02-21249. 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 2003 (October 1, 2002, through September 30, 2003).

EFFECTIVE DATE:

October 1, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

David L. Forney, Chief, Vessel Sanitation Program, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4770 Buford Highway, NE, Mailstop F-16, 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 currently 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, 2002.

The formula used to determine the fees is as follows:

	Average cost per inspection	=	Total cost of VSP
			Weighted Number of annual inspections

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 in a schedule published in the Federal Register on November 28, 1989 (54 FR 48942). The revised size/cost factor is presented in Appendix A.

Fee

The fee schedule is presented in Appendix A and will be effective October 1, 2002, through September 30, 2003. This fee schedule represents a 4.2 percent decrease over the current fee schedule, which became effective October 1, 2001. If travel expenses continue to increase, it may be necessary to readjust the fees before September 30, 2003, because travel comprises a sizable portion of the program's costs. If such a readjustment in the fee schedule is necessary, a notice will be published in the Federal Register 30 days before the effective date.

Applicability

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

Dated: August 15, 2002.

James D. Seligman,

Associate Director for Program Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

APPENDIX

Appendix A

Size/Cost Factor

Vessel size	GRT 1	Average cost
Extra Small	<3,001	0.25
Small	3,001-15,001	0.50
Medium	15,000-30,000	1.00
Large	30,001-60,000	1.50
Extra Large	>60,000	2.00
1 GRT—Gross register tonnage in cubic feet, as shown in Lloyd's Register of Shipping.

Fee Schedule October 1, 2002-September 30, 2003

Vessel size	GRT 1	Fee ($U.S.)
Extra small	<3,001	1,150
Small	3,001-15,000	2,300
Medium	15,001-30,000	4,600
Large	30,001-60,000	6,900
Extra large	>60,000	9,200
Note: Inspections and reinspections involve the same procedure, require the same amount of time, and are, therefore, charged at the same rate.