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[Federal Register: December 30, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 249)]
[Notices]
[Page 75281-75282]

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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.

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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 2004 fees on our actual expenses for fiscal year 2003. The fees reflect changes both in our approval processing operations and in our costs to process approval actions.

DATES: This fee schedule is effective from January 1, 2004, through December 31, 2004.

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 2004 in accordance with the procedures of that rule and include this new fee schedule below. For approval applications postmarked before January 1, 2004, we will continue to calculate fees under the previous (2003) fee schedule, published on December 31, 2002.

Fee Computation

     In general, we computed the 2004 fees based on fiscal year 2003 data. We calculated a weighted-average, direct cost for all the services that we provided during fiscal year 2003 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 2004.

     Dated: December 18, 2003. John R. Correll,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health. 
                 Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2004
                         [Based on FY 2003 data]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Action title                         Hourly rate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fees for Testing, Evaluation, and Approval of all Mining             $63
 Products \1\..............................................
Retesting for Approval as a Result of Post-Approval Product
 Audit \2\
             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. 03-31798 Filed 12-29-03; 8:45 am]

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