On August 26, 2003, the United States Department
of the Interior sent a proposed rule change to the Federal Register (68 FR
51222). The proposed rule revises portions of Service regulations that pertain
to many permit procedures, including the permit application fee schedule for
Migratory Bird Rehabilitation, found in 50 CFR Part 13.11. Under the proposal,
permit application fees for most types of permits would be increased.
The notice is excerpted below with sections pertinent to rehabilitators and educators
highlighted. IWRC urges all interested
people to comment to the Service, as directed below, before the deadline on October 10, 2003.
For the entire text of the prosed rule go to:
http://permits.fws.gov/federalregister/federalregister.shtml click on Proposed rule 8/26/03
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Parts 13 and 21
RIN 1018-AC57
Revisions to General Permit Procedures
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: This proposed
rule revises the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's permit application fee
schedule for permits issued by the Divisions of Migratory Bird Management,
Endangered Species, Law Enforcement, and Management Authority. The rule also
clarifies several aspects of Service permit application procedures, and updates
permit-related Service addresses. Additionally, the rule extends the tenure of
two types of migratory bird permits.
DATES: Send comments on this proposal
by October 10, 2003.
ADDRESSES: You may mail or deliver comments to
the Division of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, MBSP 4107, Arlington, Virginia
22203-1610. Alternatively, you may submit your comments via the Internet
to: permitspart13@fws.gov. Please submit
Internet comments as an ASCII
file, avoiding the use of special characters and
any form of encryption. Please also include your name and return address in
your e-mail message.
If you submit comments by more than one medium,
please note that at the beginning of your document. You may also fax in
comments to 703/358-2272. When submitting comments, refer to the file number
RIN 1018-AC57.
The complete file for this proposed rule,
including public comments, is available, by appointment, during normal business
hours at the same address. You may call 703/358-2329 to make an appointment to
view the files.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Millsap,
Chief, Division of
Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 703/358-1714.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In implementing its responsibilities under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA), Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Migratory Bird
Treaty Act (MBTA), and other wildlife laws, the Service
issues permits and certificates that authorize the holders to engage in certain
wildlife-related activities that are
regulated by international treaty or laws of the United States. The Service
charges user fees to offset the cost of processing applications for these
permits and certificates, as well as the cost of monitoring and maintaining
active permit files.
The general statutory authority to charge fees
for applications for permits and certificates is found in 31 U.S.C. 9701, which
states that services provided by Federal agencies are to be ``self-sustaining
to the extent possible.'' The authority to charge fees is also found under
various wildlife laws. Specifically, the ESA, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 1540(f),
authorizes the Secretary to ``charge reasonable fees for expenses to the
Government connected with permits or certificates authorized by [the ESA]
including processing applications.'' The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA),
16 U.S.C. Sec. 1374(g), also provides that the
``Secretary shall establish and charge a
reasonable fee for permits'' issued pursuant to the MMPA.
Federal user fee policy, as stated in
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-25, requires Federal
agencies to recoup the costs of ``special services'' that provide benefits to
identifiable recipients. Permits are special services,
authorizing identifiable
recipients to engage in activities not otherwise
authorized for the general public. Some of the Service's permit programs
receive no designated budget appropriations. Others receive some funding, but
not enough to cover costs. Our ability to effectively provide these special
services depends in large part on user fees. We are proposing that the standard
permit application fee, which has not been revised since 1982, be increased in
order to recoup more of the costs associated with providing permitting services. The current schedule of permit application
fees was published in the Federal Register on July 15, 1982 (47 FR 30785). The
Service set what it calculated to be a reasonable standard fee in 1982 dollars
to help defray the costs of processing permit applications, and monitoring and
maintaining active permits. However, the standard $25
fee was not
large enough to recover the total cost
of administering the Service's permit programs, even when it was set in 1982.
In response to cost of living increases, average
Federal Government salaries have increased by 128% since 1982, according to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment
Cost Index. This means that labor costs, which constitute the major expense
incurred in administering permit programs, have more than doubled during the 21
years since the standard fee was established. Furthermore, during that time, the average permit application
has become more complex and time consuming to process. For example,
migratory bird depredation permit applications
are increasing in both frequency and complexity as greater numbers of people
have more frequent interactions with migratory birds, resulting in more
extensive, and different types of, property damage. Before issuing
these permits, the Service must document that it
considered and complied with the requirements of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA). As part of NEPA compliance, some of these permit issuances
require preparation of environmental assessments. For
migratory bird rehabilitation, permit conditions and criteria have had to
become more complex to keep pace with an expanding and evolving profession, as
larger, better-equipped facilities
open, providing greater numbers of birds with more sophisticated treatment. In
general, permit administration today requires more coordination between Service
programs, other Federal programs, and State governments than it did 2 decades
ago, in order to comply with the growing body of wildlife regulations needed to
address the increasing impacts of an expanding human society. This increased
complexity and workload of permit administration results in larger costs to the
Service.
Proposed Revised Fee Schedule
Given the shortfall between program
costs and fee collection, the Service is proposing to implement a new permit
application fee schedule. The Service proposes to replace the
current standard and nonstandard fees with a new table of fees to be designated
under title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at Sec. 13.11(d)(4). This rule does not affect
permit application fees for migratory bird banding and marking permits, which
are issued by the U.S. Geological Survey, Bird Banding Laboratory. The proposed fee structure is what the
Service deems to be reasonable based on the nature of the activities being
permitted, as well as the level of complexity and time required to process
applications and maintain active permit files…
While cost considerations were important in
developing the new fee structure, the Service does not intend this fee schedule
to precisely mirror the actual cost of processing and maintaining the various
types of permits we issue… The proposed fee structure is a compromise between
charging permit applicants the entire cost of providing these special services
and the need to establish a uniform, straightforward fee schedule that reflects
a reasonable cost for processing applications and maintaining active files. In
addition to cost, the Service considered several other factors in developing
the new permit application fee schedule in accordance with 31 U.S.C. 9701,
which states that
charges for services provided by the Government
shall be based on (1) the costs to the Government; (2)
the value of the service or thing to the recipient; (3) public policy or
interest served; and (4) other relevant facts. Thus, the Service took into
consideration such factors as whether the permit serves the public interest,
and whether the type
of permit to be issued typically
provides a commercial benefit, either directly or indirectly, to the recipient.
The Service will review permit application fees
on a regular basis, using the cost of living index, as reported by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics, as well as other factors that impact the cost to the
Government of providing these services, to determine when it is
appropriate and necessary to adjust fees.
Migratory Bird Rehabilitation Permit
Application Fees
For
many years, applicants for migratory bird rehabilitation permits have paid no
application fee. Although part 13 has never provided a formal exemption for
rehabilitators, as a matter of
practice, application fees for those permits have been waived. On December 6, 2001, the Service proposed a regulation to
establish a
specific permit category under which
migratory bird rehabilitators will be permitted (66 FR 63349). Under that proposed rulemaking, migratory bird
rehabilitation permit applicants are required to pay the fee listed in part 13, which is currently $25. As
part of that same rulemaking, migratory bird rehabilitation permits are proposed to be
extended from a 3-year to a 5-year
tenure. The net result of those changes is that
migratory bird rehabilitation permit holders would pay $5 per year in permit
processing costs.
Under the present rulemaking proposed
herein, the rehabilitation permit application fee would increase to $50,
resulting in a net increase to rehabilitation permit holders of another $5 per
year. While we recognize that migratory bird
rehabilitators provide benefits to injured wildlife, the Service nevertheless
incurs substantial costs when processing these permits. For the same reasons we
are obliged to increase permit application fees Servicewide, we need to recoup
the costs of issuing migratory bird rehabilitation permits, and we do not
consider a fee equivalent to $10 per year to be a significant economic burden
for permit applicants.
Native Endangered and Threatened Species Permit
Application Fees
Go to the web site for further information
Renewals and Amendments
To
ensure consistency, the Service is clarifying its policy on permit renewals and
amendments. Applications to renew a permit when the tenure of a permit is
expiring or has expired are effectively new permit applications. Therefore, all
applicable fees will be applied.
The Service will assess a fee for
amendments to a valid permit where the amendment reflects a substantive change
within the scope of the permit. We will not charge permittees for administrative changes to valid permits,
such as address and telephone
number changes. The amount of the
amendment fee will typically be half of the application fee for the type of
permit (see fee schedule at the end of this document).
Examples of substantive amendments include changing the species covered under a
scientific collecting permit, requesting authorization to import wildlife
through an additional nondesignated port, and relocating
a wildlife operation to new facilities at a different site. With some
exceptions, most migratory bird permits will not require fees for amendment
because amendments to migratory bird permits typically do not require
significant additional staff time on the part of the Service to process.
Amending a valid
permit will not extend the tenure of the permit
beyond the original expiration date. Amendments to Master Files, Annual
Programs, and WBCA cooperative breeding programs will be treated differently
(see above). Some permits cannot be amended; the fee schedule therefore does
not reflect any amendment cost for these types of permits (see fee schedule at
the end of this document).
Waivers
Currently, Sec.
13.11(d)(3) provides for a waiver of permit fees for governmental
entities. This section provides that a fee will not be charged to any Federal,
State, or local government agency, nor to any individual or institution under
contract to such agency for the proposed activity. In the past, the Service has
extended fee waivers to other public institutions provided that proof of their
status as a ``public institution'' accompanied the permit application. We are
now proposing to limit the fee waiver provided for public institutions to only
Federal and State governmental agencies, and to individuals or
institutions under contract to such agencies for
the activities being permitted. We find it necessary to
limit exemptions given the substantial time and effort the Service dedicates to
processing permit applications and monitoring and maintaining permits of public
institutions.
In addition, many of the affected institutions receive benefits from Service
permits beyond those that accrue to the general public or to Federal or State
governments.
This rule further provides that a Regional Director or
Assistant Director may waive or reduce any fee on a case-by-case basis for
extraordinary extenuating circumstances. We envision this provision will be
used rarely, if ever.
Additional Revisions
Go to website.
Regulatory Planning and Review (E.O. 12866)
…
In
total, the Service processes approximately 25,000
permits annually. About half of these permits are issued to small entities,
many of whom can pass the economic effect of the fee increase (an average of
$50 per year per permit) to consumers, depending on the
elasticity of demand. The maximum loss in
consumer surplus, if all costs were passed along to consumers, would be $1.25
million annually. However, for commercial permittees, the average $50 cost
increase of the permits will be spread over many products and result in
negligible price increases to consumers.
The Service believes that the permit
fee for working with regulated plants and wildlife is a very small part of the
cost of these activities and will result in a negligible economic impact to
consumers and businesses.
The benefit of better aligning the permit application fees schedule to
the cost of Federal processing is that this will shift
the burden of payment for these services from taxpayers as a whole to those
persons who are receiving the government services. User fee increases reflect a
related shift in appropriations of taxes to government programs, allowing those
tax dollars to be applied to other programs that benefit the general public.
Sec.
13.11 Application procedures.
…
(2) If regulations in
this subchapter require more than one type of
permit for an activity and the permits are issued by the same office,
the issuing office may issue one consolidated permit authorizing the activity
pursuant to Sec. 13.1. You may submit a
single application in such cases, provided that the single application contains
all the
information required by the separate
applications for each permitted activity. Where more than one permitted
activity is consolidated into one permit, the issuing office will charge the
highest single fee for the activity permitted.
(3) We
will not charge a fee to any Federal or State government agency or to any
individual or institution under contract to such agency for the proposed
activities. Proof of status as a Federal or State government agency, or
contractor to such agency, must accompany your application….
(4) User fees.
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Amendment
Type of permit Citation Fee fee
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Migratory Bird Treaty Act
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Migratory Bird Special Purpose/ 50 CFR
21 75 ...........
Education.
Migratory Bird Special Purpose/ 50 CFR 21 75 ...........
Salvage.
Falconry...................... 50
CFR 21 100
...........
Raptor Propagation............ 50
CFR 21 100 ...........
Migratory Bird Rehabilitation. 50 CFR 21
50 ...........
Migratory Bird Depredation.... 50 CFR 21 100
50
Migratory Bird Depredation/ 50 CFR 21 50
...........
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Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act
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Eagle Exhibition.............. 50 CFR 22 75
...........
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Dated: July 30, 2003.
Craig Manson,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and
Parks.
[FR Doc. 03-21489 Filed 8-25-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
You can find the proposed rule change in its entirety on the Internet at
http://permits.fws.gov/federalregister/federalregister.shtml click on Proposed rule 8/26/03
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