[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 243 (Friday, December 18, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70163-70164]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33553]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Mine Safety and Health Administration
Fee Adjustments for Testing, Evaluation, and Approval of Mining
Products
AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), Labor.
ACTION: Notice of fee adjustments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice revises our [MSHA Approval and Certification
Center (A&CC)] user fees. Fees compensate us for the costs that we
incur for testing, evaluating, and approving certain products for use
in underground mines. We based the 1999 fees on our actual expenses for
fiscal year 1998. The fees reflect changes both in our approval
processing operations and in our costs to process approval actions.
DATES: These fee schedules are effective from January 1, 1999 through
December 31, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven J. Luzik, Chief, Approval and
Certification Center (A&CC), 304-547-2029 or 304-547-0400.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On May 8, 1987 (52 FR 17506), we published a final rule, 30 CFR
Part 5--Fees for Testing, Evaluation, and Approval of Mining Products.
The rule established specific procedures for calculating,
administering, and revising user fees. We have revised our fee schedule
for 1999 in accordance with the procedures of that rule and include
this new fee schedule below. For approval applications postmarked
before January 1, 1999, we will continue to calculate fees under the
previous (1998) fee schedule, published on December 24, 1997.
Fee Computation
In general, we computed the 1999 fees based on fiscal year 1998
data. We calculated a weighted-average, direct
[[Page 70164]]
cost for all the services that we provided during fiscal year 1998 in
the processing of requests for testing, evaluation, and approval of
certain products for use in underground mines. From this cost, we
calculated a single hourly rate to apply uniformly across all of the
product approval categories during 1999.
Elimination of SNAP and SRA Programs
Effective September 1998, we eliminated the Stamped Notification
Acceptance Program (SNAP) and Stamped Revision Acceptance (SRA)
programs. Under these programs, we charged only a nominal fee for the
acceptance of certain changes to approvals. All requests for acceptance
of proposed changes to approved products now require only:
(1) A letter of application describing the proposed changes, and
(2) The new or revised drawings and specifications that document
the proposed changes.
As with original requests for approval, we will charge a single
hourly rate for processing all future requests for acceptance of
proposed changes to approved products.
In addition, we require you (applicant) to pre-authorize the
expenditure of at least $500 for fees. If the complexity of the
proposed change requires more time to evaluate than you pre-authorized,
we will prepare an estimate of the total cost and send it to you. If
you agree to the additional cost, we will complete the approval
process. We will bill you for the actual cost of processing your
application at the conclusion of the investigation.
We will continue to administer and bill certain tests and services
at a flat rate. We have listed our hourly and flat-rate fees for 1999
in the following fee schedule.
Dated: December 14, 1998.
J. Davitt McAteer,
Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health.
Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 1999
[Based on FY 1998 data]
Action title Hourly rate Flat rate
Fees for Testing, Evaluation, and
Approval of all Mining Products \1\.... $59
Retesting for Approval as a Result of
Post-Approval Product Audit \2\........ ..............
Statement of Test and Evaluation (ST&E). .............. $105
Statement of Test and Evaluation (ST&E)
Extension.............................. .............. 83
Mine Wide Monitoring System (MWMS)
Barrier Classification................. .............. 89
30 CFR PART 15--EXPLOSIVES TESTING
Permissibility Tests for Explosives:
Weigh-in............................................ $462
Physical Exam: First size........................... 325
Chemical Analysis................................... 1,977
Air Gap--Minimum Product Firing Temperature......... 460
Air Gap--Room Temperature........................... 352
Pendulum Friction Test.............................. 163
Detonation Rate..................................... 352
Gallery Test 7...................................... 7,436
Gallery Test 8...................................... 5,533
Toxic Gases (Large Chamber)......................... 805
Permissibility Tests for Sheathed Explosives:
Physical Examination................................ 128
Chemical Analysis................................... 1,044
Gallery Test 9...................................... 1,944
Gallery Test 10..................................... 1,944
Gallery Test 11..................................... 1,944
Gallery Test 12..................................... 1,944
Drop Test........................................... 648
Temperature Effects/Detonation...................... 672
Toxic Gases......................................... 580
\1\ Full approval fee consists of evaluation cost plus applicable test
costs.
\2\ Fee based upon the approval schedule in effect at the time of
retest.
Note: When the nature of the product requires that we test and evaluate
it at a location other than our premises, you must reimburse us for
the traveling, subsistence, and incidental expenses of our
representative in accordance with standardized government travel
regulations. This reimbursement is in addition to the fees charged for
evaluation and testing.
[FR Doc. 98-33553 Filed 12-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-43-P
