Notice2024-21786
Fees for Cruise Ship Operational Sanitation, Construction, and Renovation Inspections
Primary source
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Published
September 23, 2024
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Abstract
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces fees for vessel sanitation inspections for fiscal year (FY) 2025. These inspections are conducted by HHS/CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP). VSP helps the cruise line industry fulfill its responsibility for developing and implementing comprehensive sanitation programs to minimize the risk for environmentally associated illnesses and hazards. Every vessel that has a foreign itinerary and carries 13 or more passengers is subject to twice-yearly unannounced operations inspections and, when necessary, reinspection.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 184 (Monday, September 23, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 184 (Monday, September 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77513-77514]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-21786]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Fees for Cruise Ship Operational Sanitation, Construction, and
Renovation Inspections
AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), within
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces fees for
vessel sanitation inspections for fiscal year (FY) 2025. These
inspections are conducted by HHS/CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP).
VSP helps the cruise line industry fulfill its responsibility for
developing and implementing comprehensive sanitation programs to
minimize the risk for environmentally associated illnesses and hazards.
Every vessel that has a foreign itinerary and carries 13 or more
passengers is subject to twice-yearly unannounced operations
inspections and, when necessary, reinspection.
DATES: These fees apply to inspections conducted from October 13, 2024,
through September 30, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: CAPT Luis Rodriguez, Chief, Vessel
Sanitation Program, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway NE, MS 106-6,
Atlanta, Georgia 30341-3717; phone: 800-323-2132; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d0a6a3a090b3b4b3feb7bfa6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4f393c3f0f2c2b2c61282039">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Background
HHS/CDC established the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) in the
1970s as a cooperative activity with the cruise ship industry. VSP
helps the cruise ship industry prevent and control the introduction and
spread of environmentally associated illnesses and hazards on cruise
ships. VSP operates under the authority of the Public Health Service
Act (Section 361 of the Public Health Service Act; 42 U.S.C. 264,
``Control of Communicable Diseases''). Regulations found at 42 CFR
71.41 (Foreign Quarantine--Requirements Upon Arrival at U.S. Ports:
Sanitary Inspection; General Provisions) state that carriers arriving
at U.S. ports from foreign areas are subject to sanitary inspections to
determine potential rodent, insect, or other vermin infestations;
contaminated food or water; or other sanitary conditions requiring
measures to prevent introduction or spread of communicable diseases.
The FY 2025 fee schedule reflects increases to cover costs to
operate and improve the program. Travel expenses and other costs have
increased, and larger ships and more complex features mean more
inspectors are needed for each inspection. Fees charged for inspections
also support many additional VSP services beyond inspections (plan
reviews, equipment reviews, technical assistance, epidemiological
investigations, and outbreak response activities). VSP will continue to
enhance customer service to cruise lines and shipyards as well as
public health efforts onboard by offering additional value-added
services requested by industry partners such as modernization of VSP's
data systems to increase functionality and efficiency and updates to
VSP training platforms.
Additionally, the fee schedule will be restructured from seven
categories to four categories. This new structure addresses comments
from industry in July 2019 and more accurately reflects the number of
inspectors and inspector-hours needed to perform an inspection.
The fee schedule for sanitation inspections of passenger cruise
ships by VSP was first published in the Federal Register on November
24, 1987 (52 FR 45019). HHS/CDC began collecting fees on March 1, 1988.
The fee schedule was most recently published in the Federal Register on
August 14, 2023 (88 FR 55048). This notice announces fees for
inspections conducted during FY 2025 (beginning on October 13, 2024,
through September 30, 2025). The fee schedule for FY 2025 is presented
in Appendix A.
The following formula will be used to determine the fees:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN23SE24.013
Total cost of VSP = Total cost of operating the program, such as
administration, travel, staffing, sanitation inspections, and outbreak
response.
Weighted number of annual inspections = Total number of ships and
inspections per year accounting for vessel size, number of inspectors
needed for vessel size, travel logistics to conduct inspections, and
vessel location and arrivals in U.S. jurisdiction per year.
Fee
The fee schedule (Appendix A) applies to inspections conducted from
October 13, 2024, through September 30, 2025.
Applicability
The fees will apply to all passenger cruise vessels for which
inspections are conducted as part of HHS/CDC's VSP.
Noah Aleshire,
Chief Regulatory Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Appendix A
Fee Schedule for Each Vessel Size
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Construction and
Operational renovation
Vessel size (GT \1\) inspection \2\ inspection \3\
fee (US$) fee (US$)
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Tier 1 (<30,000 GT)............... 8,073 16,146
Tier 2 (30,001-110,000 GT)........ 16,146 32,292
Tier 3 (110,001-180,000 GT)....... 32,292 64,584
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Tier 4 (>180,001 GT).............. 64,584 129,168
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\1\ Gross tonnage in cubic feet, as shown in Lloyd's Register of
Shipping (<a href="https://www.lr.org/en/">https://www.lr.org/en/</a>).
\2\ Operations inspections and re-inspections involve the same
procedures and require the same amount of time, so they are charged at
the same rates.
\3\ Construction and renovation inspections require at least twice the
amount of time as operations inspections, so they are charged double
the rates.
[FR Doc. 2024-21786 Filed 9-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P
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