fees are calculated as following:
    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 FGIS during the previous 5 fiscal years.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN29MR19.002


------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     Fiscal year                          Metric tons
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2014.................................................        117,560,767
2015.................................................        118,758,937
2016.................................................        122,330,979
2017.................................................        135,017,935
2018.................................................        129,687,652
5-year Rolling Average...............................        124,671,254
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The national program administrative costs for fiscal year 2018 were 
$8,075,737. The fiscal year 2019 national tonnage fee, prior to the 
operating reserve review, is calculated to be at $0.065 per metric ton.
    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.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN29MR19.003

    The field offices fiscal year tons for the previous 5 fiscal years 
and calculated 5-year rolling average are as follows:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                         5-year rolling
             Field office                    FY 2014            FY 2015            FY 2016            FY 2017            FY 2018            average
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Orleans...........................         62,862,914         65,244,517         66,077,535         70,439,862         66,996,126         66,324,191
League City...........................         12,623,510         12,474,343         12,581,236         13,307,780          8,424,216         11,882,217
Portland..............................          6,065,934          4,111,533          4,645,754          5,175,459          4,643,241          4,928,384
Toledo................................          1,802,339          2,484,604          2,030,506          2,229,920          1,802,762          2,070,026
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 11927]]

    The local field office administrative costs for fiscal year 2018 
and the fiscal year 2019 calculated local field office tonnage fee, 
prior to the operating reserve review, are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      FY 2018 local      Calculated FY
           Field office               administrative       2019 local
                                          costs           tonnage fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Orleans.......................         $1,641,144             $0.025
League City.......................            878,868              0.074
Portland..........................            380,435              0.077
Toledo............................            239,862              0.116
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Operating reserve. In order to maintain an operating reserve not 
less than 3 and not more than 6 months, FGIS reviewed the value of the 
operating reserve at the end of FY2018 to ensure that an operating 
reserve of 4 \1/2\ months is maintained.
    The program operating reserve at the end of fiscal year 2018 was 
$21,561,945 with a monthly operating expense of $3,276,796. The target 
of 4.5 months of operating reserve is $14,745,582. Therefore, the 
operating reserve is greater than 4.5 times the monthly operating 
expenses by $6,816,363. For each $1,000,000, rounded down, above the 
target level, all Schedule A fees must be reduced by 2 percent. The 
operating reserve is $6.8 million above the target level resulting in a 
calculated 12 percent reduction. As required by 800.71(b)(2)(ii), the 
reduction is limited to 5 percent. Therefore, for 2019, FGIS is 
reducing all the 2018 Schedule A fees for service in Schedule A in 
paragraph (a)(1) by the maximum 5 percent. All Schedule A fees for 
service are rounded to the nearest $0.10, except for fees based on 
tonnage or hundredweight. The resulting fees from the annual review 
went into effect on January 1, 2019 and this notice formalizes this 
change. The fee Schedule A has been published on the agency's public 
website.

GIPSA/AMS Merger

    GIPSA formerly fell within the mission area overseen by the Under 
Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs (MRP), along with AMS. 
The Under Secretary for MRP's authority over GIPSA is further 
demonstrated by the published delegations of authority in Part 2 of 
Title 7 of the CFR. In 7 CFR 2.22(a)(3), the Secretary of Agriculture 
delegated to the Under Secretary for MRP authorities ``related to grain 
inspection, packers and stockyards.'' In 7 CFR 2.81, the Under 
Secretary for MRP further delegated these authorities to the 
Administrator of GIPSA. In a November 14, 2017 Secretary's Memorandum, 
the Secretary directed that the authorities at 7 CFR 2.81 be re-
delegated to the Administrator of AMS, and that the delegations to the 
Administrator of GIPSA be revoked. But these changes did not affect the 
existing delegations to the Under Secretary of MRP related to grain 
inspection, packers and stockyards at 7 CFR 2.22(a)(3).

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 71-87k.

    Dated: March 26, 2019.
Bruce Summers,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-06079 Filed 3-28-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-02-P

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.