Customs Service Field Organization-San Jose, California

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service

19 CFR Part 101

Customs Service Field Organization-San Jose, California

AGENCY: Customs Service, Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This document proposes to amend the Customs Regulations

pertaining to the field organization of the Customs Service by

designating San Jose as a port of entry in the Customs District of San

Francisco, California, of the Pacific Region. The change is being

proposed as part of Customs continuing program to obtain more efficient

use of its personnel, facilities, and resources, and to provide better

service to carriers, importers and the general public.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 10, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Written comments (preferably in triplicate) may be submitted

to the Regulations Branch, Office of Regulations and Rulings, U.S.

Customs Service, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20229.

Comments submitted may be inspected at the Regulations Branch, Office

of Regulations and Rulings, 1099 14th Street NW., Suite 4000,

Washington, DC, on regular business days between the hours of 9 a.m.

and 4:30 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad Lund, Office of Inspection and

Control (202-927-0192).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

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

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

carriers, importers, and the general public, Customs is proposing to

amend Secs. 101.3 and 101.4, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 101.3 and

101.4) by designating a four county area surrounding San Jose,

California, as a port of entry for Customs [[Page 25177]] purposes in

the Customs District of San Francisco, California, within the Pacific

Region. Part of this four county area, Monterey, is presently listed in

Sec. 101.4(c), Customs Regulations, as a Customs station within the San

Francisco District. San Jose is presently part of the port of entry of

San Francisco.

The city of San Jose, California, has requested designation of the

four county area surrounding San Jose as a port of entry and has stated

that the efficiency in having a port of entry located in San Jose would

represent a considerable saving of time and cost for the business

community. The city states that firms in the South Bay Area will

benefit from the advantages of having their cargo cleared at the San

Jose port of entry. It also anticipates that more cargo will be shipped

to the area and that the result will be additional Customs revenue and

increased Federal benefits.

The request for designation has been concurred with by the

Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Department of Justice and

by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the Department of

Agriculture. Various elected officials, local corporations and

associations also support the request.

The criteria used by Customs in determining whether to establish a

port of entry are found in T.D. 82-37 (47 FR 10137), as revised by T.

D. 86-14 (51 FR 4559) and T.D. 87-65 (52 FR 16328). Under these

criteria, a community requesting a port of entry designation must: (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); (3) have a

minimum population of 300,000 within the immediate service area

(approximately a 70 mile radius); and (4) make a commitment to make

optimal use of electronic data transfer capabilities to permit

integration with Customs Automated Commercial System (ACS), which

provides a means for the electronic processing of entries of imported

merchandise. Further, the actual or potential Customs workload (i.e.,

number of transactions per year) at the proposed port of entry must

meet one of several alternative minimum requirements, among which are

15,000 passenger arrivals and 2500 consumption entries per year.

Finally, facilities at the proposed port of entry must include cargo

and passenger facilities, warehousing space for the 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.

San Jose International Airport is currently staffed by Customs on a

rotational basis. If the port of entry is approved, the rotational

positions currently assigned to San Jose will be converted to permanent

positions. Any relocation costs will be paid out of COBRA funds.

The request for port of entry status states that there will be

several Federal Government benefits if the port of entry is approved.

Approval will support the national goal of United States

competitiveness by strengthening the economic competitiveness of one of

the nation's most critical high technology areas. It will increase the

efficiency of the regional Customs service by improving the

distribution of entries which must be cleared through the San

Francisco-Oakland port and the San Jose port. It will decrease

congestion on the Bay Area's freeways due to shipments going directly

to San Jose International Airport. Finally, it will further the Customs

goal of increased automation, since San Jose International Airport has

provided the equipment necessary to supply a fully automated, highly

efficient Customs port.

The proposed port of entry will be served by three major modes of

transportation (air, rail and highway).

The proposed port of entry has a population of 2,167,000.

The City of San Jose has committed to the optimal use of electronic

data input equipment and software to permit integration with any

Customs system for electronic processing of commercial entries. San

Jose International Airport has provided, at no cost to the Federal

Government, computer equipment and systems which are needed to comply

with the goals of the National Customs Automation Program.

According to recent statistics, San Jose International Airport has

an annual workload of 92,246 arriving international passengers and 4854

formal entry releases, plus 2066 informal entry releases.

Cargo and passenger facilities have been provided for Customs

operations at San Jose International Airport. The Customs facility is a

23,000 square foot modular facility in a secure portion of the airport.

This facility provides the necessary administrative office space,

inspection rooms and other space required for performing regular

Customs operations.

Based on the information provided above, Customs believes that San

Jose meets the current standards for port of entry designations set

forth in T. D. 82-37, as revised by T. D. 86-14 and T. D. 87-65.

Proposed Limits of Port of Entry

The geographical limits of the proposed port of entry of San Jose

would be as follows:

All of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito Counties

in the State of California.

If the proposed port of entry designation is adopted, the lists of

Customs regions, districts, ports of entry and stations in 19 CFR

101.3(b) and 101.4(c) will be amended accordingly.

Comments

Before adopting this proposal, consideration will be given to any

written comments timely submitted to Customs. Comments submitted will

be available for public inspection in accordance with the Freedom of

Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552), Sec. 1.4, Treasury Department

Regulations (31 CFR 1.4), and Sec. 103.11(b), Customs Regulations (19

CFR 103.11(b)), on regular business days between the hours of 9 a.m.

and 4:30 p.m. at the Regulations Branch, Suite 4000, 1099 14th St. NW.,

Washington, D.C.

Authority

This change is proposed under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 301 and 19

U.S.C. 2, 66 and 1624.

The 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 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.). Agency organization matters such as this

are exempt from consideration under Executive Order 12866.

Drafting Information

The principal author of this document was Janet L. Johnson,

Regulations Branch. However, personnel from other offices participated

in its development. [[Page 25178]]

Approved: April 10, 1995.

William F. Riley,

Acting Commissioner of Customs.

John P. Simpson,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.

[FR Doc. 95-11669 Filed 5-10-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820-02-P