E7-19609. Fees for Sanitation Inspections of Cruise Ships

AGENCY:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces fees for vessel sanitation inspections for fiscal year 2008 (October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008).

DATES:

Effective Date: October 1, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jaret Ames, Chief, Vessel Sanitation Program, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4770 Buford Highway, NE., Mailstop F-23, Atlanta, Georgia 30341-3724, telephone [phone], E-mail: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Background

The fee schedule for sanitation inspections of passenger cruise ships inspected under the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) was first published in the Federal Register on November 24, 1987 (52 FR 45019), and CDC began collecting fees on March 1, 1988. Since then, CDC has published the fee schedule annually. This notice announces fees effective October 1, 2007.

The formula used to determine the fees is as follows:

The average cost per inspection is multiplied by a size/cost factor to determine the fee for vessels in each size category. The size/cost factor was established in the proposed fee schedule published in the Federal Register on July 17, 1987 (52 FR 27060), and revised twice and published in the Federal Register on November 28, 1989 (54 FR 48942) and November 21, 2005 (70 FR 70078). The revised size/cost factor is presented in Appendix A.

Fee

The fee schedule (Appendix A) will be effective October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008. If travel expenses continue to increase, the fees may need adjustment before September 30, 2008, because travel constitutes a sizable portion of VSP's costs. If an adjustment is necessary, a notice will be published in the Federal Register 30 days before the effective date.

Applicability

The fees will apply to all passenger cruise vessels for which inspections are conducted as part of CDC's VSP.

Dated: September 26, 2007.

James D. Seligman,

Chief Information Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Appendix A

Vessel Size	GRT 1	Approximate cost ($US) per GRT
SIZE/COST FACTOR
Extra Small	< 3,001	0.25
Small	3,001-15,000	0.50
Medium	15,001-30,000	1.00
Large	30,001-60,000	1.50
Extra Large	60,001-120,000	2.00
Mega *	> 120,001	3.00

Vessel Size	GRT 1	Fee ($US)
FEE SCHEDULE
Extra Small	< 3,000	1,300
Small	3,001-15,000	2,600
Medium	15,001-30,000	5,200
Large	30,001-60,000	7,800
Extra Large	60,001-120,000	10,400
Mega *	>120,001	15,600
1 Gross register tonnage in cubic feet, as shown in Lloyd's Register of Shipping.
* New Vessel Size Category.

Inspections and reinspections involve the same procedure, require the same amount of time, and are therefore charged at the same rate.