# Importation of Bromeliads in Approved Growing Media from Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands

Environmental Assessment April 2010 United States Department of Agriculture

Marketing and Regulatory Programs

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

# Importation of Bromeliads in Approved Growing Media from Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands

Environmental Asses sment April 2010

Agency Contact: William Aley Regulatory Coordination and Compliance Risk Management & Plants for Planting Policy Plant Protection and Quarantine Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service U.S. Department of Agriculture 4700 River Road , Unit 133 Riverdale, MD 20737

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## Table of Contents

I. Purpose and Need

................................ ............................ 1

II. Alternatives

................................ ................................ ...... 3 A. No Action

................................ ................................ .... 3 B. Proposed Action

................................ ......................... 3

III. Environmental Impacts

................................ .................... 6 A. No Action

................................ ................................ .... 6 B. Pr oposed Action

................................ ......................... 6

IV. Endange red Species Act

................................ ................. 8

V. Listing of Agencies and Persons Consulted

............... 10

VI. References

................................ ................................ ...... 111 

## I. Purpose and Need

The purpose of the proposed rule change is to remove the curr ent restrictions that prohibi t the importation of bromeliads belonging to the
genera Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthus

, Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia , a nd Vriesea from Belgium, Denmark, and t he Netherlands in approved growing media. International trade agreements require that such requests be honored as long as there are no science

- based reasons for denial or modification of the requests

. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Prote ction and Quarantine (PPQ) has conducted a p est r isk a ssessment (PRA) to determine the potential of the proposed action to introduce a plant pest, should the importation request be honored . Based on the results of th e PRA , PPQ has advised an amendment to import regulations under 7 Code of Federal Regulations ( CFR ) § 319.37, which would add bromeliads belonging to the Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthus

, Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea genera originating from Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherland s, to the list of plants in approved growing media that may be imported into the United States

. All importation would be subject to specified growing, inspection

, and certification requirements as delineated in 7 CFR § 319.37

– 8(e).

This environmental a ssessment (EA) of the proposed action, prepared in accordance with Council on Environmental Quality, USDA, and APHIS regulations under National Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR p arts 1500

– 1508, 7 CF R p art 1b

, and 7 CFR p art 372, respectively), will be used to help determine whether to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS), which is a more comprehensive study of the proposed action and alternatives considered by an EA. If the analysis and mitigation procedures presented in an EA satisfy regulatory officials of the safety of this proposed action to the human environment, a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) is then issued for the proposed action.


### Background

The Plant Protection Act of 2000 (PPA), Title IV of Public Law 106

– 224 (7 United St ates Code ( U

. S

. C .) 7701 et seq.), as delegated by the Secretary of Agriculture, authorizes APHIS to take actions to prevent the entry and establishment of harmful plant pest species, provide for the control, and minimize the economic, ecological, and human health impacts that harmful pes ts can cause. APHIS enforces regulations ( 7 CFR p arts 300

– 399 ) to carry out its safeguarding mandates under the PPA. Under these regulations, APHIS provides notices of q uarantine on agricultural commodities; requires permi ts for the importation of agricultural2 commodities; inspects cargo and passengers; has the authority to refuse entry of commodities found to be infested with certain pests; can require treatment of commodities with chemical methods, nonchemical methods,

or a combination of both ; monitors for pests; provides preclearance inspection programs of certain agricultural commodities in some countries; participates in cooperative efforts at the international, Federal, State, and local levels, in an effort to protect against the introduction and spread of harmful pests; and conducts control or eradication programs.

Title 7 CFR § 319.37 pertains to foreign quarantine notices for nursery stock, plants, roots, bulbs, seeds, and other plant products. The proposed chan ges for allowing the importation of bromeliads of genera Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthus

, Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea from Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands in approved growing media would affect 7 CFR § 319.37. Bromeliad plants, i ncluding these genera, are most commonly used as houseplants or landscape ornamentals in warmer climates. All bromeliad consignments entering the United States must be accompanied by a USDA permit and phytosanitary certificate issued by the plant protecti on se rvice of the exporting country. This must indicate that the plant material in question has been inspected and is free from harmful pests and plant diseases. Currently, bromeliads are imported from Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands ( in addition t o some other European countries) into the United States as bare

- root or unrooted cuttings; this means that upon importation

, they are free of soil, sand, earth

, or other growing me dia. These plants are enterable into the United States, subject to inspecti on results at designated ports of entry that have plant inspection stations (i.e. ports with facilities where live plant material can be examined).

A number of other species, including rhododendrons from Europe, Begonias, Gloxinias, Ananas , and other pla nts were permitted to be imported in approved growing media. To date, in all of these cases, the phytosanitary measures are believed to have been effective in reducing potential environmental impacts, that is , no associated pests are known to have been im ported and become established as a result of the importation of these plants in approved media.

As required by 7 CFR § 319.37

– 8(g), APHIS has performed a single, comprehensive pest risk assessment for the importation of Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthus

, Guzmania

, Hoh enbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea species in approved growing media from the requesting countries. The risk assessment (USDA

– APHIS, 2009) indicated that the bromeliad species associated with this proposed action are rel atively disease

- resistan t taxa. However, o ne quarantine pest was found to be connected with Aechm e a , one of the bromeliad genera associated with the proposed3 action. The quarantine pest, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. o puntiarum
, is a fungus characterized as having a low pest risk p otential.

Importation of bromeliads from Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands into the United States is currently limited to bare

- root or unrooted cuttings, which are then propagated and/or grown by U.S. nurseries, and sold throughout the country. The i mportation of plants already established in growing media is not permitted under current regulations. The result of the current practice is that imported plants and cuttings are not available in the market place until after they have been planted and grow n in media and then shipped to retail outlets. This additional handling of plants results in some loss of merchandise. It does, however, provide business to the U.S. nurseries that supply the labor, materials

, and space for the rooting, potting, and grow ing of the plants. The number of U.S nurseries which currently import bromeliad plants from Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands is unknown, but is estimated to be no more than three (USDA

– APHIS, 2010).

An economic analysis completed by APHIS ( USDA

– AP HIS, 2010 ) as part of the review of this proposed rule change indicates that the volume of U.S. imports of bromeliad plants from t he Netherlands has steadily declined from 2,350,476 in 2006 to 759,684 in 2009. In 2007, t he number of Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthus

, Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea plants imported to the United States from Belgium totaled 2,662,367

. T he volume of imports of these bromeliad species originating in Denmark is unknown at this time.


## II. Alternatives

A. No A ction

This alternative would maintain the current import restrictions on bromeliad species originating from Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands without any changes to those restrictions. That is, importation would be restricted to bare

- root plants and unrooted cuttings

. Importation of plants in approved media would not be permitted.



### B. Pr oposed Action

The proposed rule would allow bromeliad s of the Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthus, Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea genera in approved growing media to be imported into the United States from Belgium, Denmark , and the Netherlands subject to the requirements of §319.37

– 8(e).4 For plant species of the Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthus

, Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea genera imported under the conditions of the proposed rule, importation would be allowed only if the measures summarized below are followed. These measures constitute a “ systems approach ” to addressing potential risk and environmental impacts of the proposed impo rtation. A systems approach refers to a combination of specific mitigation measures that provide overlapping or sequential safeguards. Additional detailed information on the associated phytosanitary requirements discussed below is availabl e in the risk

m anagement document ( USDA

– APHIS, 2009c ).

All species of the Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthus

, Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea gen e r a imported into the United States must be greenhouse

- grown plants. Wild and non

- domesticated species

canno t be imported. All mother stocks are to be determined to be as pest

free by an approved official of the exporting country’s national plant protection organization and an APHIS

– PPQ inspector no more than 60 days prior to being established (planted) in the greenhouse environment.

All Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthus

, Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea species plants imported into the United States must be in approved growing media (as defined in 7 CFR § 319.37

– 8) to prevent the introduction of pest species. No sand, soil, earth

, or other unapproved media can be present with the imported plants.

All species of the Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthus

, Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea genera must be grown in accordance with written e nforcement agreements among APHIS, the plant protection organization of the exporting country

, and growers. This includes requirements for written operational workplans for detecting and eradicating any pests before importation

, and any applicable registr ation or permitting of growers in the exporting country.

Bromeliad species grown for importation into the United States must be grown in pest exclusionary greenhouses following all applicable phytosanitary measures outlined by APHIS in 7 CFR § 319.37

– 8(e )(2)(ii).

Benches on which plants belonging to the Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthu s , Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea genera that are grown for importation into the United States must be at least 46 c entimeters (c m ) above the floor. 1. Approved Plant Sources

2. Approve d Growing Media

3. Agreements

4. Exclusionary Greenhouse

5. Raised Benches5 Floor s in greenhouses where plants belonging to the Aechme a , Cr y

ptanthu s , Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea genera are grown must be composed of permanent material that can be sanitized

, if necessary

, and be free of soil.

Automatic cl osing doors to exclude flying insects and, to a limited extent, prevent windborne pests from entering the greenhouse, are required.

Greenhouse air exchange and temperature control vents must have screens with openings no larger than 0.6 millimeters ( mm ) to exclude pests.

Sanitary procedures must be in place to maintain the greenhouse free of injurious pests.

Mother stock bromeliads must be grown in the exporting country for at least 9 months prior to export of the plants to the United States. Mothe r plants imported into Belgium, Denmark, or t he Netherlands from another country must have been grown in the exporting country for 9 to 12 months (the actual time period is dependent upon the treatment of the mother stock in the exporting country). Descen dant plants must be grown in an active state of foliar growth for at least 4 consecutive months before export.

Water sources used in the growing of bromeliads belonging to the Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthu s , Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vries ea genera for importation into the United States must be either rainwater that has been boiled or pasteurized, clean well water, or potable
water.

Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthu s , Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea genera plants for importat ion into the United States must be accompanied by phytosanitary certificates issued by the plant protection organization of the exporting country , which represents a finding based on monitoring inspections that the conditions outlined by 7 CFR § 319.37

– 8

a re being met

. Inspection of mother stock by a PPQ inspector or an inspector from the plant protection organization of the exporting country will take place no more than 60 days before the bromeliads are established in the greenhouse. Descendant plants w ill be inspected no more than 30 days prior to export. APHIS inspectors will visit Belgium, Denmark, and t he Netherlands periodically to ensure that the program is working properly. In addition, inspection of imported Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthus

, Guzmania

, Hohe nbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea species will take place at the port of entry into the United States by PPQ inspection personnel

. 6. Floors

7. Automatic Doors

8. Screens

9. Sanitation

10. Detention Periods

11. Clean Water Sources

12. Phytosanitary Certificate

13. Inspection6 Pest interceptions or repeated detection of a quarantine pest may result in PPQ requiring more specific mitigatio n s of the pest(s) of concern.

Plants belong ing to the Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthu s , Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea genera intended for importation into the United States must be packed and stored in areas that are free of sand, soil, earth, and plant pests. Packaging should be designed to prevent contamination and the introduction of hitchhikers. Bromeliad plants shall not be packed in the same container as prohibited articles.


## III. Environmental Impacts

A. No Action

As descri bed above, the no action alternative would maintain the current import restrictions on bromeliad species originating from Belgium, Denmark, and t he Netherlands without any changes to those restrictions. That is, importation would be restricted to bare

- roo t plants and unrooted cuttings . Importation of plants in approved media would not be permitted.

The potential environmental consequences of maintaining the importation restrictions to bare

- root plants and unrooted cuttings are minimal. The current pra ctice of importation of bare

- root and unrooted cuttings of bromeliad species from Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands has not resulted in any incidence of identified environmental impacts as a result of either the imported bromeliad species or any pests that may have been present on the imported bare

- root and unrooted cut ting plant material.



### B. Pr oposed Action

Under the proposed rule, as discussed above, the current importation rules would be revised so that bromeliad species originating from Belgiu m, Denmark, and the Netherlands could be imported into the United States in approved growing media. The requirements associated with the propagation, rearing, shipping

, and importation of Aechme a , Cr y

ptanthu s , Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea genera under this option are designed to minimize any potential environmental impacts associated with the plants being brought into the United States in growing media.

There are some bacterial and fungal diseases that are identified in phy topathological literature sources that have the potential to infect species of the Aechmea

, Crptanthu s , Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea genera

. However, as discussed in the PRA and risk mitigation document completed for this pro posal (USDA

– APHIS, 2009 b ; USDA

– APHIS, 2009c )

, there was one quarantine pest identified 14. Pack ing and Storage7 for Aechmea species which could reasonably be expected to be imported on these plants. This quarantine pest, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp.

o

puntiarum

, is a fungus, characte rized as having a low pest risk potential (USDA

– APHIS, 2009b)

. This was determined by analyzing the biological profile of the pest, along with several factors, including the consequences of introduction and the likelihood of introduction. Likelihood of i ntroduction takes into account the number of plants which would be imported annually, the likelihood of the pest’s survival following postharvest treatment, the likelihood of detection at the port of entry, and the pest’s restrictive climatic and dispersal requirements

. The PRA also assessed the weed iness threat posed by Aechmea

, Crptanthus

, Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea

. The PRA indicated that three species of the Tillandsia genus are considered weed species in Chile ( T. land becki Phil ) and Argentina ( T. recurvat a , and T. aeranthos ). However, these plants have presented little evidence of adverse impacts in these countries, and grow without incident as established plants in the United States.

Systems Approach

The systems a pproach described previously ( which includes all mitigation measures listed in this document under II.B., Proposed Action) is designed to be a fail

- safe system that includes tiered safeguards. Thus, if one of the above mitigation measures were to fail, ot her safeguards built into the system are designed to ensure that risks are managed. Even though the risk of any environmental impacts associated with the importation of Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthus

, Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea gener a into the United States in approved growing media is extremely low, this systems approach further minimizes any potential environmental impacts.

Under the proposed action

—

**•** a ll plants must be grown in compliance with a written agreement for enforcement signed by the plant protection service of the exporting country and PPQ;

**•** plants must be developed from mother stock that was inspected by an APHIS inspector or foreign plant protection service inspector and found free of diseases and pests no more than 6 0 days prior to the time the plant is established in the greenhouse;

**•** all plants must be grown in compliance with a written agreement between the grower and the plant protection service of the country in which it is grown that allows for inspections and mo nitoring of compliance;

**•** plants must be grown in a greenhouse in which sanitary procedures are sufficient to exclude plant pests and diseases;8 **•** plants must be rooted and grown in an active state of foliar growth for at least 4 consecutive months immediatel y prior to importation into the United States;

**•** plants must be grown from seeds germinated in the greenhouse unit or descended from a mother plant that was grown at least 9 months in the exporting country prior to importation into the United States;

**•** plant s must be watered only with rainwater that has been boiled or pasteurized, with clean well water or with potable water;

**•** plants must be rooted and grown in approved media as listed in § 319.37

– 8(e)(1) on benches supported by legs and raised at least 46 cm above the floor;

**•** plants must be stored and packaged only in areas free of sand, soil, earth

, and plant pests.

Previously, a number of plant species, including penjing species, Phalaenopsis

, Schlumbergera

, Rhipsalidopsis

, R hododendron

, Begonias
, Gloxini as , Ananas , and other plants were permitted to be imported in approved growing media. To date, in all of these cases, the phytosanitary measures included in the systems approach have been effective in reducing potential environmental impacts, that is, no associated pests are known to have been imported and become established as a result of the importation of plants in approved media.



## IV

. Endangered Species Act

According to 40 CFR § 1508.27(b)(9), APHIS

– PPQ is required to consider the “degree to which the action may adversely affect an endangered or threatened species or its habitat that has been determined to be critical under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.” In addition, Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and ESA’s implementing regulations require Federal agencies to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and/or the National Marine Fisheries Service to ensure that their actions are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of endangered or thre atened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat.

In meeting these requirements, APHIS prepared and submitted a biological assessment ( B A ) (USDA

– APHIS, 200 9a ) to the FWS in Arlington, V irginia . The B A used the res ults of the P RA ( USDA, 2009 b ; USD A, 2009 c ) and analyzed (1) the potential of quarantine pests to be included in commercial shipments of plants, (2) any federally listed endangered or threatened species that are potential hosts for these quarantine pests, a nd (3) the potential invasiveness of Aechmea

, Cr y

ptanthus

, Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea species.9 APHIS has determined that the importation of commercial shipments of Aechmea

, Cryptanthus

, Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Til landsia

, and Vriesea spp. plants in approved growing media from Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands will have no effect on federally listed species or their habitats. There are no federally listed species in the plant family Bromeliacea e ( FWS

, 2010). T here a re no listed plant species that would be susceptible to F. oxysporum f. sp. aechmeae because it is pathogenic to only a single plant genus, Aechmea

, in the family Bromeliaceae. Within the United States and its territories, Aechmea species occur as n ative plants in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. However, t he pathogen is effectively removed from the pathway and effectively precluded from establishment in the United States by the mitigation measures already present in the applicable regulations (U SDA

– APHIS, 2009 b ).

Based on information presented in the B A , along with previous programmatic consultations concerning the importation of nursery stock established in APHIS

- approved growing media, FWS concurred with the APHIS determination that the import ation of plants from the Aechmea

, Crptanthu s , Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea genre in growing media from Belgium, Denmark, and t he Netherlands will have no e ffect on federally listed or proposed endangered or threatened species or their habitats.10 

## V. Listing of Agencies and Persons Consulted

U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Policy and Program Development Environmental and Risk Analysis Services 4700 River Road, Unit 149 Riverdale, MD 20737

U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine Commodity Import s Analysis and Operation s 4700 River Road, Unit 133 Riverdale, MD 20737

U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Hea lth Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine Phytosanitary Issues Management 4700 River Road, Unit 140 Riverdale, MD 20737

U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine Planning, Analy sis, and Regulatory Coordination 4700 River Road, Unit 156 Riverdale, MD 20737

U.S Fish and Wildlife Services Division of Consultation, Habitat Conservation Planning, Recovery, and State Grants 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, 420 Arlington, VA 2220311 

## V I

. Refe rences

FWS

— See U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

USDA

– AHPIS

— See U.S. Department of Agriculture

– Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture

– Animal and Plant Health Inspection S ervice, 2010

. Initial regulatory flexibility analy sis: Importation of bromeliad plants in growing media from Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands. March, 2010. Riverdale, MD.

U.S. Department of Agriculture

– Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, 2009a

. Biological a ssessment for i mportation of b rom eliads in

a pproved g rowing m edia from Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands

. September, 2009. Riverdale, M D

. U.S. Department of Agriculture

– Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, 2009 b. Plant Protection and Quarantine. A p athway

- i nitiated
p est r i sk a ssessment: i mportation of Aechmea

, Crptanthus

, Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, and Vriesea in growing media, into the United States from Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands

. July, 2009. Raleigh, N C

. U.S. Department of Agriculture

– A nimal and Plant Health Inspection Service, 2009 c

. Plant Protection and Quarantine. Risk management document : Importation of Aechmea

, Crptanthus

, Guzmania

, Hohenbergia

, Neoregelia

, Tillandsia

, a nd Vriesea in growing media, into the United States from Bel gium, Denmark, and the Netherlands

. Revised: July, 2009. Raleigh, NC.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2010. Species report . Threaten ed and

e ndangered s pecies s ystem. [Online]. Available: http://ecos.f ws.gov/tess_public/ [2009, July 7].