United States Department of Agriculture

Marketing and Regulatory Programs

Animal and

Plant Health Inspection
Service 

# Proposed Rule for Importation of

Oversized Dracaena spp. from Costa Rica

Environmental Assessment, September 2011

# Proposed Rule for Importation of Oversized

Dracaena spp. from Costa

Rica

Environmental Assessment, September 2011

Agency Contact: William D. Aley Senior Import Specialist 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. Need for the Pr oposed Acti on ......................................... 1

II. Alternat ives..

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

A. No Ac tion ................................................................... 1 B. Proposed Action ........................................................ 2

III. Environmental Consequences .... ...................................... 5
A. No Ac tion ................................................................... 5 B. Proposed Action ........................................................ 6

IV. Other Environm ental Iss ues ............................................. 6

A. Endangered Spec ies Act ( ESA) ................................ 7
B. Other Considerations ................................................. 7

V. Listing of Agencies and Persons Consulted....... ............ .. 8

VI. Literature Cited

............... .... .............................................. 91 

## I. Need for the Proposed Action

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing to amend the regulations in “Subpart—Plants for Planting” (7 Code of Federal Regula tions (CFR) § 319.37-2) to allo w the importation into the

continental United States of oversized Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica.

In response to a request from the Nationa l Plant Protection Orga nization (NPPO), the National Phytosanitary Service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Husbandry (MAG-SFE), to change the current size restriction for Dracaena spp. plants from 460 millimeters (mm) (18 inches) to 1,371.6 millimeters (mm) (54 inches) (oversized) for export into the continental United States, APHIS analyzed the potential environmental effects associated with implementing that request and gene ral requirements applicable to all Dracaena spp. plants imported from Costa Rica to the United States. This environmental assessment (EA)

addresses environmental issues related to the risk of in troduction into the continental United States of quarantine pests associated with the importation of Dracaena spp. plants

from Costa Rica.

This environmental assessment is designed to satisfy the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 United States Code (U.S.C.) 4321, et

. seq .) as prescribed in implementing regulati ons adopted by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR §§ 1500

─ 1508), and APHIS’ NEPA implem enting procedures (7 CFR 372).



## II. Alternatives

This EA analyzes potential environmental consequences of implementing the rulemaking to amend the regulations govern ing importation of oversized Dracaena spp. plants from

Costa Rica into the continental United States. Two alternatives are considered in this EA: (1) no action in which the current regulati ons will remain unchanged prohibiting the importation of Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica over 460 millimeters (mm) (18 inches) and general requirements applicable to all Dracaena spp. plants would not be set forth (no action alternative), and (2) amending the regulations to authorize the importation

of Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica with a maximum size of 1,371.6 millimeters (mm) (54 inches) under certain cond itions that would apply to all Dracaena spp. plants imported from Costa Rica into the Unite d States (preferred alternative).



### A. No Action

The no action alternative would leave the current size restrictions for Dracaena spp. plants unchanged. Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica that are less than 460 millimeters (mm) could still be imported into the United States, Hawaii, and U.S. Territories, with inspection as the sole mitigation. Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica that are more than 460 millimeters (mm) (18 inches) would continue to be prohibited from importation into the

United States.2 

### B. Proposed Action

Under the proposed action, 7 CFR § 319.37-2 woul d be amended to allow the importation

into the continental United States of oversized Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica, in addition to the smaller plants already permitted. This is in response to Costa Rica’s request that APHIS amend the regulations to increase the acceptable size for Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica to be imported into the United States.

The pest risk assessment identified fifteen pest s of quarantine significa nce present in Costa

Rica that could be introduced into the United States via Dracaena spp.: Xylosandrus morigerus (brown coffee twig beetle) , Caldwelliola reservata (leafhopper) , Oncometopia

clarior (blue sharpshooter) , Coccus viridis (green scale) , Planococcus minor (passionvine mealybug) , Pseudococcus landoi (lando mealybug) , Ancistrocercus circumdatus (katydid)

, Erioloides consobrinus (katydid) , Neoconocephalus affinis (rattler conehead katydid)

, Chaetanaphothrips signipennis (banana rust thrips) , Diplosolenodes occidentalis (spotted leatherleaf slug) , Sarasinula plebeia (Caribbean leatherleaf slug) , Ovachlamys fulgens (helicarnoid snail) , Pallifera costaricensis (Costa Rica mantle slug) , and Succinea

costaricana (amber snail) (USDA, APHIS, 2010). Since 1984, there have been over 11,000 pest interceptions on Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica (USDA, APHIS, 2010). A bilateral workplan between MAG-SFE and APHIS was developed with the intent of reducing pest interception rates. Unde r the requirements of the workplan, all Dracaena spp. plants imported from Costa Rica into the United States must be produced, packed, and exported under an integrated measures appr oach. This proposed action would amend 7 CFR 319.37-2 (b)(6)(i) to include the requirement that all Dracaena spp. plants comply

with the bilateral wor kplan and to change the current size restriction. Summarized below are the mitigative measures that ar e required under the proposed action:

 Dracaena spp. plants may not exceed 1,371.6 millimeters (54 inches) in length from the soil line (or the top of the roo ting zone for plants pr oduced by air layering) to the farthest end growing point.

 Dracaena spp. plants are subject to standard port-of-entry inspec tion upon arrival in

the United States.

 The plants must be grown in compli ance with the bilateral “workplan.”

Additional requirements include:

1. Participants - Producers, packers and expor ters must be approved and registered by MAG-SFE as partic ipants in the program to export Dracaena spp. to the United States. Dracaena plants must be grown, packed, stored3 and exported in compliance with a written agreement between the participant and MAG-SFE, and the partic ipant must agree to comply with the provisions of the CFR and the workplan;

2. Facility - Production, packing and export f acilities must be inspected, approved and registered by MAG-SFE for inclusion in the program. Registered packing facilities processing Dracaena plants for export to the United States may only accept plants fr om registered production facilities where plants are grown in compliance with the workplan and verified by appropriate records and documenta tion. In addition, MAG-SFE must maintain a list of approved participants and their approved facilities; this list must be provided to APHIS annually and when changes occur.

3. Training - Participants and personnel at approved production, packing and export facilities must be tr ained in the requirements of the workplan and in recognizing the target pest s outlined in the workpla n. Training records must

be maintained and made availabl e to MAG-SFE and APHIS on request.

4. Pest management plans and practices

- Participants must establish a pest management plan for all approved pr oduction, packing and export facilities in the program. Pest management pl ans must include field or facility scouting, monitoring and control for targ et pests, and must be approved and audited by MAG-SFE and APHIS. Each approved facility must have a trained, dedicated person to supervise the pest management program. Records of pest management activities must be maintained and made

available to MAG-SFE and APHIS on request.

5. Traceability - Participants must establish a traceability system approved and audited by MAG-SFE and APHIS, as outlined in the workplan. The identity and origin of the Dracaena plants must be maintained from the production unit, through the packing a nd export facilities, to the port-ofentry in the United States for trac eability back through the export and packing facilities to the production unit. Dracaena plants transported between production and packing faciliti es, processed at packing facilities, and exported to the United States mu st be appropriate ly separated and identified throughout the process.

6. Sanitation - Sanitation measures must be maintained at approved production, packing and export facilities, as outlined in the workplan. Fallen or discarded plant material and debris, or plants with pests must be removed,

and must not be included in field containers brought from production to packing facilities for export. Packing facilities and materials must be free of sand, soil, earth, and plant pests, and phytosanitary practic es adequate to exclude plant pests must be employed. Sanitation of equipment, materials

and tools must be maintained to avoi d spreading pests or to prevent recontamination.4 Participants must employ the “Good Agricultural Practices” program established by MAG-SFE at appr oved production, packing and export facilities, as outlined in the workpl an. At production facilities, growing practices aimed at limiting initial in festations and/or reducing pest populations must be employed.

7. Inspections - Approved production, packing an d export facilities must be inspected by dedicated trained personnel at the approved facilities, at least once weekly, and by MAG-SFE at leas t once monthly. Inspection dates and

results must be recorded and must be available on request.

8. Removal of infested plant material - Packing facilities must reject infested plant material and MAG-SFE must susp end infested production units from exporting Dracaena to the United States. Only production units and packing

facilities that are determ ined to be free of quarantine pests upon inspection may continue the packing process for e xport, and this must be verified by appropriate records and documentation. If pests or signs of pests are found, exports from those sites must be su spended until a phytosanitary corrective action is implemented and inspection s hows that the infestation has been

eradicated. Corrective actions must be appropriately documented and the participant must receive approval from MAG-SFE to re-initiate the operation.

9. Recordkeeping - Participants must maintain records of the actions related to the program, the corrective measures taken on detected irregularities, and the records must be available on request. Records must be maintained for a minimum of three years.

10. Phytosanitary Certificate a nd Additional Declaration - Each consignment of Dracaena plants must be inspec ted by MAG-SFE before export. For each consignment, MAG- SFE must issue a Phytosanitary

Certificate with an Additiona l Declaration stating that:

“The plants in this consignment ha ve been produced, packed, stored and exported in accordance with the requirements of 7 CFR 319.37 and the bilateral workplan between Costa Rica and the United States. The plants in the consignmen t are from approved production, packing and export facilities and were inspected and found free of quarantine pests.”

Shipping documents accompanying consignments of Dracaena spp. plants

from Costa Rica to the United States mu st include the official registration number of the place of production at which the Dracaena spp. plants were grown, and must identify the packing facility in which the plants were5 processed. This identification must be maintained until the plants are released for entry into the United States.

Participants must comply with all other applicable requirements in 7 CFR 319.37, including approved packing mate rial (319.37-9) an d marking and identity (319.37-10).

11. O versight by MAG-SFE and APHIS - MAG-SFE must inspect, approve and register all producti on, packing and export faci lities included in the program, ensure that participants follow the guidelines, and monitor the program activities as outlined in the work plan. APHIS may monitor and audit the program, as agreed by MAG-SFE and APHIS.

12. Non-Compliance and Corrective Actions - MAG-SFE must take

corrective action in the cas e of non-compliance with procedures established in the workplan. Corrective actions may include remedial actions, temporarysuspension of participants until an investigation is conducted and/or noncompliance is addressed, or permanen t suspension of participants with repetitive minor non-compliances or with serious non-compliances. This includes temporary or permanent su spension of participants with interceptions at the port-of-entry in the United States. MAG-SFE must inform APHIS of suspended participants.

The measures described above are designed to be adequate to prevent the introduction of plant pests into the continental United States with Dracaena spp. plants imported from

Costa Rica.



## III. Environmental Consequences

A. No Action

This section describes the environmental effect s of the no action altern ative. If the no action alternative is selected regulations in 7 CFR 319.37 will be unchanged. The current

size restrictions for Dracaena spp. plants would remain unchanged. Since 1984, there have been over 11,000 pest interceptions on Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica (USDA, APHIS, 2010); it can be e xpected that without additional requirements for all Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica this trend of pest interceptions will increase. Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica more than 460 millimeters (mm) (18 inches) would continue to be prohibited from importation into the Unite d States. Significant environmental consequences as a result of selecting this no action alternative are expected.6 

### B. Proposed Action

Under the proposed action, 7 CFR § 319.37-2 woul d be amended to allow the importation

into the continental United States of overs ized (up to 1,371.6 millimeters (mm) (54 inches))

Dracaena spp. plants under certain condi tions that would apply to all Dracaena spp. plants imported from Costa Rica into the United States. The interception rates of pests from Costa Rica are expected to be low based upon adherence to proposed risk management measures. The specific pests of concern for Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica are Xylosandrus morigerus (brown coffee twig beetle) , Caldwelliola reservata (leafhopper)

, Oncometopia clarior (blue sharpshooter) , Coccus viridis (green scale) , Planococcus minor (passionvine mealybug) , Pseudococcus landoi (lando mealybug) , Ancistrocercus

circumdatus (katydid) , Erioloides consobrinus (katydid) , Neoconocephalus affinis (rattler conehead katydid) , Chaetanaphothrips signipennis (banana rust thrips) , Diplosolenodes

occidentalis (spotted leatherleaf slug) , Sarasinula plebeia (Caribbean leatherleaf slug)

, Ovachlamys fulgens (helicarnoid snail) , Pallifera costaricensis (Costa Rica mantle slug)

, and Succinea costaricana (amber snail) (USDA, APHIS, 2010). Since 1984, there have been over 11,000 pest interceptions on Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica (USDA, APHIS, 2010). The mitigation measures that will be required under this rulemaking were determined to be necessary and adequate to achieve phytosanitary security for Costa Rican

Dracaena spp. plants. The mitigations under this ru le are expected to result in effective removal of pests of concern based on the asso ciated pest risk asse ssment (USDA, APHIS, 2010) and the pest risk management docum ent (USDA, APHIS, 2011a). Based on the scientific findings and mitigations discussed within these documents, environmental impacts are not likely to be significant.

In the unlikely event that a plant pest shoul d be introduced into the United States and threaten to become established, appropriate er adication actions would likely be initiated. Such actions would likely invol ve the use of pesticides in a localized ar ea. The area affected would likely be small because it is an ticipated that any pests would be detected through monitoring activities before they became widespread. In the unlikely event that a pest threatens to become established somewhere in the continental United States as a result of the importation of oversized Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica, and actions are required of APHIS, an environmental assessme nt would be prepared to look at the sitespecific details necessary to eradicate the pest . Any eradication plan or program would not be undertaken before a separate e nvironmental process was completed.



## IV. Other Environmental Issues

The APHIS NEPA implementing procedures requ ire, to the fullest extent possible, the integration of Federal environmental laws and executive orders associated with the analysis of environmental impacts (7 CFR § 372.7). Of the numerous environmental laws and executive orders, this document looks at those that have any possible association to plant, animal, or human health imp acts from the proposed action.7 

### A. Endangered Species Act (ESA)

According to 40 CFR § 1508.27(b)(9), APHIS PPQ is required to consider the “degree to which the action may adversely affect an endang ered 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 Sp ecies Act (ESA) and ESA’s implementing regulations require Federal agen cies to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and/or the National Mari ne Fisheries Service to ensure that their actions are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of endangered or threatened species or result in

the destruction or adverse modifi cation of critical habitat.

In meeting these requirements, APHIS has pr epared and submitted a biological assessment (BA) (USDA, APHIS, 2011b) to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in Arlington, VA. Weediness or invasiveness is not a concern with importation of Dracaena species plants and this aspect of th e proposed action will have no eff ect on federally listed plants (e.g., no competition, allelochemicals, or loss of plant habitat). Although many species of listed plants may be hosts of the quaran tine pests that could be introduced with Dracaena

, APHIS has determined that these pests are effectively removed from the pathway and effectively precluded from establishment in the United States by the proposed mitigation measures (systems approach). In addition, requiring smaller Dracaena plants that are currently enterable in the United States and co mmonly infested with quarantine pests to be grown under the proposed systems approach wi ll reduce the risk of establishment of quarantine pests in the United States. Therefor e, APHIS has determined that the proposed action may affect, but is not likel y to adversely affect federally -listed plants in the United States. APHIS requested concurrence with th is determination from FWS and received a concurrence letter dated September 12, 2011.



### B. Other Considerations

Some executive orders, such as Executiv e Order 13045, “Protection of Children From Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks,” and Executive Order 12898, “Federal

Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-income Populations,” as well as depart mental or agency directives call for special environmental

reviews in certain circumstances. No circumst ance that would trigger the need for special environmental reviews is involved in implemen ting the proposed action considered in this document. No disproportionate adverse effect s are anticipated to any minority, low-income population or particular sub- group of the U.S. population.8 

## 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 Anal ysis Services, Unit 149 Riverdale, MD 20737-1238

U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine Plants for Planting Policy Riverdale, MD 20737-1238

U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Policy and Program Development Regulatory Analysis and Development, Unit 118 Riverdale, MD 20737-1238

U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine Regulations, Permits, and Manuals Riverdale, MD 20737-12389 

## VI. Literature Cited

USDA, APHIS

─ See U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. 2010. Importation of Oversized Dracaena Spp. as Ornamental Plants from Costa Rica into the

Continental United States. Risk Assessment.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal a nd Plant Health Inspection Service. 2011a. Importation of oversized Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica into the continental United

States. 7 CFR 319.37 Risk Ma nagement Document.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal a nd Plant Health Inspect ion Service. 2011b. Biological Assessment for the Impo rtation of Oversized (54-inch) Dracaena spp. Plants from Costa Rica into the United States. 108 pp.