Customs Service Field Organization; Santa Teresa, NM

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

19 CFR Parts 101 and 122

[T.D. 94-34]

Customs Service Field Organization; Santa Teresa, NM

AGENCY: U.S. Customs Service, Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This document amends the Customs Regulations governing the

Customs field organization by establishing Santa Teresa, New Mexico, as

a port of entry. The document also establishes the Santa Teresa

Airport, which is within the boundaries of the port of entry, as a

designated airport for the purposes of report of arrival and Customs

clearance. Currently, Santa Teresa is a temporary Customs station, and

Santa Teresa Airport is operating as a landing rights airport. Because

of the traffic in the area which already exists, and the anticipated

growth in that traffic, Customs has determined that a need exists to

create a port of entry at Santa Teresa. Through this change, the

general public and importers will be served better and Customs

personnel and resources will be more efficiently utilized.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 6, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad Lund, Office of Workforce

Effectiveness and Development, Office of Inspection and Control, U.S.

Customs Service, (202) 927-0192.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

As part of its continuing program to obtain more efficient use of

its personnel, facilities and resources, and to provide better service

to carriers, importers and the public, Customs is amending Sec. 101.3,

Customs Regulations (19 CFR 101.3), by establishing a port of entry at

Santa Teresa, New Mexico and is amending Sec. 122.24(b) by adding the

Santa Teresa Airport to the list of airports designated as airports at

which private aircraft arriving in the Continental U.S. via the U.S. -

Mexican border from a foreign place in the Western Hemisphere south of

the U.S. can land.

Customs published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal

Register (57 FR 33462) on July 29, 1992, proposing these actions and

inviting the public to comment.

No comments were received in response to the proposal. After

further review, Customs has determined to amend the regulations as

proposed. Until this amendment becomes effective, the only port of

entry along the New Mexico-Mexico border is located in the far western

portion of the state. Because the amount of traffic in the Santa Teresa

area has increased recently, Customs has established, as an interim

measure, a temporary Customs station at Santa Teresa under the

authority of Sec. 101.4(d), Customs Regulations. The airport at Santa

Teresa, which recently lost its status as a user fee airport by

operation of law, is now operating as a landing rights airport.

Establishing Santa Teresa as a Port of Entry

The criteria for determining whether a port of entry should be

established by Customs was initially identified in T.D. 82-37 on March

9, 1982 (47 FR 10137). The criteria in that T.D. were subsequently

revised by T.D. 86-14 (February 5, 1986, 51 FR 4559) and T.D. 87-65

(May 4, 1987, 52 FR 16328).

The criteria used by Customs in determining whether a port of entry

shall be established are whether the community requesting creation of

the port can: (1) Demonstrate that the benefits to be derived justify

the Federal Government expense involved; (2) be serviced by at least

two major modes of transportation (rail, air, water, or highway); and

(3) has a minimum population of 300,000 within the immediate service

area (approximately a 70-mile radius). In addition, T.D. 82-37 provides

that the actual or potential Customs workload (minimum number of

transactions per year) must meet one of several alternate criteria, one

of which is 2,500 consumption entries (each valued over $1000.00) of

which no more than half can be attributed to one private party.

Finally, T.D. 82-37 provides that the facilities at the location must

include adequate warehousing space for secure storage of imported cargo

pending final Customs inspection and release, and administrative office

space, inspection areas, storage areas and other space necessary for

regular Customs operations.

The Regional Commissioner of the Southwest Region has reported to

Customs Headquarters that the Santa Teresa area is well served by air,

rail, and highway modes of transportation. The population within a 70-

mile radius of the port is contained in a variety of jurisdictional

units and communities. Both El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico are

within that radius, as are several smaller communities. The 1990 El

Paso County estimated population was over 606,000, while Dona Ana

County, New Mexico added another 15,000. The estimated 1990 population

of Juarez, Mexico is 1.2 million. All these figures are expected to

grow significantly in the coming years. Creation of a port of entry at

Santa Teresa will more evenly distribute the vehicular traffic which is

currently forced to pass through El Paso, Texas. There is significant

construction taking place in and around the vicinity of Santa Teresa to

build inspection booths and stations, administration buildings and

other support facilities to allow Customs to perform its mission in a

safe and efficient manner. The Mexican Government was instrumental in

assisting construction of a new paved road to the border from Mexico

which was completed in early October 1993. Customs has received

commitments from several corporate importers that they will utilize

Santa Teresa as a port of entry once it becomes operational. Studies

conducted by several sources have indicated that, once the port becomes

operational, over 25,000 commercial vehicles will use the port per

year, and approximately 6,000 consumption entries will be filed per

year at the land border port. The local Chamber of Commerce reports

that several corporations have expressed interest in locating in the

area in anticipation of Santa Teresa's being designated a port of entry

by Customs. Economic benefits, in the form of additional employment,

are already being felt in the community.

During the period Santa Teresa has been operating as a temporary

Customs station, Customs has achieved notable results in obtaining

commitments from the trade community regarding their use of electronic

data input for the processing of entries. Currently, most of the

brokers or importers filing entries are automated. No current importer

dominates the scene, and, as the surrounding infrastructure continues

to improve, additional entities have expressed their intentions to

utilize the port.

Currently, the only port of entry along the New Mexico-Mexico

border is located in the far western portion of the state. Diplomatic

negotiations have been held with the Government of Mexico concerning

the creation of a port of entry at Santa Teresa, and both governments

are in agreement with such an action.

Port of Entry Boundaries

The boundaries of the port of entry of Santa Teresa are as follows:

Beginning at the junction of the boundary between Texas and New

Mexico with the U.S.-Mexico border, west, along the Mexico-U.S. border

until it intersects the range line between Range 1 East and Range 2

East, New Mexico Principal Meridian; at that point, north along that

range line until it reaches the line between Township 27 South and

Township 28 South; then east along the Township line until it reaches

the Texas-New Mexico border; then south-east along the Texas-New Mexico

border to the beginning point.

Santa Teresa Airport

In this action, Customs is also amending Sec. 122.24(b) by adding

the Santa Teresa Airport, which is within the boundaries of the port of

entry, to the list of airports designated as airports at which private

aircraft arriving in the Continental U.S. must report intended arrival

pursuant to Sec. 122.23(b) and land for Customs processing in

accordance with Sec. 122.24(b). Section 122.23(b) provides,

essentially, that all private aircraft arriving in the Continental U.S.

via the U.S.-Mexican border, from a foreign place in the Western

Hemisphere south of 33 degrees north latitude, or from any place in

Mexico, shall furnish notice of intended arrival to Customs at the

nearest designated airport to the point of crossing for the first

landing in the U.S. Sec. 122.24 provides that such aircraft shall land

for Customs processing at the nearest designated airport to the border

or coastline crossing point. At present, there is no designated airport

in the State of New Mexico. The identification of the Santa Teresa

Airport as a designated airport by Customs will benefit the flying

public by increasing the options available for reporting arrival and

obtaining Customs processing. The addition of this airport will also

reduce delays at existing designated airports by permitting a better

distribution of the inspection burden.

Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order 12866

Customs routinely establishes, expands, and consolidates Customs

ports of entry throughout the United States to accommodate the volume

of Customs-related activity in various parts of the country. Although

this document is being issued after notice for public comment, it is

not subject to the notice and public procedure requirements of 5 U.S.C.

553 because it relates to agency management and organization.

Accordingly, this document is not subject to the provisions of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because this

document relates to agency organization and management, it is not

subject to Executive Order 12866.

Drafting Information

The principal author of this document was Peter T. Lynch,

Regulations Branch, Office of Regulations and Rulings, U.S. Customs

Service. However, personnel from other offices participated in its

development.

List of Subjects

19 CFR Part 101

Customs duties and inspection, Exports, Imports, Organizations and

functions (Government agencies).

19 CFR Part 122

Airports, Aircraft, Customs duties and inspection, Drug traffic

control, Security measures.

Amendments to the Regulations

Accordingly, parts 101 and 122 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR

parts 101 and 122) are amended as follows:

PART 101--GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. The authority citation for Part 101 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 19 U.S.C. 2, 66, 1202 (General Note 8,

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States), 1623, 1624.

Sec. 101.3 [Amended]

2. Section 101.3(b) containing the list of Customs regions,

districts and ports of entry is amended by adding in the Southwest

Region, under the column headed ``Ports of entry'', ``Santa Teresa,

N.Mex. (T.D. 94-34)'' in the appropriate alphabetical order opposite

``El Paso, Tex.''

PART 122--AIR COMMERCE REGULATIONS

1. The authority citation for Part 122 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 19 U.S.C. 58b, 66, 1433, 1436, 1459,

1590, 1594, 1624, 1644; 49 U.S.C. App. 1509.

Sec. 122.24 [Amended]

2. Section 122.24(b) is amended by adding in appropriate

alphabetical order in the column headed ``Location'', the words ``Santa

Teresa, N.Mex.'', and directly opposite, in the column headed ``Name'',

the words ``Santa Teresa Airport''.

George J. Weise,

Commissioner of Customs.

Approved: March 9, 1994.

John P. Simpson,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

[FR Doc. 94-8088 Filed 4-5-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820-02-P