[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 96 (Tuesday, May 19, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27579-27581]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13212]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Fees for Consultation Services for Ship Construction and
Renovation
AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice announces fees for conducting voluntary
inspections of newly constructed or renovated cruise ships. This notice
also announces a change in the proposal to charge a fee for
consultation on construction and renovation, and to add a new ``mega''
size category to the sanitation inspection fee schedule.
DATES: Fees for construction and renovation inspections are effective
June 18, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel M. Harper, Program Manager,
Vessel Sanitation Program, National Center for Environmental Health,
telephone (770) 488-3524 or e-mail [email protected], or Dave Forney, Public
Health Advisor, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects,
National Center for Environmental Health, telephone (770) 488-7333 or
e-mail [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Background
A notice of request for public comment on a proposal to charge fees
for consultation services for ship construction and renovation, and to
create a new ``Mega'' category for the routine sanitary inspection of
ships was published in the Federal Register on November 17, 1997,
[Volume 62, Pages 61336-61338]. A subsequent amendment to extend the
comment period an additional 30 days was published in the Federal
Register on January 13, 1998, [Volume 63, Number 8, Page 1973].
Discussion of Comments
The public notice of the intent to collect fees for consultation
services for ship construction and renovation and to create a new
``Mega'' category for routine inspections provided a 45 day comment
period which was extended an additional 28 days at the request of the
members of the cruise ship industry. During the comment period,
comments were received from two sources, one of which was the
International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) representing the 17
largest passenger cruise lines that call on major ports in the U.S. and
abroad. Discussion of the comments received and CDC's responses
follows:
Comment: One commentor stated that the use of Gross Register Tons
alone does not correctly indicate a ship's capacity to carry passengers
and crew, while the Total Safe Number does, and better reflects the
type of ship that is being inspected.
Response: The fees set forth in the public notice were based on
Gross Register Tonnage (GRT) of the passenger vessels as reported by
Lloyds of London. CDC believes that the use of GRT is a reasonable and
equitable method for determining fees since the number and size of the
food service areas and the size of the onboard water systems are
generally functions of the vessel's GRT. CDC, after considering the
commentor's alternative proposal, sees no advantage in the commentor's
proposal over CDC's. CDC will continue to periodically review the fee
schedule. If actual experience in fee collection indicates that CDC's
proposed system does result in substantial inequity, CDC will act
promptly to correct the situation.
Comment: One commentor stated that the proposed ``Mega'' category
placed an increased financial burden on these large craft by increasing
the basic inspection fee by approximately 31% over what these ships
were charged in 1997. In addition, the galley size and complexity on
these ships is not significantly different than that found on ships in
the Extra Large category.
Response: It has been CDC's experience that the size and complexity
of the galleys and water systems aboard ships >90,000 GRT are often
greater than those found on smaller ships. It is also our belief that
performing sanitation inspections of these ships requires additional
staff time and resources. However, we have not quantified the increase
in resources. Therefore, CDC agrees to postpone any modifications to
the existing category structure until there can be a more thorough
evaluation of the time, effort and other factors involved with the
inspection of these ships.
Comment: One commentor stated that the fee increase in the FY 98
budget should adequately cover the costs of providing construction
consultation services without the creation of a new
[[Page 27580]]
fee category and that this is supported by the vessel fee calculation
utilized in the CDC's Federal Register notice which stipulates that
current inspection fees fully fund the VSP Program. The commentor
states that the proposed consultation fees are duplicative of the fees
already being paid by vessel operators to CDC through the sanitation
inspection fees.
Response: Generally, the CDC recoups the costs of the VSP through
the collection of fees. The fee schedule for sanitation inspections of
passenger cruise ships currently inspected under the VSP was first
published in the Federal Register on November 24, 1987 (52 FR 45019),
and revised in a schedule published in the Federal Register on November
28, 1989 (54 FR 48942). Since then, CDC has published the fee schedule
annually. The formula historically used to determine the fees has been
calculated by dividing the cost of the VSP by the weighted number of
annual inspections. With the tremendous expansion of the cruise line
industry, and concurrent expansion in the number of ships being
constructed and renovated, an increasing percentage of VSP staff time
and expense is being spent on providing consultation directly to the
individual cruise lines building and renovating ships. In the past,
consultations for new construction and renovation have included an
extensive review of the ships' blueprints, an on-site shipyard
inspection as the ship neared completion, and a final construction
inspection. This has contributed to an overall increase in the VSP
budget and reduces the inspector time available to conduct routine
sanitation inspections. Because these construction consultations and
inspections are voluntary and are directed to individual ship owners,
builders and operators, CDC feels that the cost of these services
should be borne by the individual recipients, and not by the collective
cruise lines participating in the vessel sanitation program. CDC did
not include the cost of construction consultations or inspections in
calculating the average cost per inspection for FY 1998. If CDC added
the cost of these voluntary services into the existing formula, the
sanitation inspection for ALL vessels would have been substantially
higher even though none of the existing ships in the program would have
received direct benefit from the consultation.
In order to more equitably distribute the cost of the program among
the participants, CDC will charge for all inspections conducted by VSP
staff. CDC agrees to postpone charging a fee for plan reviews and
consultation during construction and renovation until there can be a
more thorough evaluation of the time, effort and other factors involved
with this activity. Future program budgets will be determined by
dividing the cost of the VSP by the weighted number of all inspections.
Comment: One commentor stated that the proposed fee for
consultation is all inclusive of plan review, shipyard inspection and
final construction inspection and does not allow an interested cruise
line to request a consultation or inspection during a specific
individual phase of construction or renovation.
Response: CDC agrees that a consultation or inspection should be
available for any or all phases of construction and renovation.
Therefore, consultation or inspection services for new construction or
renovation will be provided in three phases:
In Phase 1, CDC will:
Conduct a Plan Review with ship officials in either the
Miami or Atlanta VSP offices and provide a written report, with
recommendations, to the ship officials following the review.
Provide written consultations to the appropriate ship
officials (owners, builders, sub-contractors, etc.) during the
construction phase of the ship.
Provide these plan reviews and consultations at no cost.
In Phase 2, CDC will:
Require that requests for shipyard inspections be
submitted to VSP Atlanta 45 days prior to travel dates (see Appendix
A).
Require that the shipyard pay CDC for all expenses in
connection with the shipyard inspection and make all necessary
arrangements for lodging and transportation, which includes airfare and
ground transportation.
Charge a standard inspection fee for the shipyard
inspection based on the published fee announced annually in the Federal
Register. Provide the shipyard with an invoice at the completion of the
inspection.
Provide a written report of the shipyard inspection.
In Phase 3, CDC will:
Conduct the final construction inspection at a U.S. port
prior to the ship entering operational service. The time and place of
this inspection will be mutually agreed upon by the builder, owner and
VSP staff. This inspection will NOT be scored.
Provide a written report of the final construction
inspection.
Charge a standard inspection fee for the inspection based
on the published fee announced annually in the Federal Register.
Provide the shipyard with an invoice at the completion of the
inspection.
This is a voluntary program for the cruise ship builders/owners and
a formal written request must be made for a consultation and/or
construction inspection. CDC's ability to honor these requests will be
based on the availability of VSP staff. A builder/owner may request any
one, two, or all of the consultation and inspection phases.
CDC will assign one inspector as the ``project manager'' for each
request for consultation or renovation of a ship. The project manager
will be the single point of contact at VSP for any discussion regarding
the ship from the initial plan review through the final construction
inspection. CDC will also provide a second inspector to participate in
all plan reviews, consultations, and inspections.
Fees
CDC will not charge a fee for plan reviews and consultation but
will charge the published standard fee for all inspections conducted by
the program (e.g., shipyard, final construction, sanitation, etc.). The
inspection fee is based on the existing fee schedule for sanitation
inspections of passenger cruise ships, published annually in the
Federal Register.
Fee Schedule January 1, 1998-September 30, 1998
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inspection
Vessel size and GRT \1\ fee
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extra Small (<3,001)....................................... $1,075
Small (3,001-15,000)....................................... 2,150
Medium (15,001-30,000)..................................... 4,300
Large (30,001-60,000)...................................... 6,450
Extra Large (>60,000)...................................... 8,600
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ GRT--Gross Register Tonnage in cubic feet, as shown in Lloyd's
Register of Shipping.
Applicability
The inspection fees will be applicable to all passenger cruise
vessels requesting and receiving services as described in this notice.
[[Page 27581]]
Dated: May 13, 1998.
Joseph R. Carter,
Acting Associate Director for Management and Operations, Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Appendix A
Sample
Fax to: Henry Falk, M.D., Director, Division of Environmental
Hazards and Health Effects, National Center for Environmental Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 4770 Buford
Highway, NE., Mailstop F-28, Atlanta, GA 30341-3724, Facsimile (770)
488-4127
Fax copy to: Chief, Vessel Sanitation Program, National Center for
Environmental Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), 4770 Buford Highway, NE., Mailstop F-16, Atlanta, GA 30341-
3724, Facsimile (770) 488-4127
We request the presence of a PHS representative for shipyard
consultation on cruise liner (NAME). We tentatively expect to take
delivery of the cruise liner on (DATE). We would like to schedule
the shipyard consultation for (DATE). We expect the consultation to
take approximately (NUMBER OF DAYS).
We will pay CDC in accordance with the inspection fee published
in the Federal Register, and for all expenses in connection with the
shipyard inspection. We will make all necessary arrangements for
lodging and transportation, which includes airfare and ground
transportation in (CITY, STATE, COUNTRY). We will provide in-kind
for lodging and transportation expenses. All remaining expenses,
such as en route per diem and meals and miscellaneous expenses,
including ground transportation to and from the airport nearest the
representatives work site or residence, should be sent to the
following address:
Company
Attention:
Street Address
City, State, Country
Zip Code
Office Telephone Number
Facsimile Number
If you have questions regarding this confirmation, please
contact:
Signed:
[FR Doc. 98-13212 Filed 5-18-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P