Questions and

Answers About the

Plant Protection Act 

Q: What is the Plant Protection Act?

A: The Plant Protection Act (PPA) became law in

June 2000 as part of the Agricultural Risk Protection

Act. This law consolidates all or part of 10 existing

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plant health

laws into one comprehensive law, including the

authority to regulate plants, plant products, certain

biological control organisms, noxious weeds, and

plant pests.

The PPA gives the Secretary of Agriculture, and

through delegated authority, USDA’s Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the ability

to prohibit or restrict the importation, exportation, and

the interstate movement of plants, plant products,

certain biological control organisms, noxious weeds,

and plant pests.

Under the PPA, violators face harsher civil penalties than ever before for smuggling illegal plants or

produce that could harbor plant pests or diseases.

The PPA gives the Secretary of Agriculture the

authority to subpoena documentary evidence and

witnesses to prosecute violators. The Act also provides APHIS with a cost recovery mechanism for

expenses related to the disposal of abandoned shipments at U.S. ports of entry.

Q: How does the PPA impact APHIS’ regulatory

authority?

A: The PPA grants significant new regulatory authority for controlling noxious weeds and clarifies APHIS’

existing regulatory authority for beneficial organisms

used in biocontrol.

Q: What are the PPA’s specific directives?

A: The PPA specifically directs APHIS to publish a

public notice describing procedures and standards for

import requests and to conduct a study outlining the

role and application of systems approaches designed

to guard against the introduction of plant pathogens

into the United States. Systems approaches are a

series of overlapping measures that are applied to

agricultural imports. These measures are designed

to mitigate the risk of plant pests or diseases entering

the United States and may include specific treatments, inspections, or certifications.

Q: How is APHIS incorporating new PPA 

authorities into regulatory activities?

A: Currently, APHIS’ Plant Protection and

Quarantine (PPQ) program is developing plans and

procedures to incorporate new PPA authorities. PPQ

has identified eight PPA action areas and established

implementation time frames to ensure new authorities

are fully incorporated into program activities. These

action areas include:

1. Publishing a public notice describing procedures and standards for import requests;

2. Conducting a study outlining the role and

application of systems approaches associated with

proposals to import plants and plant products;

3. Establishing uniform procedures for conducting warrantless inspections;

4. Developing guidelines for the issuance of subpoenas;

5. Creating guidelines for the standardization of

civil penalties to be applied consistently nationwide

for specific violations;

6. Establishing internal procedures for cost

recovery of expenses related to the disposal of smuggled or illegal agricultural products that are abandoned after APHIS takes regulatory action;

7. Soliciting public comment on a concept paper

at regional public meetings prior to the publication of

a proposed rule for noxious weeds; and

8. Developing regulations for the movement of

biological control organisms.

Q: What are the PPA’s harsher civil penalties for

the smuggling of illegal agricultural products?

A: The PPA increases civil penalties to a maximum

of $50,000 for any individual who violates the law.

However, the maximum of $1,000 remains for 

first-time offenders carrying an agricultural product

through ports of entry for personal use only. Any

business or group violating the PPA can now be fined

a maximum of $250,000 and no more than $500,000

per adjudication.

Under the PPA, anyone causing harm to or 

interfering with an animal used in official inspections,

such as one of the animals in USDA’s Beagle

Brigade, can be fined up to $10,000. The Beagle

Brigade is made up of detector dogs that work at

international airports and borders to sniff passenger

luggage and packages for hidden fruits, vegetables,

meats, and other agricultural products that may 

contain invasive animal or plant pests or diseases.

PPQ is currently developing uniform standards

for the enforcement of these new civil penalties.

Factsheet

 	
  
	 	 

APHIS
Q: When will APHIS use its subpoena power?

A: When an APHIS inspection leads to suspicion that

possible prohibited materials are being housed in a

facility, a thorough investigation will begin. APHIS will

request a subpoena based on an active investigation,

evidence that previous attempts to gain access to

documents has been refused, and a reasonable

request for documents pertaining to the investigation.

The subpoena will set a date and time for APHIS to

obtain the documents or for a person to provide testimony at a hearing.

A notice regarding APHIS’ subpoena authority

and procedures will be published in the Federal

Register in the near future.

Q: Can APHIS conduct inspections without a 

warrant?

A: Yes. Currently, APHIS conducts these types of

inspections on passenger luggage and cargo every

day at all U.S. international airports and most border

crossings. APHIS inspectors look for prohibited agricultural products that could harm American agriculture

by bringing in plant pests and diseases.

Under the PPA, APHIS also has the authority to conduct inspections without warrants on interstate commerce, based on probable cause, as well as intrastate

commerce as part of an extraordinary emergency.

A working group of PPQ staffs and APHIS’

Investigative and Enforcement Services, with advice

from USDA’s Office of General Counsel, is developing

written guidelines for warrantless inspections. These

guidelines will follow the U.S. Attorney General’s

guidelines for warrantless inspections and will include

search criteria and procedures that ensure that warrantless inspections do not violate the legal or constitutional rights of citizens.

Q: What are the PPA’s new cost recovery 

measures?

A: Previously, when APHIS required regulatory

action for infested or prohibited agricultural products

and the importer abandoned the shipment, APHIS

covered the cost of disposing of the cargo. With the

PPA, if the importer fails to take the required remedial

measures, APHIS will take the necessary action and

bill the importer for all associated costs.

Q: What are the PPA’s new quality assurance 

measures?

A: The Act allows APHIS-PPQ to work with industry

and other cooperators to establish programs to

improve the health and pest and disease-free status

of specific commodities. One outcome of this cooperation would be that APHIS can publish industry-developed standards under its regulatory authority. If

industry members wish to voluntarily comply with

these best practices or higher standards, APHIS can

authorize them to put a predetermined quality sticker

or seal on their product.

Q: What is APHIS’ expanded authority on noxious

weeds?

A: The PPA expands the definition of noxious weed

from the definition in the Federal Noxious Weed Act,

which included only weeds that were of foreign origin,

new to, or not widely prevalent, in the United States.

The PPA defines a noxious weed as a weed that

could bring harm to agriculture, the public health, navigation, irrigation, natural resources, or the environment. Under the PPA, regulations for noxious weeds

are similar to those for plant pests.

Under the PPA, the Secretary of Agriculture and

APHIS will have the authority for the first time to

declare an extraordinary emergency when a newly

introduced or not widely prevalent noxious weed

poses a significant threat and to declare an emergency that would enable the transfer of money from

other agencies or corporations of the Department,

including the Commodity Credit Corporation, to cover

the cost of eradicating the weed. An extraordinary

emergency declaration gives APHIS the authority to

hold, seize, quarantine, treat, or destroy any plant or

plant product being moved within a State that is

believed to be infested with a plant pest or noxious

weed. This authority is used when a State is unable

to take the necessary measures itself.

The PPA allows the Secretary of Agriculture to

develop a classification system to describe the status

and action level for a specific noxious weed. In conjunction with the classification system, the Secretary

may develop integrated management plans for noxious weeds for the specific geographic region or ecological range where the noxious weed is found in the

United States.

A list of noxious weeds that are prohibited from

entering the United States or moving among States,

except under a permit with restricted conditions, is

currently available on the APHIS website at

www.aphis.usda.gov. Any person may petition the

Secretary of Agriculture to add or remove a plant

species from this list.

Currently, PPQ is developing a concept paper on

noxious weeds, which will be presented at public

meetings in Spring 2001. At the conclusion of the

public meetings, PPQ will draft a proposed rule on

noxious weeds for the Federal Register.
Q: How does the PPA impact biological control?

A: The PPA separates biological control organisms,

which were formerly grouped with plant pests, and

defines them as any enemy, antagonist, or competitor

used to control plant pests or noxious weeds. This

recognizes that not all organisms in need of permits

are plant pests and that some are actually beneficial

to U.S. agriculture and the environment.

APHIS has developed proposed new regulations

for the movement of plant pests and release of biological control agents of weeds, which should be published in the Federal Register in the near future.

The PPA reaffirms APHIS authority to regulate

biological control to prevent the introduction or dissemination of plant pests or noxious weeds and

encourages the USDA, other Federal agencies, and

the States to facilitate biological control whenever feasible. The Act also provides APHIS with guidance on

how to regulate the movement of biological control

organisms and authorizes APHIS’ participation in

activities that enable the effective transfer of biological

control techniques.

The PPA broadens the scope of APHIS’ authority

and clarifies existing authorities to enable APHIS to

continue its mission of protecting America’s plants

and animals. For more information on the PPA, or to

read the Act in its entirety, please visit the APHIS

website at www.aphis.usda.gov.

United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination

in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national

origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to

all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative

means for communication of program information (Braille, large

print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at

(202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of

Civil Rights, Room 326–W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call (202) 720–5964

(voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and

employer.