The Port of Miami Deep Dredge project will move forward under an agreement reached between Dade County and three petitioners who raised concerns about the project: the Tropical Audubon Society, Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper, Inc. and a County resident, Dan Kipnis, pending approval by the county commissioners, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said in a statement. The agreement came after the county agreed to provide funding to the Biscayne Bay Environmental Enhancement Trust Fund managed by the county's Department of Permitting, Environment and Regulatory Affairs.

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Centers of Excellence and Expertise are game changers in the trade world and are deserving of additional funding from Congress, said Thomas Winkowski, acting deputy commissioner at CBP, speaking at the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America conference April 25. Winkowski was a last minute replacement for Acting Commissioner David Aguilar, who was scheduled to speak at the conference but was summoned to the White House, said Winkowski.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the selection process for a Centralized Examination Station (CES) in the Port of Charlotte is re-opened to solicit applicants within the jurisdiction of the Port of Charlotte, NC. The CES agreement will for be five years from the date of the written CES Agreement. An application is available at 1901 Cross Beam Drive, Charlotte, NC. Further information: Assistant Port Director, Trade Jennifer Jameson at 704-329-6119.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted Amendment 11 (April 2012) to the CATAIR (Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements). Amendment 11 consists of two changes. An additional introductory paragraph has been added to the Automated Manifest System (AMS) Broker Download section of the CATAIR for Record Identifier NS50 (Output). NS50 (Output) contains remarks relating to the posting of a bill of lading or the status of the importing conveyance . In addition, the ACH application form has been located to another section of Appendix J. Revised AMS Broker Download section available here. Revised Appendix J available here. List of these Amendment 11 changes available here. Entire CATAIR available here (zip file) .

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has posted the April 23, 2012 Change Record for the ACE ABI CATAIR (Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements). The Change Record indicates that the ABI Batch and Block Control section of this document has been revised (Revision 4). The revision documents the differences between the ACE ABI e-Manifest: Rail and Sea (eMAN) and the ACE ABI Entry Summary, Accounts, and Revenue (ESAR) Control A-, Y-, and Z-Records. ABI Batch and Control Block section available here. Change Record available here. Entire ACE ABI CATAIR available here.

Customs and Border Protection's Office of Automated Commercial Systems (ACS) said it assembled a list of companies/persons offering air Automated Manifest System (AMS) communication and data processing services to the trade community. Inclusion on the list doesn't constitute any form of an endorsement by CBP about the nature, extent or quality of the services, which may be provided, it cautioned.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is proposing to extend the geographical limits of the port of entry of Indianapolis, Ind., to make the boundaries more easily identifiable to the public and allow for uniform and continuous service to the extended area of Indianapolis, CBP said in a Federal Register notice to be published April 25. Comments are due by June 25 to http://www.regulations.gov, docket number USCBP-2012-0006, or by mail to: Border Security Regulations Branch, Office of International Trade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Mint Annex, 799 9th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20229-1179. Further information: Roger Kaplan, 202-325-4543, or Roger.Kaplan@dhs.gov.

Customs and Border Protection issued a notice April 24 saying shared reports are now available for use by the trade community. The notice said all ACE trade report users now have the ability to share customized reports with any user of their ACE Portal account who has access to ACE reports. This will improve efficiency for the account by eliminating the need for multiple users to create similar reports, it said.

Customs and Border Protection issued a reminder that the six-month transition has begun for ACE e-Manifest: Rail and Sea. As a result, effective September 29, 2012, ACE will be the only approved EDI for transmitting required advance rail and sea cargo information and ABI in-bond transactions to CBP, it said.

Customs and Border Protection said the Centralized Examination Station (CES) at 1430-G West Pointe Drive, Charlotte, NC, will be closed after Friday April 27, 2012. The announcement for applications to operate a CES in Charlotte for the next five-year period will be issued in the near future, it said. The Area Port of Charlotte will not have a CES until a new contract is signed. Until a new CES is selected, cargo will be examined at the FIRMS code location indicated on the CBP 3461 Entry/Immediate Delivery. Those wanting cargo examined at a location OTHER than the site listed on the 3461 will need to bring a Delivery Ticket or a Permit to Transfer to the Port Office at 1901 Cross Beam Drive, Charlotte NC. Permits to Transfer will also be accepted by fax at 704-329-6144. Additional information: Assistant Area Port Director Jennifer Jameson at 704-329-6119.