NEW CATEGORY PROPOSED FOR CERTAIN NURSERY PLANT IMPORTS

News Date July 28, 2009

The US Department of Agriculture Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to establish a new category of regulated articles in the regulations governing the importation of nursery stock, also known as plants for planting, and will consider any comments received on or before October 21, 2009.

The new category would list taxa of plants for planting whose importation is not authorized pending pest risk analysis. In addition, this new category would allow APHIS to take prompt action on evidence that the importation of a taxon of plants for planting may pose a risk while continuing to allow for public participation in the process.

If scientific evidence indicated that the taxon of plants for planting is a potential quarantine pest or a potential host of a quarantine pest, APHIS would publish a notice that would announce its determination that the taxon is a potential quarantine pest or a potential host of a quarantine pest, cite the scientific evidence it considered in making this determination, and give the public an opportunity to comment on the determination. If the Department received no comments that prompt a change to its determination, the taxon would subsequently be added to the new category.

Any person would be able to petition for a pest risk analysis to be conducted for a taxon that has been added to the new category. After the pest risk analysis was completed, further action might be to remove the taxon from the category and allow its importation subject to general requirements, allow its importation subject to specific restrictions, or prohibit its importation.

USDA would consider applications for permits to import small quantities of germplasm from taxa whose importation is not authorized pending pest risk analysis, for experimental or scientific purposes under controlled conditions.

The proposed rule can be found here. (Contact: Amy Mann)