WASHINGTON -- Rep. Bill Owens says he has received official confirmation from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that ferry passengers from Canada will not have to pay a $5.50 border fee when entering the U.S.

The surcharge for people entering the U.S. by boat or plane has existed for years, but Canadians had been exempt since 1997, until a provision in the recently passed U.S. Colombia Free Trade Agreement removed the exemption.

Owens, a Democrat from Plattsburgh representing the North Country's 23rd Congressional District, along with other representatives from both sides of the border, complained that the surcharge was a bad idea for several reasons, such as it possibly leading to a decline in cross-border travel and trade and the possibility of reciprocating charges being laid on U.S. travelers into Canada.

"U.S. Customs and Border Protection has determined that ferry passengers arriving from Canada should not be charged a customs commercial vessel passenger fee," said a letter to Owens from CBP Assistant Commissioner Michael Yeager received in Owens' office this week.

This finding has no bearing on fees that can be imposed on people coming into the U.S, on other watercraft and airplanes.