0489 (fr 22-023) 2024 Ss (20240523)

May 2024

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

User fees for agricultural quarantine and inspection services

APHIS Docket 2022-0023 (89 FR 38596, published May 7, 2024)

OMB CFN 0579-0489

Note: During the rulemaking process, this ICR is assigned comment file number 0579-0489. Upon approval, this information collection will be merged into 0579-0055 in May 2027 at its renewal. The OMB control number associated with this final rule will be discontinued once the merger has been approved.

A. Justification

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.

This is a new information collection request related to rulemaking.

The Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990, as amended, authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to prescribe and collect fees to cover the cost of providing certain agricultural quarantine and inspection (AQI) services. Specifically, the Act gives the Secretary the authority to charge for the inspection of international passengers, commercial vessels, trucks, aircraft, and railroad cars, and to recover the costs of providing the inspection of plants and plant products offered for export. The Secretary is authorized to use the revenue to provide reimbursements to the accounts that incur costs associated with the AQI services provided.

The Act also authorizes the Secretary to prescribe and collect fees to reimburse the Agency for the cost of carrying out the provisions of the Federal Animal Quarantine Laws that relate to the importation, entry, and exportation of animals, articles, or means of conveyance. In addition, the Secretary is authorized to prescribe and collect fees to recover the cost of carrying out provisions of 31 U.S.C. 136a which relate to veterinary diagnostics.

APHIS updated and amended the user fee regulations associated with the agricultural quarantine and inspection (AQI) program. Specifically, it adjusted the fees for certain AQI services that are provided in connection with certain commercial vessels, commercial trucks, commercial railroad cars, commercial aircraft, and international passengers arriving at ports in the customs territory of the United States; adjusted the caps on prepaid fees associated with commercial trucks and commercial railroad cars; removed certain fee exemptions that are no longer justifiable based upon pathway analyses of risk; and restructured the treatment monitoring fee. It also revised requirements pertaining to remittances and statements. Specifically, APHIS requires monthly rather than quarterly remittances for the commercial aircraft fee, international air passenger fee, and international cruise passenger fee to make revenue streams more stable, clarify requirements, and provide for electronic payments and statements. These changes were necessary to recover the costs of the current level of AQI activity, to account for actual and projected increases in the cost of doing business, and to more accurately align fees with the costs associated with each fee service.

APHIS is asking the OMB to approve use of the information collection activities for three years.

2. Indicate how, by whom, how frequently, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

APHIS uses the following activities to collect information necessary to prevent introduction of plant pests and animal diseases into the United States:

User Fees for Commercial Vessels, Fees Collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); Recordkeeping; 7 CFR 354.3(b)(1); Private Sector

Officials monitoring AQI fee collections use the information to determine if the parties responsible for the submission of the commercial vessel fees paid the proper amount of fees based on their actual commercial vessel volumes. Federal officials working with the collection of user fees for commercial vessels use the information to determine if entities not paying the user fees due to the exemptions listed in §354.3(b)(2) were actually exempt from the fee. Federal officials reviewing collections use the information to identify any non-paying entities who are supposed to be paying the fees. As noted in 7 CFR 354.3(j), Recordkeeping and Record Retention, entities are required to maintain records and sufficient documentation for the Federal government to verify the accuracy of fee collections.

User Fees for Inspection of Commercial Trucks, Individual Crossings, Fees Collected by CBP; Recordkeeping; 7 CFR 354.3(c)(1); Private Sector

Officials monitoring AQI fee collections use the information to determine if the parties responsible for the submission of the commercial truck fees paid the proper amount of fees based on their actual commercial truck entries. As noted in 7 CFR 354.3(j), Recordkeeping and Record Retention, entities are required to maintain records and sufficient documentation for the Federal government to verify the accuracy of fee collections.

User Fees for Commercial Trucks, Individual Crossings, Fees Collected by CBP; Recordkeeping; 7 CFR 354.3(c)(1); Individual

Officials monitoring AQI fee collections use the information to determine if the parties responsible for the submission of the commercial truck fees paid the proper amount of fees based on their actual commercial truck entries. As noted in 7 CFR 354.3(j), Recordkeeping and Record Retention, entities are required to maintain records and sufficient documentation for the Federal government to verify the accuracy of fee collections.

User Fees for Commercial Trucks, Transponders, Fees Collected by CBP; Recordkeeping; 7 CFR 354.3(c)(2); Private Sector and Individual

Officials monitoring AQI fee collections use the information to determine if the parties responsible for the submission of the commercial truck transponder fees paid the proper amount of fees based on their actual commercial truck transponder use. As noted in 7 CFR 354.3(j), Recordkeeping and Record Retention, entities are required to maintain records and sufficient documentation for the Federal government to verify the accuracy of fee collections.

User Fees for Inspection of Commercial Railroad Cars; Recordkeeping; 7 CFR 354.3(d)(1); Private Sector

Officials monitoring AQI fee collections use the information to determine if the parties responsible for the submission of the commercial railroad car fees paid the proper amount of fees based on their actual number of car entries. Federal officials working with the collection of user fees for commercial railroad cars use the information to determine if entities not paying the user fees due to the exemptions listed in §354.3(d)(2) were actually exempt from the fee. As noted in 7 CFR 354.3(j), Recordkeeping and Record Retention, entities are required to maintain records and sufficient documentation for the Federal government to verify the accuracy of fee collections.

Monthly Statement Submissions for Commercial Railroad Cars; 7 CFR 354.3(d)(4) & (d)(5); Private Sector

Officials monitoring AQI fee collections use the information to determine if the parties responsible for the submission of the commercial railroad car fees paid the proper amount of fees based on their actual number of car entries. Federal officials working with the collection of user fees for commercial railroad cars use the information to determine if entities not paying the user fees due to the exemptions listed in §354.3(d)(2) were actually exempt from the fee. As noted in 7 CFR 354.3(j), Recordkeeping and Record Retention, entities are required to maintain records and sufficient documentation for the Federal government to verify the accuracy of fee collections.

Commercial Railroad Cars Compliance; Recordkeeping; 7 CFR 354.3(d)(6); Private Sector

Officials monitoring AQI fee collections use the information to determine if the parties responsible for the submission of the commercial railroad car fees paid the proper amount of fees based on their actual number of car entries. Federal officials working with the collection of user fees for commercial railroad cars use the information to determine if entities not paying the user fees due to the exemptions listed in §354.3(d)(2) were actually exempt from the fee. As noted in 7 CFR 354.3(j), Recordkeeping and Record Retention, entities are required to maintain records and sufficient documentation for the Federal government to verify the accuracy of fee collections.

User Fees for Inspection of Commercial Aircraft; Recordkeeping; 7 CFR 354.3(e)(1); Private Sector

Officials monitoring AQI fee collections use the information to determine if the parties responsible for the submission of the commercial aircraft fees paid the proper amount of fees based on their actual number of commercial aircraft entries. Federal officials working with the collection of user fees for commercial aircraft use the information to determine if entities not paying the user fees due to the exemptions listed in §354.3(e)(2) were actually exempt from the fee. Federal officials reviewing collections use the information to identify any non-paying entities who are supposed to be paying the fees. As noted in 7 CFR 354.3(j), Recordkeeping and Record Retention, entities are required to maintain records and sufficient documentation for the Federal government to verify the accuracy of fee collections.

Monthly Statement Submissions for Commercial Aircraft; 7 CFR 354.3(e)(3); Private Sector

Officials monitoring AQI fee collections use the information to determine if the parties responsible for the submission of the commercial aircraft fees paid the proper amount of fees based on their actual number of commercial aircraft entries. Federal officials working with the collection of user fees for commercial aircraft use the information to determine if entities not paying the user fees due to the exemptions listed in §354.3(e)(2) were actually exempt from the fee. Federal officials reviewing collections use the information to identify any non-paying entities who are supposed to be paying the fees. As noted in 7 CFR 354.3(j), Recordkeeping and Record Retention, entities are required to maintain records and sufficient documentation for the Federal government to verify the accuracy of fee collections.

Recordkeeping and Record Retention; Recordkeeping; 7 CFR 354.3(j); Private Sector and Individual

Entities responsible for paying AQI user fees and their agents are required to establish, keep, and make available to APHIS records and reports required under § 354.3, including remittance worksheets, if applicable; and legible copies of contracts between the responsible entity or their agents and agents that conduct activities subject to this part for the responsible entity, and copies of documents relating to agreements made without a written contract.

Responsible entities or their agents must maintain sufficient documentation for APHIS, CBP, and authorized representatives to verify the accuracy of the fee collections and, if applicable, remittance worksheets. Such information must be made available for inspection upon APHIS and CBP’s demand. Such documentation shall be maintained in the United States for a period of 5 years from the date of fee calculation, unless a longer retention period is determined to be needed by the Administrator. Each such affected entity shall provide to APHIS and CBP the name, address, and telephone number of a responsible officer who is able to verify any statements or records required to be filed or maintained under this section and shall promptly notify APHIS and CBP of any changes in the identifying information previously submitted.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.

APHIS makes every effort to comply with the E-Government Act, 2002 (E-Gov) and to provide for alternative submission of information collections.

APHIS has reviewed paperwork requirements of the user fee program and has made every effort to streamline processes and minimize the impact on the public. APHIS has made as many of these forms available online as possible. Where possible, APHIS uses online processing tools and existing billing and collection methods to minimize the cost to the Agency and the public (see detailed payment instructions at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/mrpbs/userfees/aqi-payment-types.pdf). Additional assistance may be obtained from [email protected].

In cases where APHIS issues bills to customers, it establishes accounts for repeat customers to consolidate all monthly activity into a single bill which can be paid with one check or an online payment. APHIS also uses credit card machines to help simplify paperwork, where feasible, and making payment easier for certain customers.

APHIS is working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to explore options for further improving, streamlining, and automating user fee payment in the field, especially trucks and maritime ‘‘real time’’ payment procedures, and transponders.

APHIS estimates that 5% of the responses are submitted electronically.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purpose described in item 2 above.

The information that APHIS collects in connection with this information collection request is not available from any other source and is unique to the transaction. There is no similar data collection available. Every effort has been made to avoid duplication.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.

APHIS estimates that 12% of the business respondents are small entities. The request for information has been kept to a minimum. Since all parties must submit the same information, regardless of the size of the entity, no specific consideration has been given to small businesses or small entities.

6. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

Collecting this information is mandatory. Doing it less frequently or failing to collect it would make it impossible for APHIS to ensure the correct fees are collected and remitted in full, and that the fees are properly credited to the appropriate respondent. In accordance with Office of Management and Budget Circular A-25, User Charges, the fees should provide for full cost recovery for the services supported by the agricultural quarantine inspection fees. This is an ongoing information collection request.

7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the general information collection guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5, such as:

• requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly;

As a result of recent Federal legal mandates, the agriculture quarantine inspection fees do not contain a component to allow for a reserve. This leads to less funding available in this revolving, no-year account. The agency requires monthly rather than quarterly remittances for the commercial aircraft fee, international air passenger fee, and international cruise passenger fee to make our revenue stream more stable, clarify our requirements, and provide for electronic payments and statements.

• requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a collection of information in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;

• requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document;

• requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than 3 years;

To improve monitoring, compliance, and enforcement of AQI fee regulations, the Agency has retention requirements for documents pertaining to AQI user fees requiring entities responsible for collecting and paying the fees and their agents to maintaining all records required under § 354.3, as well as legible copies of contracts and other agreements made between responsible persons and their agents for five years. This timeframe is considered reasonable.

• in connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reli­able results that can be generalized to the universe of study;

• requiring the use of a statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB;

• that includes a pledge of confidentiality that is not supported by authority estab­lished in statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other agencies for compatible confidential use;

• requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secret, or other confidential information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentiality to the extent permitted by law.

No other special circumstances exist that would require this collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the general information collection guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5.

8. Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting form, and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency's notice, soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB.

APHIS engaged in productive consultations with the following individuals in connection with the information collection requirements associated with these requirements. APHIS contacted these respondents by email and phone to discuss the information APHIS collects to administer its new import requirements. We discussed with them how we and they obtain the necessary data and how frequently; how much data is available; the convenience and clarity of reporting formats and other collection instruments; and the clarity of, and necessity for, any recordkeeping requirements. The respondents stated via email or phone that they had no concerns with any of these items and had no further recommendations.

Jeremy Randle

Western Air Charter

16700C Roscoe Blvd

Van Nuys, CA 91406

Phone: 818.442.0096 ext 4719

Email: [email protected]

Eliza Who

Air New England LLC

62 Durham St

Portsmouth, NH 03801

Phone:603-319-4682

Email: [email protected]

Deval Desai

Fly Dreams, LLC

954 Airport Road, Suite 124

Chamblee, GA 30341

Phone: 440-503-1541

Email: [email protected]

On August 11, 2023, the proposed rule was published in the Federal Register (88 FR 54796) with a 60-day public comment period. Comments and detailed evaluations can be found in the final rule notice (89 FR 38596) published on May 7, 2024.

APHIS received several public comments on the proposed rule and the following changes were made to the final rule:

• We lowered the fees for commercial vessels, commercial aircraft, and international air passengers based on our determination that, while aggregate cost was correct (the numerator for the fee rate), there were more instances in which AQI services were provided in these modes (the denominator for the fee rate) than we had initially calculated.

• We established a commercial vessel fee specific to commercial vessels operating within the Great Lakes or in the region along the coastline from Alaska to Oregon, provided that certain conditions are met.

• We decided not to revise our regulations governing the treatment monitoring fee at this time.

• We decided not to specify the method by which airlines and cruise ships must refund passenger user fees assessed for trips not taken.

With these changes, there are corresponding updates in the related recordkeeping burdens (Applications for Credit Account and Request for Services, User Fees for International Air Passengers – Remittance and Statements, and Fees for Conducting and Monitoring Treatments) between the proposed and final rules. There was no impact on burden assumptions between the proposed and final rules due to the first two bulleted items above. The estimated burden on commercial vessels, commercial aircraft, and international aircraft customers has not changed. In addition, the volumes of payers of the new commercial vessel fee specific to commercial vessels operating within the Great Lakes or in the region along the coastline from Alaska to Oregon is a subset of the original burdens vessel user fee-related burdens included in the proposed rule, so there is no change in the estimated burden between the proposed and final rules. Because the revisions to the treatment user fees in the proposed rule would have created new burdens, the decision not to revise the regulations governing the treatment monitoring user fees has lowered the assumed burdens between the proposed and this the final rule in four ways:

• The proposed rule assumed there would be 2,844 new treatments (1,190 heat treatments and 1,654 irradiation treatments) with an estimated 5 minutes per treatment burden yielding 237 respondent burden hours per year. With the removal of the treatment fee changes from the final rule, we reduced the burden estimate between the proposed and final rules accordingly.

• The proposed rule included a new billing process for treatment monitoring, and in the proposed rule, we assumed half of the approximate 50 treatment facilities would want to be billed. With the removal of the treatment fee changes from the final rule, we reduced the burden estimate between the proposed and final rules accordingly.

• The proposed rule included consequences for late payment of AQI treatment monitoring user fees and estimated there would be six treatment facilities incurring an increased time burden of 20 minutes per facility for an estimated increase in respondent burden of 2 hours. We removed these 2 hours from our estimated burden with the removal of the treatment fee changes from the final rule.

• The proposed rule included a reduction in the need for facilities to create new business procedures to hold fees in trust estimating it would save 50 treatment facilities 4.75 hours per year for a total of 237 reduction in respondent burden hours each year for individuals and 237 reduction in burden hours each year for businesses. With the removal of the treatment fee changes from the final rule, the treatment facilities remain holding fee collections in trust. For this change between the proposed rule and final rule, we added 237 respondent burden hours into the total number of respondent burden hours between the proposed and final rules.

In addition, the decision not to specify the method by which airlines and cruise ships must refund passenger user fees assessed for trips not taken has also lowered the assumed burdens between the proposed rule and the final rule. The proposed rule assumed one third of the estimated 331 airlines would be required to submit revised remittance sheets each month. We estimated those 110 airlines would be required to submit 12 additional remittances per year taking 3 minutes each at 66 hours of additional burden per year. With the decision not to specify the passenger user fee refund methods, we have reduced the overall respondent burden estimate between the proposed and final rule by this amount.

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than reenumeration of contractors or grantees.

This information collection activity involves no payments or gifts to respondents.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

No additional assurance of confidentiality is provided with this information collection.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior or attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

The activities within this information collection request ask no questions of a personal or sensitive nature.

12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated.

• Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated. If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form and aggregate the hour burdens in Item 13 of OMB Form 83-I.

See APHIS 71.

• Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories.

APHIS estimates the total annualized cost to these respondents to be $70,061. APHIS arrived at this figure by multiplying the total burden hours (1,391 hours) by the estimated average hourly wage of the respondents ($34.76) and then multiplying the result by 1.449 to capture benefit costs. Hourly rates are derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics table found at https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm. APHIS used SOCC 00-0000, All Occupations (Individuals), $29.76; and SOCC 13-1199, Business Operations Specialists, $39.75.

According to DOL BLS news release USDL-23-0488, employee benefits account for 31 percent of employee costs, and wages account for the remaining 69 percent. Total costs can be calculated as a function of wages using a multiplier of 1.449.

13. Provide estimates of the total annual cost burden to respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information (do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in items 12 and 14). The cost estimates should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start-up cost component annualized over its expected useful life; and (b) a total operation and maintenance and purchase of services component.

No annual cost burden is associated with capital and startup costs, operation and maintenance expenditures, and purchase of services.

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government. Provide a description of the method used to estimate cost and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information.

See APHIS Form 79. The estimated annualized cost to the Federal government is $112,264.

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13 or 14 of the OMB Form 83-1.

	Requested	Program Change Due to New Statute	Program Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Agency Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA	Previously Approved
Annual Number of Responses	1,525,694		1,525,694			0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	1,391		1,391			0

This information collection request is submitted in conjunction with a final rule. It reflects an estimated 34,982 respondents, 1,525,694 new responses, and 1,391 hours of burden.

Some of the reporting and recordkeeping requirements in this rule are currently reported under control number 0579-0055, APHIS Credit and User Fee Accounts. The remaining reporting and recordkeeping requirements associated with this final rule were submitted to OMB as a new information collection and assigned OMB comment-filed number 0579-0489. Upon approval, this information collection will be merged into 0579-0055 when it is renewed in May 2027.

16. For collections of information whose results are planned to be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication.

APHIS has no plans to publish information it collects in connection with this program.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

This request does not include any forms requiring OMB approval information.

18. Explain each exception to the certification Statement in the "Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act."

APHIS can certify compliance with all provisions under the Act.

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods

There are no statistical methods associated with the information collection activities used in this program.

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