PART 319 - FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES

(a) Under section 436 of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7756), a State or political subdivision of a State may not regulate in foreign commerce any plant or plant product in order to control, eradicate, or prevent the introduction or dissemination of a biological control organism, plant pest, or noxious weed within the United States.

(b) Therefore, in accordance with section 436 of the Plant Protection Act, the regulations in this part preempt all State and local laws that are inconsistent with or exceed the regulations in this part.

(a) Definitions.

(b) Procedures for submitting requests and supporting information. Persons who request changes to the import regulations contained in this part and who wish to import plants, plant parts, or plant products that are not allowed importation under the conditions of this part must file a request with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in order for APHIS to consider whether the new commodity can be safely imported into the United States. The initial request can be formal (e.g., a letter) or informal (e.g., made during a bilateral discussion between the United States and another country), and can be made by any person. Upon APHIS confirmation that granting a person's request would require amendments to the regulations in this part, the national plant protection organization of the country from which the commodity would be exported must provide APHIS with the information listed in paragraph (d) of this section before APHIS can proceed with its consideration of the request; requests that are not supported with this information in a timely manner will be considered incomplete and APHIS may not take further action on such requests until all required information is submitted.

(c) Addresses. The national plant protection organization of the country from which commodities would be exported must submit the information listed in paragraph (d) of this section to: Commodity Import Analysis and Operations, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 140, Riverdale, MD 20737.

(d) Information. The following information must be provided to APHIS in order for APHIS to consider a request to change the regulations in part 319:

(e) Additional information. None of the additional information listed in this paragraph need be provided at the same time as information required under paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section; it is required only upon request by APHIS. If APHIS determines that additional information is required in order to complete a pest risk analysis in accordance with international standards for pest risk analysis, we will notify the party submitting the request in writing what specific additional information is required. If this information is not provided, and is not available to APHIS from other sources, a request may be considered incomplete and APHIS may be unable to take further action on the request until the necessary additional information is submitted. The additional information may include one or more of the following types of information:

(f) Availability of additional guidance. Information related to the processing of requests to change the import regulations contained in this part may be found on the APHIS Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/pra/.

(a) Definitions.

(b) Purpose and scope. The regulations in this part prohibit or restrict the importation into the United States of certain plants, plant products, and other articles to prevent the introduction and dissemination of plant pests and noxious weeds within and throughout the United States. The regulations in this subpart provide a process under which a controlled import permit (CIP) may be issued to authorize the importation, for experimental, therapeutic, or developmental purposes, of an article whose importation is prohibited under this part. A CIP may also be issued to authorize, for those same purposes, the importation of an article under conditions that differ from those prescribed in the relevant regulations in this part.

(c) Application process. Applications for a CIP are available without charge from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ), Permit Unit, 4700 River Road Unit 136, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, or from local PPQ offices. Applications may be submitted by mail, by fax, or electronically and must be submitted at least 60 days prior to arrival of the article at the port of entry. Mailed applications must be submitted to the address above, faxed applications may be submitted to 301-734-4300, and electronic applications may be submitted through the ePermits Web site at https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/epermits.

(d) Shipping conditions. Consignments of plant material to be offered for importation under a CIP must meet the following requirements, unless otherwise specified under the conditions of the CIP:

(e) Post-importation conditions.

(f) Failure to comply with all of the conditions specified in the CIP or any applicable regulations or administrative instructions, or forging, counterfeiting, or defacing permits or shipping labels, may result in immediate revocation of the permit, denial of future permits, and civil or criminal penalties for the permit holder.

(g) Denial, withdrawal, cancellation, or revocation of permit. The Administrator may deny a permit application in accordance with § 319.7-3, and a permit may be withdrawn, canceled, or revoked in accordance with § 319.7-4.

Administrative instructions. Published documents related to the enforcement of this part and issued under authority of the Plant Protection Act, as amended (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), by the Administrator.

Administrator. The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service or any employee of the United States Department of Agriculture delegated to act in his or her stead.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.

Applicant. A person at least 18 years of age who, on behalf of him- or herself or another person, submits an application for a permit to import into the United States or move interstate a regulated article in accordance with this part.

Approved. Approved by the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Article. Any material or tangible objects that could harbor or be a vector of plant pests or noxious weeds.

Consignment. A quantity of plants, plant products, and/or other articles being moved from one country to another authorized when required, by a single permit. A consignment may be composed of one or more commodities or lots.

Country of origin. The country where the plants, or plants from which the plant products are derived, were grown or where the non-plant articles were produced.

Enter, entry. To move into, or the act of movement into, the commerce of the United States.

Import, importation. To move into, or the act of movement into, the territorial limits of the United States.

Inspector. Any individual authorized by the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service or the Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, to enforce the regulations in this part.

Intended use. The purpose for the importation of the regulated article, including, but not limited to, consumption, propagation, or research purposes.

Lot. All the regulated articles on a single means of conveyance that are derived from the same species of plant or are the same type of non-plant article, were subjected to the same treatments prior to importation, and are consigned to the same person.

Means of conveyance. Any personal property used for or intended for use for the movement of any other personal property.

Move. To carry, enter, import, mail, ship, or transport; to aid, abet, cause, or induce the carrying, entering, importing, mailing, shipping, or transporting; to offer to carry, enter, import, mail, ship, or transport; to receive to carry, enter, import, mail, ship, or transport; to release into the environment; or to allow any of the activities described in this definition.

Oral authorization. Verbal permission to import that may be granted by an inspector at the port of entry.

Permit. A written authorization, including by electronic methods, to move plants, plant products, biological control organisms, plant pests, noxious weeds, or articles under conditions prescribed by the Administrator.

Permittee. The person who, on behalf of self or another person, is legally the importer of an article, meets the requirements of § 319.7-2(f), and is responsible for compliance with the conditions for the importation that is the subject of a permit issued in accordance with this part.

Person. Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, joint venture, or other legal entity.

Plant. Any plant (including any plant part) for or capable of propagation, including a tree, a tissue culture, a plantlet culture, pollen, a shrub, a vine, a cutting, a graft, a scion, a bud, a bulb, a root, and a seed.

Plant pest. Any living stage of any of the following that can directly or indirectly injure, cause damage to, or cause disease in any plant or plant product: A protozoan; a nonhuman animal; a parasitic plant; a bacterium; a fungus; a virus or viroid; an infectious agent or other pathogen; or any article similar to or allied with any of the foregoing enumerated articles.

Plant product. Any flower, fruit, vegetable, root, bulb, seed, or other plant part that is not included in the definition of plant, or any manufactured or processed plant or plant part.

Port of entry. A port at which a specified shipment or means of conveyance is accepted for entry or admitted without entry into the United States for transit purposes.

Port of first arrival. The area (such as a seaport, airport, or land border) where a person or means of conveyance first arrives in the United States, and where inspection of regulated articles may be carried out by inspectors.

PPQ. The Plant Protection and Quarantine Program, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, delegated responsibility for enforcing provisions of the Plant Protection Act and related legislation, quarantines and regulations.

Regulated article. Any material or tangible object regulated by this part for entry into the United States or interstate movement.

Soil. The unconsolidated material from the earth's surface that consists of rock and mineral particles mixed with organic material and that supports or is capable of supporting biotic communities.

State. Any of the several States of the United States, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, or any other territory or possession of the United States.

Treatment. A procedure approved by the Administrator for neutralizing infestations or infections of plant pests or diseases, such as fumigation, application of chemicals or dry or moist heat, or processing, utilization, or storage.

United States. All of the States.

(a) Persons who wish to import regulated articles into the United States must apply for a permit, unless the regulated articles are not subject to a requirement under this part that a permit be issued prior to a consignment's arrival. An applicant for a permit to import regulated articles into the United States in accordance with this part must be:

(b) Permit applications must be submitted by the applicant in writing or electronically through one of the means listed at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/permits/index.shtml in advance of the action(s) proposed on the permit application.

(c) The application for a permit must contain the following information:

(d) The application for a permit may also require the following information:

(e) Application for a permit to import regulated articles into the United States must be submitted at least 30 days prior to arrival of the article at the port of entry.

(a) Upon receipt of an application, APHIS will issue a permit if, after review of the application, APHIS determines that the regulated articles are eligible to be imported into the United States under any applicable conditions. The permit will specify the applicable conditions of entry and the port of entry, and a copy will be provided to the permittee. The permit will only be valid for the time period indicated on the permit.

(b) The applicant for a permit for the importation of regulated articles into the United States must designate the person who will be named as the permittee upon the permit's issuance. The applicant and the permittee may be the same person or different persons.

(c) The act, omission, or failure of the permittee as an officer, agent, or person acting for or employed by any other person within the scope of his or her employment or office will be deemed also to be the act, omission, or failure of the other person.

(d) Failure to comply with all of the conditions specified in the permit or any applicable regulations or administrative instructions, or forging, counterfeiting, or defacing permits or shipping labels, may result in immediate revocation of the permit, denial of any future permits, and civil or criminal penalties for the permittee.

(e) The permittee will remain responsible for the consignment regardless of any delegation to a subsequent custodian of the importation.

(f) A permittee must:

(g) The regulated article may be imported only if all applicable requirements of the permit issued for the importation of the regulated article or any other documents or instructions issued by APHIS are met and complied with as determined by APHIS.

(h) In accordance with the regulations in this part, labels may be issued to the permittee for the importation of regulated articles. Such labels may contain information about the shipment's nature, origin, movement conditions, or other matters relevant to the permit and will indicate that the importation is authorized under the conditions specified in the permit.

(i) Even if a permit has been issued for the importation of a regulated article, the regulated article may be imported only if an inspector at the port of entry determines that no remedial measures pursuant to the Plant Protection Act are necessary to mitigate or address any plant pest or noxious weed risks.^[1]

(j) A permit application may be withdrawn at the request of the applicant prior to the issuance of the permit.

(k) A permit may be canceled after issuance at the request of the permittee.

(l) A permit may be amended if APHIS finds that the permit is incomplete or contains factual errors.

(m) In accordance with Section 7734 of the Plant Protection Act, as amended (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), the actions, omissions, or failures of any agent of the permittee may be deemed the actions, omissions, or failures of a permittee as well; and that failure to comply with all of the conditions specified in the permit or any applicable regulations or administrative instructions, or forging, counterfeiting, or defacing permits or shipping labels, may result in immediate revocation of the permit, denial of any future permits, and civil or criminal penalties for the permittee.

(a) APHIS may deny an application for a permit to import a regulated article into the United States. A denial, including the reason for the denial, will be provided in writing, including by electronic methods, to the applicant as promptly as circumstances permit. The denial of a permit may be appealed in accordance with § 319.7-5.

(b) APHIS may deny an application for a permit to import a regulated article:

(a) Withdrawal of an application. If the applicant wishes to withdraw a permit application before issuance of a permit, he or she must provide the request in writing to APHIS. APHIS will provide written notification to the applicant as promptly as circumstances allow regarding reception of the request and withdrawal of the application.

(b) Cancellation of permit by permittee. If a permittee wishes to cancel a permit after its issuance, he or she must provide the request in writing to APHIS. APHIS will provide written notification to the applicant as promptly as circumstances allow regarding reception of the request and cancellation of the permit.

(c) Revocation of permit by APHIS. APHIS may revoke any outstanding permit to import regulated articles into the United States. A revocation, including the reason for the revocation, will be provided in writing, including by electronic methods, to the permittee as promptly as circumstances permit. The revocation of a permit may be appealed in accordance with § 319.7-5.

(d) APHIS may revoke a permit to import a regulated article if:

(e) Upon revocation of a permit, the permittee must, without cost to the Federal Government and in the manner and method APHIS considers appropriate, either:

(a) All denials of an application for a permit, or revocations of an existing permit, will be provided in writing, including by electronic methods, as promptly as circumstances permit and will include the reasons for the denial or revocation.

(b) Any person whose application for a permit has been denied or whose permit has been revoked may appeal the decision in writing to APHIS within 10 business days from the date the communication of notification of the denial or revocation of the permit was received. The appeal must state all facts and reasons upon which the person is relying to show that the denial or revocation was incorrect.

(c) APHIS will grant or deny the appeal in writing and will state in writing the reason for the decision. The denial or revocation will remain in effect during the resolution of the appeal.

(a) The importation into the United States of sugarcane and its related products, including cuttings, canes, leaves and bagasse, from all foreign countries and localities is prohibited, except for importations for experimental, therapeutic, or developmental purposes under the conditions specified in a controlled import permit issued in accordance with § 319.6.

(b) The importation of sugarcane plants (including any plant parts) that are for planting or capable of being planted is restricted under Subpart H—Plants for Planting of this part.

(c) As used in this subpart, unless the context otherwise requires, the term “United States” means the States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.

(a) Under section 412(a) of the Plant Protection Act, the Secretary of Agriculture may prohibit or restrict the importation and entry of any plant or plant product if the Secretary determines that the prohibition or restriction is necessary to prevent the introduction into the United States or the dissemination within the United States of a plant pest or noxious weed.

(b) The Secretary has determined that it is necessary to designate the importation of certain taxa of plants for planting as not authorized pending pest risk analysis, as provided in § 319.37-4. The Secretary has determined that it is necessary to restrict the importation into the United States of all other plants for planting and to impose additional restrictions on the importation of specific types of plants for planting, in accordance with this subpart and as described in the Plants for Planting Manual.

(c) The importation of plants that are imported for processing or consumption, as determined by an inspector based on documentation accompanying the articles, is not subject to this subpart but may be subject to restrictions elsewhere in this part.

(d) The importation of taxa of plants for planting that are listed in parts 360 and 361 of this chapter is subject to the restrictions in those parts.

(e) The Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs also enforces regulations promulgated under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544) which contain additional prohibitions and restrictions on importation into the United States of plants for planting subject to this subpart (see 50 CFR parts 17 and 23).

(f) Within the Plants for Planting Manual, one or more common names of plants for planting may be given in parentheses after most scientific names (when common names are known) for the purpose of helping to identify the plants for planting represented by such scientific names; however, unless otherwise specified, a reference to a scientific name includes all plants for planting within the taxon represented by the scientific name regardless of whether the common name or names are as comprehensive in scope as the scientific name. When restrictions apply to the importation of a taxon of plants for planting for which there are taxonomic synonyms, those restrictions apply to the importation of all the synonyms of that taxon as well.

Administrator. The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, or any other employee of the United States Department of Agriculture authorized to act in his or her stead.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture.

Bulb. The portion of a plant commonly known as a bulb, bulbil, bulblet, corm, cormel, rhizome, tuber, or pip, and including fleshy roots or other underground fleshy growths, a unit of which produces an individual plant.

Consignment. A quantity of plants for planting being moved from one country to another and covered, when required, by a single phytosanitary certificate (a consignment may be composed of one or more lots or taxa).

Controlled import permit. A written or electronically transmitted authorization issued by APHIS for the importation into the United States of otherwise prohibited or restricted plant material for experimental, therapeutic, or developmental purposes, under controlled conditions as prescribed by the Administrator in accordance with § 319.6.

Earth. The softer matter composing part of the surface of the globe, in distinction from the firm rock, and including the soil and subsoil, as well as finely divided rock and other soil formation materials down to the rock layer.

From. Plants for planting are considered to be “from” any country or locality in which they are grown. Provided, That plants for planting imported into Canada from another country or locality shall be considered as being solely from Canada if they meet the following conditions:

Inspector. Any individual authorized by the Administrator or the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, to enforce the regulations in this part.

Lot. A number of units of a single commodity, identifiable by its homogeneity of composition and origin, forming all or part of a consignment.

Mother stock. A group of plants from which plant parts are taken to produce new plants.

National plant protection organization (NPPO). The official service established by a government to discharge the functions specified by the International Plant Protection Convention.

Noxious weed. Any plant or plant product that can directly or indirectly injure or cause damage to crops (including plants for planting or plant products), livestock, poultry, or other interests of agriculture, irrigation, navigation, the natural resources of the United States, the public health, or the environment.

Official control. The active enforcement of mandatory phytosanitary regulations and the application of mandatory phytosanitary procedures with the objective of eradication or containment of quarantine pests.

Person. Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, joint venture, or other legal entity.

Phytosanitary certificate. A document, including electronic versions, that is related to a restricted article and is issued not more than 15 days prior to shipment of the restricted article from the country in which it was grown and that:

Place of production. Any premises or collection of fields operated as a single production or farming unit. This may include production sites that are separately managed for phytosanitary purposes.

Plant. Any plant (including any plant part) for or capable of propagation, including a tree, a tissue culture, a plantlet culture, pollen, a shrub, a vine, a cutting, a graft, a scion, a bud, a bulb, a root, and a seed.

Plant broker. An entity that purchases or takes possession of plants for planting from an approved place of production for the purpose of exporting those plants without further growing beyond maintaining the plants until export.

Plant pest. Any living stage of any of the following that can directly or indirectly injure, cause damage to, or cause disease in any plant or plant product: A protozoan, a nonhuman animal, a parasitic plant, a bacterium, a fungus, a virus or viroid, an infectious agent or other pathogen, or any article similar to or allied with any of these articles.

Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs. The organizational unit within APHIS that is delegated responsibility for enforcing provisions of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.) and related legislation, quarantines, and regulations.

Planting. Any operation for the placing of plants in a growing medium, or by grafting or similar operations, to ensure their subsequent growth, reproduction, or propagation.

Plants for planting. Plants intended to remain planted, to be planted, or replanted.

Plants for Planting Manual. The document that contains restrictions on the importation of specific types of plants for planting, as provided in § 319.37-20, and other information about the importation of plants for planting as provided in this subpart. The Plants for Planting Manual is available on the internet at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/ports/downloads/plants_for_planting.pdf. or by contacting the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, 4700 River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236.

Port of first arrival. The land area (such as a seaport, airport, or land border station) where a person, or a land, water, or air vehicle, first arrives after entering the territory of the United States, and where inspection of plants for planting is carried out by inspectors.

Preclearance. Phytosanitary inspection and/or clearance in the country in which the plants for planting were grown, performed by or under the regular supervision of APHIS.

Production site. A defined portion of a place of production utilized for the production of a commodity that is managed separately for phytosanitary purposes. This may include the entire place of production or portions of it. Examples of portions of places of production are a defined orchard, grove, field, greenhouse, screenhouse, or premises.

Quarantine pest. A plant pest or noxious weed that is of potential economic importance to the United States and not yet present in the United States, or present but not widely distributed and being officially controlled.

Regulated plant. A vascular or nonvascular plant. Vascular plants include gymnosperms, angiosperms, ferns, and fern allies. Gymnosperms include cycads, conifers, and gingko. Angiosperms include any flowering plant. Fern allies include club mosses, horsetails, whisk ferns, spike mosses, and quillworts. Nonvascular plants include mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and green algae.

Secretary. The Secretary of Agriculture, or any other officer or employee of the Department of Agriculture to whom authority to act in his/her stead has been or may hereafter be delegated.

Soil. The loose surface material of the earth in which plants, trees, and shrubs grow, in most cases consisting of disintegrated rock with an admixture of organic material and soluble salts.

Species (spp.). All species, clones, cultivars, strains, varieties, and hybrids of a genus.

State. Any of the several States of the United States, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, or any other territory or possession of the United States.

State Plant Regulatory Official. The official authorized by the State to sign agreements with Federal agencies involving operations of the State plant protection agency.

Taxon (taxa). Any grouping within botanical nomenclature, such as family, genus, species, or cultivar.

Type of plants for planting. A grouping of plants for planting based on shared characteristics such as biological traits, morphology, botanical nomenclature, or risk factors.

United States. All of the States.

(a) The importation of certain taxa of plants for planting is not authorized pending pest risk analysis in accordance with § 319.37-4.

(b) General restrictions that apply to the importation of all plants for planting other than those whose importation is not authorized pending pest risk analysis are found in §§ 319.37-5 through 319.37-11.

(c) In accordance with § 319.37-20, the Administrator may impose restrictions on the importation of specific types of plants for planting. These restrictions are listed in the Plants for Planting Manual. Additional information on restrictions applicable to the importation of specific types of plants for planting can be found in §§ 319.37-20 through 319.37-23.

(a) Determination by the Administrator. The importation of certain taxa of plants for planting poses a risk of introducing quarantine pests into the United States. Therefore, the importation of these taxa is not authorized pending the completion of a pest risk analysis, except as provided in paragraph (f) of this section. These taxa are listed in the Plants for Planting Manual. There are two categories of taxa whose importation is not authorized pending pest risk analysis: Taxa of plants for planting that are quarantine pests, and taxa of plants for planting that are hosts of quarantine pests. For taxa of plants for planting that have been determined to be quarantine pests, the list includes the names of the taxa. For taxa of plants for planting that are hosts of quarantine pests, the list includes the names of the taxa, the foreign places from which the taxa's importation is not authorized, and the quarantine pests of concern.

(b) Addition of taxa. A taxon of plants for planting may be added to one of the lists of taxa not authorized for importation pending pest risk analysis under this section as follows:

(c) Criterion for listing a taxon of plants for planting as a quarantine pest. A taxon will be added to the list of taxa whose importation is not authorized pending pest risk analysis if scientific evidence causes APHIS to determine that the taxon is a quarantine pest.

(d) Criteria for listing a taxon of plants for planting as a host of a quarantine pest. A taxon will be added to the list of taxa whose importation is not authorized pending pest risk analysis if scientific evidence causes APHIS to determine that the taxon is a host of a quarantine pest. The following criteria must be fulfilled in order to make this determination:

(e) Removing a taxon from the list of taxa not authorized pending pest risk analysis.

(f) Controlled import permits. Any plants for planting whose importation is not authorized pending pest risk analysis in accordance with this section may be imported or offered for entry into the United States if:

(a)

(b) An application for a written permit should be submitted to the Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Permits, Permit Unit, 4700 River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236) at least 30 days prior to arrival of the plants for planting at the port of entry. Application forms are available without charge from that address or on the internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/permits/ppq_epermits.shtml. The completed application shall include the following information:

(c) A permit indicating the applicable conditions for importation under this subpart will be issued by Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs if, after review of the application, the plants for planting are deemed eligible to be imported into the United States under the conditions specified in the permit. However, even if such a permit is issued, the plants for planting may be imported only if all applicable requirements of this subpart are met and only if an inspector at the port of entry determines that no remedial measures pursuant to the Plant Protection Act are necessary with respect to the plants for planting.^[1]

(d) Any permit that has been issued may be revoked by an inspector or APHIS in accordance with § 319.7-4.

(e) Any plants for planting not required to be imported with a permit in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section may be imported or offered for importation into the United States only after issuance of an oral authorization for importation issued by an inspector at the port of entry.

(f) An oral authorization for importation of plants for planting shall be issued at a port of entry by an inspector only if all applicable requirements of this subpart are met, such plants for planting are eligible to be imported under an oral authorization, and an inspector at the port of entry determines that no measures pursuant to section 414 of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7714) are necessary with respect to such plants for planting.

(g) Persons wishing to import plants for planting into the United States for experimental, therapeutic, or developmental purposes must apply for a controlled import permit in accordance with §§ 319.6 and 319.37-3.

(a) Phytosanitary certificates. Any plants for planting offered for importation into the United States must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate, except as described in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section. The phytosanitary certificate must identify the genus of the plants for planting it accompanies. When the importation of individual species or cultivars within a genus is restricted in accordance with § 319.37-20, the phytosanitary certificate must also identify the species or cultivar of the plants for planting it accompanies. Otherwise, identification of the species is strongly preferred, but not required. Intergeneric and interspecific hybrids must be designated by placing the multiplication sign “×” between the names of the parent taxa. If the hybrid is named, the multiplication sign may instead be placed before the name of an intergeneric hybrid or before the epithet in the name of an interspecific hybrid.

(b) Small lots of seed. Lots of seed may be imported without a phytosanitary certificate required by paragraph (a) of this section under the following conditions:

(c) Importation of other plants for planting without phytosanitary certificates.

(a) Any consignment of plants for planting for importation, other than by mail at the time of importation, or offer for importation into the United States shall plainly and correctly bear on the outer container (if in a container) or the plants for planting (if not in a container) the following information:

(b) Any consignment of plants for planting for importation by mail shall be plainly and correctly addressed and mailed to the Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs at a port of entry listed in the Plants for Planting Manual as approved to receive imported plants for planting, shall be accompanied by a separate sheet of paper within the package plainly and correctly bearing the name, address, and telephone number of the intended recipient, and shall plainly and correctly bear on the outer container the following information:

(c) Any consignment of plants for planting for importation (by mail or otherwise), at the time of importation or offer for importation into the United States shall be accompanied by an invoice or packing list indicating the contents of the consignment.

(a) Approved ports of entry. Any plants for planting required to be imported under a written permit in accordance with § 319.37-5(a), if not precleared, must be imported or offered for importation only at a USDA plant inspection station, unless the Plants for Planting Manual indicates otherwise. Ports of entry through which plants for planting must pass through before arriving at these USDA plant inspection stations are listed in the Plants for Planting Manual. All other plants for planting may be imported or offered for importation at any Customs designated port of entry indicated in 19 CFR 101.3(b)(1). Exceptions may be listed in § 330.104 of this chapter. Plants for planting that are required to be imported under a written permit that are also precleared in the country of export are not required to enter at an inspection station and may enter through any Customs port of entry. Exceptions may be listed in § 330.104 of this chapter.

(b) Notification upon arrival at the port of entry. Promptly upon arrival of any plants for planting at a port of entry, the importer shall notify the Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs of the arrival by such means as a manifest, Customs entry document, commercial invoice, waybill, a broker's document, or a notice form provided for that purpose.

(c) Inspection and treatment. Any plants for planting may be sampled and inspected by an inspector at the port of first arrival and/or under preclearance inspection arrangements in the country in which the plants for planting were grown, and must undergo treatment in accordance with part 305 of this chapter if treatment is ordered by the inspector. Any plants for planting found upon inspection to contain or be contaminated with quarantine pests that cannot be eliminated by treatment will be denied entry at the first United States port of arrival and must be destroyed or shipped to a point outside the United States.

(d) Disposition of plants for planting not in compliance with this subpart. The importer of any plants for planting denied entry for noncompliance with this subpart must, at the importer's expense and within the time specified in an emergency action notification (PPQ Form 523), destroy, ship to a point outside the United States, treat in accordance with part 305 of this chapter, or apply other safeguards to the plants for planting, as prescribed by an inspector, to prevent the introduction into the United States of quarantine pests. In choosing which action to order and in setting the time limit for the action, the inspector shall consider the degree of pest risk presented by the plant pest associated with the plants for planting, whether the plants for planting are a host of the pest, the types of other host materials for the pest in or near the port, the climate and season at the port in relation to the pest's survival range, and the availability of treatment facilities for the plants for planting.

(e) Removal of plants for planting from port of first arrival. No person shall remove any plants for planting from the port of first arrival unless and until notice is given to the collector of customs by the inspector that the plants for planting has satisfied all requirements under this subpart.

(a) The services of a Plant Protection and Quarantine inspector during regularly assigned hours of duty and at the usual places of duty shall be furnished without cost to the importer.^[2] No charge will be made to the importer for Government-owned or -controlled special inspection facilities and equipment used in treatment, but the inspector may require the importer to furnish any special labor, chemicals, packing materials, or other supplies required in handling an importation under the regulations in this subpart. The Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs will not be responsible for any costs or charges, other than those indicated in this section.

(b) Any treatment performed in the United States on plants for planting must be performed at the time of importation into the United States. Treatment shall be performed by an inspector or under an inspector's supervision at a Government-operated special inspection facility, except that an importer may have such treatment performed at a nongovernmental facility if the treatment is performed at nongovernment expense under the supervision of an inspector and in accordance with part 305 of this chapter and in accordance with any treatment required by an inspector as an emergency measure in order to prevent the dissemination of any quarantine pests. However, treatment may be performed at a nongovernmental facility only in cases of unavailability of government facilities and only if, in the judgment of an inspector, the plants for planting can be transported to such nongovernmental facility without the risk of introduction into the United States of quarantine pests.

(c) Any treatment performed outside the United States must be monitored and certified by an APHIS inspector or an official from the NPPO of the exporting country. If monitored and certified by an official of the NPPO of the exporting country, then a phytosanitary certificate must be issued with the following declaration: “The consignment of (fill in taxon) has been treated in accordance with 7 CFR part 305.” During the entire interval between treatment and export, the consignment must be stored and handled in a manner that prevents any infestation by quarantine pests.

(a) Any plants for planting at the time of importation or offer for importation into the United States shall be free of sand, soil, earth, and other growing media, except as provided in paragraph (b), (c), or (d) of this section.

(b)

(c) Certain types of plants for planting growing solely in certain growing media listed in the Plants for Planting Manual may be imported established in such growing media. The Administrator has determined that the importation of the specified types of plants for planting in these growing media does not pose a risk of introducing quarantine pests into the United States. If the Administrator determines that a new growing medium may be added to the list of growing media in which imported plants for planting may be established, or that a growing medium currently listed for such purposes is no longer suitable for establishment of imported plants for planting, APHIS will publish in the Federal Register a notice that announces our proposed determination and requests comment on the change. After the close of the comment period, APHIS will publish another notice informing the public of the Administrator's decision on the change to the list of growing media in which imported types of plants for planting may be established.

(d) Certain types of plants for planting, as listed in the Plants for Planting Manual, may be imported when they are established in a growing medium approved by the Administrator and they are produced in accordance with additional requirements specified in the Plants for Planting Manual. Changes to the list of plants for planting that may be imported in growing media, and to the requirements for the importation of those types of plants for planting, will be made in accordance with § 319.37-20.

(a) Plants for planting for importation into the United States must not be packed in the same container as plants for planting whose importation into the United States is not authorized pending pest risk analysis in accordance with § 319.37-4.

(b) Any plants for planting at the time of importation or offer for importation into the United States shall not be packed in a packing material unless the plants were packed in the packing material immediately prior to shipment; such packing material is free from sand, soil, or earth (except as designated in the Plants for Planting Manual); has not been used previously as packing material or otherwise; and is approved by the Administrator as not posing a risk of introducing quarantine pests. Approved packing materials are listed in the Plants for Planting Manual.

(c) If the Administrator determines that a new packing material may be added to the list of packing materials, or that a packing material currently listed should no longer be approved, APHIS will publish in the Federal Register a notice that announces our proposed determination and requests comment on the change. After the close of the comment period, APHIS will publish another notice informing the public of the Administrator's decision on the change to the list of approved packing materials.

(a) Plant type-specific restrictions. In addition to the general restrictions in this subpart, the Administrator may impose additional restrictions on the importation of specific types of plants for planting necessary to effectively mitigate the risk of introducing quarantine pests into the United States through the importation of specific plants for planting. Additional restrictions may be placed on the importation of the entire plant or on certain plant parts. A list of the types of plants for planting whose importation is subject to additional restrictions, and the specific restrictions that apply to the importation of each type of plants for planting, may be found in the Plants for Planting Manual.

(b) Basis for changing restrictions. The Administrator may determine that it is necessary to add, change, or remove restrictions on the importation of a specific type of plants for planting, based on the risk of introducing a quarantine pest through the importation of that type of plants for planting. The Administrator will make this determination based on the findings of a pest risk analysis or on other scientific evidence.

(c) Process for adding, changing, or removing restrictions. Restrictions on the importation of a specific type of plants for planting beyond the general restrictions in §§ 319.37-5 through 319.37-11 will be changed through the following process:

(d) Previously imposed restrictions on specific types of plants for planting. Types of plants for planting whose importation was subject to specific restrictions by specific regulation as of April 18, 2018, will continue to be subject to those restrictions, except as changed in accordance with the process specified in paragraph (c) of this section. The restrictions are found in the Plants for Planting Manual.

(a) Responsibilities of the place of production. The place of production is responsible for identifying, developing, and implementing procedures that meet the requirements of both the NPPO of the exporting country and APHIS. Participants in the export program must be approved by the NPPO or its designee and APHIS. Approval will be conferred by the NPPO or its designee and APHIS after the participant meets the conditions required for integrated pest risk management. Approval will be withdrawn if the participant fails to meet the conditions at any time. All documentation required under paragraphs (a)(5) and (6) of this section will be maintained by the exporting place of production and made available to official representatives of the NPPO of the exporting country and APHIS upon request. The place of production must be open to necessary and reasonable audit, monitoring, and evaluation of compliance by the NPPO of the exporting country and APHIS. The management of the place of production will be responsible for complying with the integrated pest risk management measures. Management must specify the roles and responsibilities of its personnel to perform program activities. The place of production must notify the NPPO of the exporting country of deficiencies detected during internal audits. The NPPO of the exporting country will be responsible for ensuring that the place of production is in compliance with the integrated pest risk management measures.

(b) Responsibilities of APHIS and the NPPO of the exporting country. APHIS and the NPPO of the exporting country are responsible for collaborating to establish program requirements, including workplans and compliance agreements as necessary, for recognizing and implementing particular import programs. Technically justified modifications to the program may be negotiated. The administration of program requirements must include such elements as clarification of terminology, testing and retesting requirements, eligibility, the nomenclature of certification levels, horticultural management, isolation and sanitation requirements, inspection, documentation, identification and labeling, quality assurance, noncompliance and remedial measures, and postentry quarantine requirements. The criteria for approving, suspending, removing, and reinstating approval for a particular program should be jointly developed and agreed upon by APHIS and the NPPO of the exporting country. Information should be exchanged between APHIS and the NPPO of the exporting country through officially designated points of contact.

(c) Responsibilities of the NPPO of the exporting country.

(d) Responsibilities of plant brokers trading in plants for planting produced in accordance with integrated pest risk management measures. Plant brokers trading in plants for planting produced in accordance with integrated pest risk management measures must be approved by the NPPO of the exporting country or its designee. The list of plant brokers must be provided to APHIS upon request. Approval may only be conferred by the NPPO or its designee after the participant demonstrates that it can meet the requirements of this paragraph (d). Approval must be withdrawn if the participant fails to meet the conditions at any time. Plant brokers must ensure the traceability of export consignments to an approved place of production or production site. Brokers must maintain the phytosanitary status of the plants equivalent to an approved place of production from purchase, storage, and transportation to the export destination. Plant brokers must document these processes for verifying status and maintaining traceability.

(e) External audits. APHIS and the NPPO of the exporting country will agree to the requirements for external audits.

(f) Noncompliance.

(a) Postentry quarantine. One specific restriction that may be placed upon the importation of a type of plants for planting in accordance with § 319.37-20 is that it be grown in postentry quarantine. The Plants for Planting Manual lists the taxa required to be imported into postentry quarantine. Plants for planting grown in postentry quarantine must be grown under postentry quarantine conditions specified in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, and may be imported or offered for importation into the United States only:

(b) State postentry quarantine agreement. Plants for planting required to undergo postentry quarantine in accordance with § 319.37-20 may only be imported if destined for postentry quarantine growing in a State which has entered into a written agreement with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, signed by the Administrator or his or her designee and by the State Plant Regulatory Official. In accordance with the laws of individual States, inspection and other postentry quarantine services provided by a State may be subject to charges imposed by the State. A list of States that have entered into a postentry quarantine agreement in accordance with this paragraph can be found in the Plants for Planting Manual.

(c) Importer postentry quarantine growing agreements. Any plants for planting required to be grown under postentry quarantine conditions, as well as any increase therefrom, shall be grown in accordance with an importer postentry quarantine growing agreement signed by the person (the importer) applying for a written permit in accordance with § 319.37-5 for importation of the plants for planting and submitted to Plant Protection and Quarantine. On each importer postentry quarantine growing agreement, the person shall also obtain the signature of the State Plant Regulatory Official for the State in which plants for planting covered by the agreement will be grown. The importer postentry quarantine growing agreement shall specify the kind, number, and origin of plants to be imported; the conditions specified in the Plants for Planting Manual under which the plants for planting will be grown, maintained, and labeled; and the reporting requirements in the case of abnormal or dead plants for planting. The agreement shall certify to APHIS and to the State in which the plants for planting are grown that the signer of the agreement will comply with the conditions of the agreement for the postentry quarantine growing period prescribed for the type of plants for planting in the Plants for Planting Manual.

(d) Applications for permits. A completed importer postentry quarantine agreement shall accompany the application for a written permit for plants for planting required to be grown under postentry quarantine conditions. Importer postentry quarantine agreement forms are available without charge from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Permit Unit, 4700 River Road, Unit 136, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236 or on the internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/permits/ppq_epermits.shtml.

(e) Inspector-ordered disposal, movement, or safeguarding of plants for planting; costs and charges, civil and criminal liabilities —

Administrator. The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, or any employee of the United States Department of Agriculture delegated to act in his or her stead.

APHIS. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture.

Bark chips. Bark fragments broken or shredded from log or branch surfaces.

Certificate. A certificate of inspection relating to a regulated article, which is issued by an official authorized by the national government of the country in which the regulated article was produced or grown, which is addressed to the plant protection service of the United States (Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs), which contains a description of the regulated article, which certifies that the regulated article has been inspected, is believed to be free of plant pests, and is believed to be eligible for importation pursuant to the laws and regulations of the United States, and which may contain any specific additional declarations required under this subpart.

Compliance agreement. A written agreement between APHIS and a person engaged in processing, handling, or moving regulated articles, in which the person agrees to comply with requirements contained in the agreement.

Controlled import permit. A written or electronically transmitted authorization issued by APHIS for the importation into the United States of otherwise prohibited or restricted plant material for experimental, therapeutic, or developmental purposes, under controlled conditions as prescribed by the Administrator in accordance with § 319.6.

Fines. Small particles or fragments of wood, slightly larger than sawdust, that result from chipping, sawing, or processing wood.

Free from rot. No more than two percent by weight of the regulated articles in a lot show visual evidence of fructification of fungi or growth of other microorganisms that cause decay and the breakdown of cell walls in the regulated articles.

General permit. A written authorization contained in § 319.40-3 for any person to import the articles named by the general permit, in accordance with the requirements specified by the general permit, without being issued a specific permit.

Humus, compost, and litter. Partially or wholly decayed plant matter.

Import (imported, importation). To bring or move into the territorial limits of the United States.

Importer document. A written declaration signed by the importer of regulated articles, which must accompany the regulated articles at the time of importation, in which the importer accurately declares information about the regulated articles required to be disclosed by § 319.40-2(b).

Inspector. Any individual authorized by the Administrator to enforce this subpart.

Log. The bole of a tree; trimmed timber that has not been sawn further than to form cants.

Loose wood packing material. Excelsior (wood wool), sawdust, and wood shavings, produced as a result of sawing or shaving wood into small, slender, and curved pieces.

Lot. All the regulated articles on a single means of conveyance that are derived from the same species of tree and were subjected to the same treatments prior to importation, and that are consigned to the same person.

Lumber. Logs that have been sawn into boards, planks, or structural members such as beams.

Permit. A specific permit to import a regulated article issued in accordance with § 319.40-4, or a general permit promulgated in § 319.40-3.

Plant pest. Any living stage of any insects, mites, nematodes, slugs, snails, protozoa, or other invertebrate animals, bacteria, fungi, other parasitic plants or reproductive parts of parasitic plants, noxious weeds, viruses, or any organism similar to or allied with any of the foregoing, or any infectious substances, which can injure or cause disease or damage in any plants, parts of plants, or any products of plants.

Port of first arrival. The area (such as a seaport, airport, or land border station) where a person or a means of conveyance first arrives in the United States, and where inspection of regulated articles is carried out by inspectors.

Primary processing. Any of the following processes: cleaning (removal of soil, limbs, and foliage), debarking, rough sawing (bucking or squaring), rough shaping, spraying with fungicide or insecticide sprays, and fumigation.

Regulated article. The following articles, if they are unprocessed, have received only primary processing, or contain parts that are either unprocessed or have received only primary processing and are not feasibly separable from the other parts of the article: Logs; lumber; any whole tree; any cut tree or any portion of a tree, not solely consisting of leaves, flowers, fruits, buds, or seeds; bark; cork; laths; hog fuel; sawdust; painted raw wood products; excelsior (wood wool); wood chips; wood mulch; wood shavings; pickets; stakes; shingles; solid wood packing materials; humus; compost; litter; and wooden handicrafts.

Regulated wood packaging material. Wood packaging material other than manufactured wood materials, loose wood packing materials, and wood pieces less than 6 mm thick in any dimension, that are used or for use with cargo to prevent damage, including, but not limited to, dunnage, crating, pallets, packing blocks, drums, cases, and skids.

Sealed container; sealable container. A completely enclosed container designed for the storage or transportation of cargo, and constructed of metal or fiberglass, or other rigid material, providing an enclosure which prevents the entrance or exit of plant pests and is accessed through doors that can be closed and secured with a lock or seal. Sealed (sealable) containers are distinct and separable from the means of conveyance carrying them.

Specific permit. A written document issued by APHIS to the applicant in accordance with § 319.40-4 that authorizes importation of articles in accordance with this subpart and specifies or refers to the regulations applicable to the particular importation.

Statement of origin and movement. A signed, accurate statement certifying the area or areas where the regulated articles originated and, if applicable, the area or areas they were moved through prior to importation. The statement may be printed directly on the documentation accompanying the shipment of regulated articles, or it may be provided on a separate document. The statement does not require the signature of a public officer of a national plant protection organization; exporters may sign the document.

Tropical hardwoods. Hardwood timber species which grow only in tropical climates.

United States. All of the States of the United States, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and all other territories and possessions of the United States.

Wood chips. Wood fragments broken or shredded from any wood.

Wood mulch. Bark chips, wood chips, wood shavings, or sawdust intended for use as a protective or decorative ground cover.

Wood packaging material. Wood or wood products (excluding paper products) used in supporting, protecting or carrying a commodity (includes dunnage).

Wooden handicraft. A commodity class of articles derived or made from natural components of wood, twigs, and vines, and including bamboo poles and garden stakes. Handicrafts include the following products where wood is present: Carvings, baskets, boxes, bird houses, garden and lawn/patio furniture (rustic), potpourri, artificial trees (typically artificial ficus trees), trellis towers, garden fencing and edging, and other items composed of wood.

(a) Permit required. Except for regulated articles exempted from this requirement by paragraph (c) of this section or § 319.40-3, no regulated article may be imported unless a specific permit has been issued for importation of the regulated article in accordance with § 319.40-4, and unless the regulated article meets all other applicable requirements of this subpart and any requirements specified by APHIS in the specific permit.

(b) Importer document; documentation of type, quantity, and origin of regulated articles. Except for regulated articles exempted from this requirement by paragraph (c) of this section or § 319.40-3, no regulated article may be imported unless it is accompanied by an importer document stating the following information. A certificate that contains this information may be used in lieu of an importer document at the option of the importer:

(c) Regulation of articles imported for propagation or human consumption. The requirements of this subpart do not apply to regulated articles that are allowed importation in accordance with Subpart H—Plants for Planting of this part or to regulated articles imported for human consumption that are allowed importation in accordance with Subpart L—Fruits and Vegetables of this part.

(d) Regulated articles imported for experimental, therapeutic, or developmental purposes. Any regulated article may be imported without further restriction under this subpart if:

(e) Designation of additional regulated articles. An inspector may designate any article as a regulated article by giving written notice of the designation to the owner or person in possession or control of the article. APHIS will implement rulemaking to add articles designated as regulated articles to the definition of regulated article in § 319.40-1 if importation of the article appears to present a recurring significant risk of introducing plant pests. Inspectors may designate an article as a regulated article after determining that:

(f) In addition to meeting the requirements of this subpart, bark and bark products and logs and pulpwood with bark attached, as well as cut trees (e.g., Christmas trees), imported from Canada are subject to the inspection and certification requirements for gypsy moth in § 319.77-4 of this part.

(a) Canada and Mexico.

(b) Regulated wood packaging material. Regulated wood packaging material, whether in actual use as packing for regulated or nonregulated articles or imported as cargo, may be imported into the United States under a general permit in accordance with the following conditions:

(2) Marking. The wood packaging material must be marked in a visible location on each article, preferably on at least two opposite sides of the article, with a legible and permanent mark that indicates that the article meets the requirements of this paragraph. The mark must be approved by the International Plant Protection Convention in its International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures to certify that wood packaging material has been subjected to an approved measure, and must include a unique graphic symbol, the ISO two-letter country code for the country that produced the wood packaging material, a unique number assigned by the national plant protection agency of that country to the producer of the wood packaging material, and an abbreviation disclosing the type of treatment (e.g., HT for heat treatment or MB for methyl bromide fumigation). The currently approved format for the mark is as follows, where XX would be replaced by the country code, 000 by the producer number, and YY by the treatment type (HT or MB):

(c) Loose wood packing materials. APHIS hereby issues a general permit to import regulated articles authorized by this paragraph. Loose wood packing materials (whether in use as packing or imported as cargo) that are dry may be imported subject to the inspection and other requirements in § 319.40-9 and without further restriction under this subpart.

(d) Bamboo timber. APHIS hereby issues a general permit to import regulated articles authorized by this paragraph. Bamboo timber which is free of leaves and seeds and has been sawn or split lengthwise and dried may be imported subject to the inspection and other requirements in § 319.40-9 and without further restriction under this subpart.

(e) Regulated articles the permit process has determined to present no plant pest risk. Regulated articles for which a specific permit has been issued in accordance with § 319.40-4(b)(2)(i) may be imported without other restriction under this subpart, except that they are subject to the inspection and other requirements in § 319.40-9.

(a) Application procedure. An application for a permit must be obtained and submitted in accordance with §§ 319.7 through 319.7-5.

(b) Review of application and issuance of permit. After receipt and review of the application, APHIS shall determine whether it appears that the regulated article at the time of importation will meet either the specific importation requirements in § 319.40-5 or the universal importation requirements in § 319.40-6.

(a) Bamboo timber. Bamboo timber consisting of whole culms or canes may be imported into Guam or the Northern Mariana Islands subject to inspection and other requirements of § 319.40-9. Bamboo timber consisting of whole culms or canes that are completely dry as evidenced by lack of moisture in node tissue may be imported into any part of the United States subject to inspection and other requirements of § 319.40-9.

(b) Monterey pine logs and lumber from Chile and New Zealand; Douglas-fir logs and lumber from New Zealand —

(c) Tropical hardwoods —

(d) Temperate hardwoods. Temperate hardwood logs and lumber (with or without bark) from all places except places in Asia that are east of 60° East Longitude and north of the Tropic of Cancer may be imported if fumigated in accordance with part 305 of this chapter prior to arrival in the United States and subject to the inspection and other requirements of § 319.40-9.

(e) Regulated articles associated with exclusively tropical climate pests. Regulated articles that have been identified by a plant pest risk assessment as associated solely with plant pests that can successfully become established only in tropical or subtropical climates may be imported if:

(f) Cross-ties (railroad ties) from all places, except places in Asia that are east of 60° East Longitude and north of the Tropic of Cancer, may be imported if completely free of bark and accompanied by an importer document stating that the cross-ties will be pressure treated with a preservative within 30 days following the date of importation at a U.S. facility under compliance agreement. Cross-ties (railroad ties) may also be imported if heat treated in accordance with part 305 of this chapter.

(g) through (k) [Reserved]

(l) Cross-ties (railroad ties) and pine and fir lumber from Mexican States adjacent to the United States/Mexico border.^[1] Cross-ties (railroad ties) 8 inches or less at maximum thickness and lumber derived from pine and fir may be imported from Mexican States adjacent to the United States/Mexico border into the United States if they:

(m) [Reserved]

(n) Regulated articles of the genus Fraxinus from Canada. Except for articles prohibited under paragraph (n)(4) of this section, regulated articles of the genus Fraxinus (ash) from Canada may be imported in accordance with this paragraph (n) and subject to the certification requirements in § 319.40-2(a) and the inspection and other requirements in § 319.40-9. Articles being moved from counties or municipal regional counties in Canada not regulated for the emerald ash borer (EAB) may not transit an EAB-regulated area in Canada en route to the United States unless they are moving directly through the EAB-regulated area without stopping (except for refueling or for traffic conditions, such as traffic lights or stop signs). If these articles are being moved through the regulated area between May 1 and August 31 or when the ambient air temperature is 40 °F or higher, they must be in an enclosed vehicle or completely covered to prevent access by the emerald ash borer.

(o) Wooden handicrafts from China. Wooden handicrafts more than 1 centimeter in diameter may be imported into the United States from China only in accordance with this paragraph and all other applicable provisions of this title. Wooden handicrafts less than 1 centimeter in diameter are exempt from the requirements of this paragraph, but are still subject to all other applicable provisions of this chapter.

(a) Logs. Logs may be imported if prior to importation the logs have been debarked in accordance with § 319.40-7(b) and heat treated in accordance with part 305 of this chapter. During the entire interval between treatment and export, the logs must be stored and handled in a manner which excludes any access to the logs by plant pests.

(b) Lumber —

(c) Wood chips and bark chips —

(d) Wood mulch, humus, compost, and litter. Wood mulch, humus, compost, and litter may be imported if accompanied by an importer document stating that the wood mulch, humus, compost, or litter was fumigated in accordance with part 305 of this chapter, heat treated in accordance with part 305 of this chapter, or heat treated with moisture reduction in accordance with § 319.40-7(d).

(e) Cork and bark. Cork and cork bark, cinnamon bark, and other bark to be used for food, manufacture of medicine, or chemical extraction may be imported if free from rot at the time of importation and subject to the inspection and other requirements of § 319.40-9.

(a) Certification of treatments or safeguards. If APHIS determines that a document required for the importation of regulated articles is inaccurate, the regulated articles which are the subject of the certificate or other document shall be refused entry into the United States. In addition, APHIS may determine not to accept any further certificates for the importation of regulated articles in accordance with this subpart from a country in which an inaccurate certificate is issued, and APHIS may determine not to allow the importation of any or all regulated articles from any such country, until corrective action acceptable to APHIS establishes that certificates issued in that country will be accurate.

(b) Debarking. Except for raw lumber, no more than 2 percent of the surface of all regulated articles in a lot may retain bark, with no single regulated article retaining bark on more than 5 percent of its surface. For raw lumber, debarking must remove 100 percent of the bark.

(c) Treatments. Treatment of regulated articles under this subpart must be conducted in accordance with part 305 of this chapter.

(d) Preservatives. All preservative treatments that use a preservative product that is registered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency are authorized for treatment of regulated articles imported in accordance with this subpart. Preservative treatments must be performed in accordance with label directions approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

(a) Any person who operates a facility in which imported regulated articles are processed may enter into a compliance agreement to facilitate the importation of regulated articles under this subpart. The compliance agreement shall specify the requirements necessary to prevent spread of plant pests from the facility, requirements to ensure the processing method effectively destroys plant pests, and the requirements for the application of chemical materials in accordance with part 305 of this chapter. The compliance agreement shall also state that inspectors must be allowed access to the facility to monitor compliance with the requirements of the compliance agreement and of this subpart. Compliance agreement forms may be obtained from the Administrator or an inspector.

(b) Any compliance agreement may be canceled by the inspector who is supervising its enforcement, orally or in writing, whenever the inspector finds that the person who entered into the compliance agreement has failed to comply with the conditions of the compliance agreement. If the cancellation is oral, the decision to cancel the compliance agreement and the reasons for cancellation of the compliance agreement shall be confirmed in writing, as promptly as circumstances permit. Any person whose compliance agreement has been canceled may appeal the decision in writing to the Administrator within 10 days after receiving written notification of the cancellation. The appeal shall state all of the facts and reasons upon which the person relies to show that the compliance agreement was wrongfully canceled. The Administrator shall grant or deny the appeal, in writing, stating the reasons for granting or denying the appeal, as promptly as circumstances permit. If there is a conflict as to any material fact and the person whose compliance agreement has been canceled requests a hearing, a hearing shall be held to resolve the conflict. Rules of practice concerning the hearing will be adopted by the Administrator.

(a) Procedures for all regulated articles.

(b) Notice of arrival; visual examination of regulated articles at port of first arrival.

(c) Marking and identity of regulated articles. Any regulated article, at the time of importation shall bear on the outer container (if in a container), on the regulated article (if not in a container), or on a document accompanying the regulated article the following information:

(d) Sampling for plant pests at port of first arrival. Any imported regulated article may be sampled for plant pests at the port of first arrival. If an inspector finds it necessary to order treatment of a regulated article at the port of first arrival, any sampling will be done prior to treatment.

(a) Collecting commodity information.

(b) Cataloging quarantine pests. For the regulated article specified in an application, APHIS will determine what plant pests or potential plant pests are associated with the type of tree from which the regulated article was derived, in the country and locality from which the regulated article is to be exported. A plant pest that meets one of the following criteria is a quarantine pest and will be further evaluated in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section:

(c) Determining which quarantine pests to assess.

(d) Conducting individual plant pest risk assessments. APHIS will evaluate each of the plant pests identified in paragraph (c)(4) of this section by:

(e) Estimating unmitigated overall plant pest risk. APHIS will develop an estimation of the overall plant pest risk associated with importing the regulated article based on compilation of individual plant pest risk assessments performed in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section.

(f) Evaluating available requirements to determine whether they would allow safe importation of the regulated article. The requirements of this subpart, and any other requirements relevant to the regulated article and plant pests involved, will be compared with the individual plant pest risk assessments in order to determine whether particular conditions on the importation of the regulated article would reduce the plant pest risk to an insignificant level. If APHIS determines that the imposition of particular conditions on the importation of the regulated article could reduce the plant pest risk to an insignificant level, and determines that sufficient APHIS resources are available to implement or ensure implementation of the conditions, APHIS will implement rulemaking to allow importation of the requested regulated article under the conditions identified by the plant pest risk assessment process.

(a) Under section 412(a) of the Plant Protection Act, the Secretary of Agriculture may prohibit or restrict the importation and entry of any plant or plant product if the Secretary determines that the prohibition or restriction is necessary to prevent the introduction into the United States or the dissemination within the United States of a plant pest or noxious weed.

(b) The Secretary has determined that it is necessary to prohibit the importation into the United States of fruits and vegetables and associated plants and portions of plants except as provided in this part.

Administrator. The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, or any other employee of the United States Department of Agriculture delegated to act in his or her stead.

APHIS. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture.

Commercial consignment. A lot of fruits or vegetables that an inspector identifies as having been imported for sale and distribution. Such identification will be based on a variety of indicators, including, but not limited to: Quantity of produce, type of packaging, identification of grower or packinghouse on the packaging, and documents consigning the fruits or vegetables to a wholesaler or retailer.

Commodity. A type of plant, plant product, or other regulated article being moved for trade or other purpose.

Consignment. A quantity of plants, plant products, and/or other articles, including fruits or vegetables, being moved from one country to another and covered, when required, by a single phytosanitary certificate (a consignment may be composed of one or more commodities or lots).

Continental United States. The 48 contiguous States, Alaska, and the District of Columbia.

Country of origin. Country where the plants from which the plant products are derived were grown.

Frozen fruit or vegetable. Any variety of raw fruit or vegetable preserved by commercially acceptable freezing methods in such a way that the commodity remains at −6.7 °C (20 °F) or below for at least 48 hours prior to release.

Fruits and vegetables. A commodity class for fresh parts of plants intended for consumption or processing and not for planting.

Import and importation. To move into, or the act of movement into, the territorial limits of the United States.

Inspector. Any individual authorized by the Administrator of APHIS or the Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, to enforce the regulations in this subpart.

Lot. A number of units of a single commodity, identifiable by its homogeneity of composition and origin, forming all or part of a consignment.

National plant protection organization (NPPO). Official service established by a government to discharge the functions specified by the International Plant Protection Convention.

Noncommercial consignment. A lot of fruits or vegetables that an inspector identifies as having been imported for personal use and not for sale.

Permit. A written, oral, or electronically transmitted authorization to import fruits or vegetables in accordance with this subpart.

Phytosanitary certificate. A document, including electronic versions, that is related to a consignment and that:

Phytosanitary measure. Any legislation, regulation, or official procedure having the purpose to prevent the introduction and/or spread of quarantine pests, or to limit the economic impact of regulated non-quarantine pests.

Plant litter and debris. Discarded or decaying organic matter; detached leaves, twigs, or stems that do not add commercial value to the product.

Port of first arrival. The first port within the United States where a consignment is offered for consumption entry or offered for entry for immediate transportation in bond.

Portions of plants. Stalks or stems, including the pediculus, pedicel, peduncle, raceme, or panicle, that are normally attached to fruits or vegetables.

Quarantine pest. A pest of potential economic importance to the area endangered by it and not yet present there, or present but not widely distributed there and being officially controlled.

United States. All of the States of the United States, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and any other territory or possession of the United States.

(a) Freedom from unauthorized plant parts. All fruits and vegetables imported under this subpart, whether in commercial or noncommercial consignments, must be free from plant litter or debris and free of any portions of plants that are specifically prohibited in the regulations in this subpart.

(b) Permit.

(c) Ports of entry.

(d) Inspection, treatment, and other requirements. All imported fruits or vegetables are subject to inspection, are subject to such disinfection at the port of first arrival as may be required by an inspector, and are subject to reinspection at other locations at the option of an inspector. If an inspector finds plants or portions of plants, or a plant pest or noxious weed, or evidence of a plant pest or noxious weed on or in any fruit or vegetable or its container, or finds that the fruit or vegetable may have been associated with other articles infested with plant pests or noxious weeds, the owner or agent of the owner of the fruit or vegetable must clean or treat the fruit or vegetable and its container as required by an inspector, and the fruit or vegetable is also subject to reinspection, cleaning, and treatment at the option of an inspector at any time and place until all applicable requirements of this subpart have been accomplished.

(e) Costs and charges. APHIS will be responsible only for the costs of providing the services of an inspector during regularly assigned hours of duty and at the usual places of duty.^[1] The owner of imported fruits or vegetables is responsible for all additional costs of inspection, treatment, movement, storage, destruction, or other measures ordered by an inspector under this subpart, including any labor, chemicals, packing materials, or other supplies required. APHIS will not be responsible for any costs or charges, other than those identified in this section.

(f) APHIS not responsible for damage. APHIS assumes no responsibility for any damage to fruits or vegetables that results from the application of treatments or other measures required under this subpart (or under part 305 of this chapter) to protect against the introduction of plant pests into the United States.

(a) Determination by the Administrator. No fruit or vegetable is authorized importation into the United States unless the Administrator has determined that the risk posed by each quarantine pest associated with the fruit or vegetable can be reasonably mitigated by the application of one or more phytosanitary measures designated by the Administrator and the fruit or vegetable is imported into the United States in accordance with, and as stipulated in, the permit issued by the Administrator.

(b) Designated phytosanitary measures.

(c) Authorized fruits and vegetables —

(a) Application of international standard for pest free areas. APHIS requires that determinations of pest-free areas be made in accordance with the criteria for establishing freedom from pests found in International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 4, “Requirements for the establishment of pest free areas.” The international standard was established by the International Plant Protection Convention of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization and is incorporated by reference in § 300.5 of this chapter.

(b) Survey protocols. APHIS must approve the survey protocol used to determine and maintain pest-free status, as well as protocols for actions to be performed upon detection of a pest. Pest-free areas are subject to audit by APHIS to verify their status.

(c) Determination of pest freedom.

(d) Decertification of pest-free areas; reinstatement. If a pest is detected in an area that is designated as free of that pest, APHIS would publish in the Federal Register a notice announcing that the pest-free status of the area in question has been withdrawn, and that imports of host crops for the pest in question are subject to application of an approved treatment for the pest. If a treatment for the pest is not available, importation of the host crops would be prohibited. In order for a decertified pest-free area to be reinstated, it would have to meet the criteria of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.

(e) General requirements for fruits and vegetables imported from pest-free areas.

(a) The regulations in this subpart apply to importations of fruits and vegetables into any area of the United States, except as provided in this section.

(b) Importations of fruits and vegetables into Guam.

(c) Importation of fruits and vegetables into the U.S. Virgin Islands.

(a) General permit for fruits and vegetables grown in Canada. Fruits and vegetables grown in Canada and offered for entry into the United States will be subject to the inspection, treatment, and other requirements of § 319.56-3(d), but may otherwise be imported into the United States without restriction under this subpart; provided, that:

(b) [Reserved]

(a) Dried, cured, or processed fruits and vegetables (except frozen fruits and vegetables), including cured figs and dates, raisins, nuts, and dried beans and peas, may be imported without permit, phytosanitary certificate, or other compliance with this subpart, except as specifically provided otherwise in this section or elsewhere in this part.

(b) Acorns and chestnuts —

(c) Macadamia nuts. Macadamia nuts in the husk or shell are prohibited importation into the United States unless the macadamia nuts were produced in, and imported from, St. Eustatius.

Administrator. The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, or any employee of the United States Department of Agriculture delegated to act in his or her stead.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Controlled import permit. A written or electronically transmitted authorization issued by APHIS for the importation into the United States of otherwise prohibited or restricted plant material for experimental, therapeutic, or developmental purposes, under controlled conditions as prescribed by the Administrator in accordance with § 319.6.

From. An article is considered to be “from” any country or locality in which it was grown.

Grain. Wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum wheat (Triticum durum), and triticale (Triticum aestivum × Secale cereale) used for consumption or processing and not for planting.

Hay. Host crops cut and dried for feeding to livestock. Hay cut after reaching the dough stage may contain mature kernels of the host crop.

Host crops. Plants or plant parts, including grain, seed, or hay, of wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum wheat (Triticum durum), and triticale (Triticum aestivum × Secale cereale).

Inspector. Any individual authorized by the Administrator of APHIS or the Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, to enforce the regulations in this subpart.

Karnal bunt. A plant disease caused by the fungus Tilletia indica (Mitra) Mundkur.

Plant. Any plant (including any plant part) for or capable of propagation, including a tree, a tissue culture, a plantlet culture, pollen, a shrub, a vine, a cutting, a graft, a scion, a bud, a bulb, a root, and a seed.

Seed. Wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum wheat (Triticum durum), and triticale (Triticum aestivum × Secale cereale) used for propagation.

Spp. (species). All species, clones, cultivars, strains, varieties, and hybrids, of a genus.

Straw. The vegetative material left after the harvest of host crops. Straw is generally used as animal feed or bedding, as mulch, or for erosion control.

United States. The States, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, or any other territory or possession of the United States.

(a) [Reserved]

(b) Articles listed in § 319.59-3 as prohibited importation pending risk evaluation, and articles regulated for Karnal bunt in § 319.59-4(a) may be imported for experimental, therapeutic, or developmental purposes under a controlled import permit issued in accordance with § 319.6 if:

(c) The importation of any host crops (including seed and any other plant parts) that are for planting or capable of being planted is restricted under Subpart H—Plants for Planting of this part.

(a) The following articles of Triticum spp. (wheat) or of Aegilops spp. (barb goatgrass, goatgrass): Straw (other than straw, with or without heads, which has been processed or manufactured for use indoors, such as for decorative purposes or for use in toys); chaff; and products of the milling process (i.e., bran, shorts, thistle sharps, and pollards) other than flour.

(b) Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Cyprus, Egypt, Estonia, Falkland Islands, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, South Africa, South Korea, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela.

(a) Regulated articles. The following are regulated articles for Karnal bunt:

(b)

(c) Handling, inspection and phytosanitary certificates. Unless otherwise prohibited under § 319.59-3 of this subpart, any articles described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section that are from a region listed in paragraph (b)(1) of this section may be imported into the United States subject to the following conditions:

(d) Treatments.

Administrator. The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, or any employee of the United States Department of Agriculture delegated to act in his or her stead.

Inspector. Any individual authorized by the Administrator to enforce this subpart.

Sample. Unroasted coffee not for commercial resale. Intended use includes, but is not limited to, evaluation, testing, or market analysis.

United States. The States, District of Columbia, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.

Unroasted coffee. The raw or unroasted seeds or beans of coffee intended for processing.

(a) To prevent the spread of the coffee berry borer Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) and the fungus Hemileia vastatrix (Berkely and Broome), which causes an injurious rust disease, the following articles are prohibited importation into Hawaii and Puerto Rico, except as provided in § 319.73-3 of this subpart:

(b) The importation of any coffee plants (including bare seeds, seeds in pulp, and any other plant parts) that are for planting or capable of being planted is restricted under Subpart H—Plants for Planting of this part.

(a) Mail. Samples of unroasted coffee that are transiting Hawaii or Puerto Rico en route to other destinations and that are packaged to prevent the escape of any plant pests may proceed without action by an inspector. Packaging that would prevent the escape of plant pests includes, but is not limited to, sealed cartons, airtight containers, or vacuum packaging. Samples of unroasted coffee received by mail but not packaged in this manner are subject to inspection and safeguard by an inspector. These samples must be returned to origin or forwarded to a destination outside Hawaii or Puerto Rico in a time specified by an inspector and in packaging that will prevent the escape of any plant pests. If this action is not possible, the samples must be destroyed.

(b) Cargo. Samples of unroasted coffee that are transiting Hawaii or Puerto Rico as cargo and that remain on the carrier may proceed to a destination outside Hawaii or Puerto Rico without action by an inspector. Samples may be transshipped in Puerto Rico or Hawaii only after an inspector determines that they are packaged to prevent the escape of any plant pests. Samples that are not packaged in this manner must be rewrapped or packaged in a manner prescribed by an inspector to prevent the escape of plant pests before the transshipment will be allowed.

(c) Other mail, cargo, and baggage shipments of articles covered by § 319.73-2 arriving in Puerto Rico or Hawaii may not be unloaded or transshipped in Puerto Rico or Hawaii and are subject to inspection and other applicable requirements of the Plant Safeguard Regulations (part 352 of this chapter).

Administrator. The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, or any employee of the United States Department of Agriculture delegated to act in his or her stead.

Controlled import permit. A written or electronically transmitted authorization issued by APHIS for the importation into the United States of otherwise prohibited or restricted plant material for experimental, therapeutic, or developmental purposes, under controlled conditions as prescribed by the Administrator in accordance with § 319.6.

Cut flower. The highly perishable commodity known in the commercial flower-producing industry as a cut flower, which is the severed portion of a plant, including the inflorescence and any parts of the plant attached to it, in a fresh state and not for planting. This definition does not include dried, bleached, dyed, or chemically treated decorative plant materials; filler or greenery, such as fern fronds and asparagus plumes, frequently packed with fresh cut flowers; or Christmas greenery, such as holly, mistletoe, and Christmas trees.

Inspector. Any individual authorized by the Administrator to enforce this subpart.

United States. All of the States, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and all other territories or possessions of the United States.

(a) Inspection. All cut flowers imported into the United States must be made available to an inspector for examination at the port of first arrival and must remain at the port of first arrival until released, or authorized further movement, by an inspector.

(b) Actions to prevent the introduction of plant pests; notice by an inspector. If an inspector orders any disinfection, cleaning, treatment, reexportation, or other action with regard to imported cut flowers that are found to be infested with injurious plant pests or infected with diseases, the inspector will provide an emergency action notification (PPQ Form 523) to the importer, owner, or agent or representative of the importer or owner of the cut flowers. The importer, owner, or agent or representative of the importer or owner must, within the time specified in the PPQ Form 523 and at his or her own expense, destroy the cut flowers, ship them to a point outside the United States, move them to an authorized site, and/or apply treatments, clean, or apply other safeguards to the cut flowers as prescribed by the inspector on the PPQ Form 523. Further, if the importer, owner, or agent or representative of the importer or owner fails to follow the conditions on PPQ Form 523 by the time specified on the form, APHIS will arrange for destruction of the cut flowers, and the importer, owner, or agent or representative of the importer or owner will be responsible for all costs incurred. Cut flowers that have been cleaned or treated must be made available for further inspection, cleaning, and treatment at the option of the inspector at any time and place indicated by the inspector before the requirements of this subpart will have been met. Neither the Department of Agriculture nor the inspector may be held responsible for any adverse effects of treatment on imported cut flowers.

(c) Fumigation for agromyzids. Cut flowers imported from any country or locality and found upon inspection to be infested with agromyzids (insects of the family Agromyzidae) must be fumigated at the time of importation with methyl bromide in accordance with part 305 of this chapter, with the following exceptions:

(d) Chrysanthemum white rust hosts.

(e) Irradiation. Cut flowers and foliage that are required under this part to be treated or subjected to inspection to control one or more of the plant pests for which irradiation is an approved treatment under part 305 of this chapter may instead be treated with irradiation. Irradiation treatment must be conducted in accordance with the requirements of part 305 of this chapter. There is a possibility that some cut flowers could be damaged by such irradiation.

(f) Refusal of entry. If an inspector finds that imported cut flowers are so infested with a plant pest or infected with disease that, in the judgment of the inspector, they cannot be cleaned or treated, or if they contain soil or other prohibited contaminants, the entire lot may be refused entry into the United States.

(a) The Secretary has determined that in order to prevent the entry into the United States of khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium Everts) it is necessary to restrict the importation of certain articles from foreign countries and localities. Accordingly, no person shall import any regulated article unless in conformity with all of the applicable restrictions in this subpart.

(b) Any article refused importation for noncompliance with the requirements of this subpart shall be promptly removed from the United States or abandoned by the importer, and pending such action shall be subject to the immediate application of such safeguards against escape of plant pests as the inspector determines necessary to prevent the introduction into the United States of plant pests. If the article is not promptly safeguarded, removed from the United States, or abandoned by the importer for destruction, it may be seized, destroyed, or otherwise disposed of in accordance with section 414 of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7714).

(c) A regulated article may be imported without complying with other restrictions under this subpart if:

Administrator. The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, or any employee of the United States Department of Agriculture delegated to act in his or her stead.

From. An article is considered to be “from” any country or locality in which it originated or any country(ies) or locality(ies) in which it was offloaded prior to arrival in the United States.

Import. (importation, imported). To import or move into the United States.

Inspector. Any individual authorized by the Administrator or the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, to enforce the regulations in this subpart.

Person. Any individual, corporation, company, society, association or other organized group.

Phytosanitary certificate of inspection. A document relating to a regulated article, which is issued by a plant protection official of the country in which the regulated article was grown, which is issued not more than 15 days prior to shipment of the regulated article from the country in which grown, which is addressed to the plant protection service of the United States (Plant Protection and Quarantine), which contains a description of the regulated article intended to be imported into the United States, which certifies that the article has been thoroughly inspected, is believed to be free from injurious plant diseases, injurious insect pests, and other plant pests, and is otherwise believed to be eligible for importation pursuant to the current phytosanitary laws and regulations of the United States.

Plant gum. Any of numerous colloidal polysaccharide substances of plant origin that are gelatinous when moist but harden on drying. Plant gums include but are not limited to acacia gum, guar gum, gum arabic, locust gum and tragacanth gum.

Plant pest. The egg, pupal, and larval stages as well as any other living stage of any insects, mites, nematodes, slugs, snails, protozoa, or other invertebrate animals, bacteria, fungi, other parasitic plants or reproductive parts thereof, viruses, or any organisms similar to or allied with any of the foregoing, or any infectious substances, which can directly or indirectly injure or cause disease or damage in any plants or parts thereof, or any processed, manufactured, or other products of plants.

Plant Protection and Quarantine. The organizational unit within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, delegated responsibility for enforcing provisions of the Plant Protection Act and related legislation, quarantines, and regulations.

Secretary. The Secretary of Agriculture, or any other officer or employee of the Department of Agriculture to whom authority to act in his/her stead has been or may hereafter be delegated.

United States. The States, District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.

(a) The following articles are regulated articles from all countries designated in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section as infested with khapra beetle and are subject to mandatory treatment in accordance with § 319.75-4:

(b) The following articles are regulated articles from all countries designated in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section as infested with khapra beetle or that have the potential to be infested with khapra beetle and are prohibited entry into the United States in passenger baggage and personal effects. Commercial shipments must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued in accordance with § 319.75-9 and containing an additional declaration stating: “The shipment was inspected and found free of khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium).”

(c) The Administrator will designate a country or an area under a specific jurisdictional authority as infested with khapra beetle when we receive official notification from the country or area that it is infested or when we intercept the pest in a commercial shipment from that country. The Administrator will publish the list of countries or areas under a specific jurisdictional authority found to be infested with khapra beetle on the Plant Protection and Quarantine Web site, http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/ports/downloads/kb.pdf. After a change is made to the list of infested countries or areas, we will publish a notice in the Federal Register informing the public that the change has occurred.

(a) Any regulated article at the time of importation shall plainly and correctly bear on the outer container (if in a container) or on the regulated article (if not in a container) the following information:

(b) Any regulated article shall be accompanied at the time of importation by an invoice or packing list indicating the contents of the shipment.

(a) Any fruit, vegetable, or other plant product designated as a regulated article and grown in a country maintaining an official system of inspection for the purpose of determining whether such article is free from injurious plant diseases, injurious insect pests, and other plant pests shall be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate of inspection from the plant protection service of such country at the time of importation or offer for importation into the United States. Such certificate may cover more than one article and more than one container kept together during shipment and offer for importation.

(b) Any fruit, vegetable, seed, or other plant product designated as a regulated article which is accompanied by a valid phytosanitary certificate of inspection is subject to inspection by an inspector at the time of importation into the United States for the purpose of determining whether such article is free of injurious plant diseases, injurious insect pests, and other plant pests, and whether such article is otherwise eligible to be imported into the United States.

(c) Any fruit, vegetable, seed, or other plant product designated as a regulated article and grown in a country not maintaining an official system of inspection for the purpose of determining whether such article is free from injurious plant diseases, or injurious insect pests, and other plant pests shall be inspected by an inspector at the time of importation into the United States for the purpose of determining whether such article is free of such diseases and pests and whether such article is otherwise eligible to be imported into the United States.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Canadian infested area. Any area of Canada listed as a gypsy moth infested area in § 319.77-3 of this subpart.

Canadian noninfested area. Any area of Canada that is not listed as a gypsy moth infested area in § 319.77-3 of this subpart.

Certification of origin. A signed, accurate statement certifying the area in which a regulated article was produced or grown. The statement may be provided directly on the shipping documents accompanying shipments of commercial wood products from Canada, or may be provided on a separate certificate.

Gypsy moth. The insect known as the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (Linnaeus), in any stage of development.

Import (imported, importation). To bring or move into the territorial limits of the United States.

Mobile home. Any vehicle, other than a recreational vehicle, designed to serve, when parked, as a dwelling or place of business.

Outdoor household articles. Articles associated with a household that are generally kept or used outside the home. Examples of outdoor household articles are awnings, barbeque grills, bicycles, boats, dog houses, firewood, garden tools, hauling trailers, outdoor furniture and toys, recreational vehicles and their associated equipment, and tents.

Phytosanitary certificate. A document issued by an official authorized by the national government of Canada that contains a description of the regulated article intended for importation into the United States and that certifies that the article has been thoroughly inspected or treated, is believed to be free from plant pests, and is otherwise believed to be eligible for importation pursuant to the current phytosanitary laws and regulations of the United States. A phytosanitary certificate must be addressed to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and may be issued no more than 14 days prior to the shipment of the regulated article.

Recreational vehicles. Vehicles, including pickup truck campers, one-piece motor homes, and travel trailers, designed to serve as temporary places of dwelling.

United States. All of the States of the United States, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and all other territories and possessions of the United States.

U.S. infested area. Any area of the United States listed as a gypsy moth generally infested area in § 301.45-3 of this chapter.

U.S. noninfested area. Any area of the United States that is not listed as a gypsy moth generally infested area in § 301.45-3 of this chapter.

(a) Trees without roots (e.g., Christmas trees), unless they were greenhouse-grown throughout the year;

(b) Logs with bark attached;

(c) Pulpwood with bark attached;

(d) Bark and bark products;

(e) Outdoor household articles;

(f) Mobile homes and their associated equipment; and

(g) Stone and quarry products.

(a) Province of New Brunswick —

(b) Province of Nova Scotia —

(c) Province of Ontario.

(d) Province of Quebec.

(a) Trees and shrubs.^[1]

(b) Bark and bark products and logs and pulpwood with bark attached.^[2]

(c) Outdoor household articles and mobile homes and their associated equipment.

(d) Stone and quarry products. Stone and quarry products originating in a Canadian infested area may be imported into the United States only if they are destined for an infested area of the United States and will not be moved through any noninfested areas of the United States, and may be moved through the United States if they are moved only through infested areas.