WSR 22-22-063
PERMANENT RULES
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
[Filed October 28, 2022, 11:25 a.m., effective December 1, 2022]
Effective Date of Rule: December 1, 2022.
Purpose: The department is amending WAC 16-390-240 USDA audit verification and terminal market inspection fees, to adopt fees identical to, and not less than, fees adopted by the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS) as published in the Federal Register (Vol. 87, No. 114) on June 14, 2022, under the "Fresh Fruits, Vegetables, and Other Products (Inspection, Certification, and Standards)" table with an effective date of October 1, 2022. These changes are necessary to comply with the department's cooperative agreement with USDA-AMS for services the department provides as a "federal-state inspection agency."
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 16-390-240.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW
15.17.030, [15.17].140(2), [15.17].150, and [15.17].270.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 22-17-120 on August 23, 2022.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: October 28, 2022.
Derek I. Sandison
Director
OTS-4005.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 19-18-047, filed 8/30/19, effective 9/30/19)
WAC 16-390-240USDA audit verification and terminal market inspection fees.
WSDA performs audit and inspection services requested by customers under a "cooperative agreement" with the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA/AMS). Under USDA/AMS rules, WSDA provides these services as a "federal-state inspection agency." Under USDA/AMS regulations and the cooperative agreement, the fees that WSDA charges for these services must be no less than the current USDA/AMS fees for these services. The applicable current USDA/AMS fees were published in the Federal Register in Vol. ((84, No. 83 on April 30, 2019))87, No. 114 on June 14, 2022, under the "Fresh Fruits, Vegetables, and Other Products (Inspection, Certification, and Standards)" table and, for the mileage fee related to terminal market inspection, for incorporation in the USDA/AMS "General Market Manual" at Appendix II, "Schedule of User Fees." In conformity with the cooperative agreement, WSDA adopts the same applicable fees for these services as set forth in this section.
(1) Mileage related to audit verification services is charged at the rate established by the Washington state office of financial management at the time the service was performed.
(2) Specialty crop fees/audit and terminal market fees:
Quality and Condition Inspections for Whole Lots | (($210.00))$225.00 per lot |
Quality and Condition Half Lot or Condition-Only Inspections for Whole Lots | (($174.00))$186.00 per lot |
Condition Half Lot | (($161.00))$172.00 per lot |
Quality and Condition or Condition-Only Inspections for Additional Lots of the Same Product | (($96.00))$103.00 per lot |
Dockside Inspections - Each Package Weighing <30 lbs. | $0.044 per pkg. |
Dockside Inspections - Each Package Weighing >30 lbs. | $0.068 per pkg. |
Charge per Individual Product for Dockside Inspection | (($210.00))$225.00 per lot |
Charge per Each Additional Lot of the Same Product | (($96.00))$103.00 per lot |
Inspections for All Hourly Work | Regular | Overtime | Holiday |
(($93.00))$100.00 | (($113.00))$137.00 | (($134.00))$175.00 |
Audit Services - ((State))Federal | (($115.00))$132.00 per audit | ((N/A)) | ((N/A)) |
Audit Services - State | $132.00 per audit | | |
GFSI Certification Fee2 | $250.00 per audit | | |
2 | Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Certification Fee—$250 per GFSI audit to recoup the costs associated with attaining technical equivalency to the GFSI benchmarking requirements. |
(3) The mileage fee related to terminal market inspection services is $1.96 per mile. Round trip mileage will be charged from an inspector's assigned location to the inspection site.