In accordance with §205.665(g)(1) of the USDA organic regulations, “A certifying agent
whose accreditation is suspended by the Secretary under this section may at any time, unless
otherwise stated in the notification of suspension, submit a request to the Secretary for
reinstatement of its accreditation. The request must be accompanied by evidence demonstrating
correction of each noncompliance and corrective actions taken to comply with and remain in

compliance with the Act and the regulations in this part.”

; tt
Done at Washington, D.C., on this
day of Adober— , 2016.

Elanor Starmer

Administrator


Manager via email on the first day of each month when it has completed its

monthly submission of new clients or existing clients it certifiers to the

INTEGRITY database; OR Bolicert will notify its Accreditation Manager that it

does not have any changes this month.”

As of September 2, 2016, Bolicert has met neither of these terms. In the 90 days since
Bolicert signed the settlement agreement, Bolicert did not submit any corrective actions to NOP.
Further, Bolicert has made no changes to the Organic Integrity Database, and has not informed
its Accreditation Manager that it had or had no changes to its list of certified operations at the
start of June, July, August, or September 2016 (4 months since signing the settlement).

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, Bolicert has failed to comply with terms in the settlement agreement it
signed on June 24, 2016. As such, AMS is issuing this Administrator’s Decision denying
Bolicert’s appeals of the June 16, 2015 and February 8, 2016 Notices of Proposed Suspension.
This step is allowed for by the settlement agreement signed by Bolicert, which states: “If Bolicert
breaks the settlement terms, Bolicert agrees that the USDA, AMS may thereafter pursue an
administrative hearing process.” In breaking its settlement agreement with AMS, Bolicert has
demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to comply with the requirements associated with
serving as a USDA-accredited certifying agent.

DECISION

Bolicert’s organic accreditation is to be suspended in full for one (1) year. Attached to
this formal Administrator’s Decision is a Request for Hearing form. Bolicert has 30 days to
request an administrative hearing before an Administrative Law Judge. If Bolicert does not

request a hearing in that period, this Decision will be implemented and the NOP will suspend

Bolicert’s organic accreditation.


UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE
BEFORE THE ADMINISTRATOR.

In re:
Boliviana de Certificacion (Bolicert) ) Administrator’s Decision
La Paz, Bolivia ) APL-026b-15

This Decision is in response to two appeals APL-026-15 and APL-010-16, filed by
Boliviana de Certificacion (Bolicert), a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-accredited
certifying agent. Bolicert appealed Notices of Proposed Suspension of Accreditation from the
USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), National Organic Program (NOP), which
concluded that Bolicert was not in compliance with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990
(Act)! and the USDA organic regulations.”

BACKGROUND

The Act authorizes the Secretary to accredit agents to certify crop, livestock, wild crop,
and/or handling operations pursuant to the USDA organic regulations (7 C.F.R. Part
205). Accreditation of certifying agents is done by the NOP, which also initiates compliance
actions to enforce program requirements. Noncompliance procedures for certifying agents are set
forth in §205.665 of the USDA organic regulations. Persons subject to the Act who believe that
they are adversely affected by a noncompliance decision of the NOP may appeal such decision to

the AMS Administrator, pursuant to §205.680 and §205.681 of the USDA organic regulations.

17 U.S.C. 6501-6522
27 C.F.R. Part 205


FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Bolicert is currently a USDA-accredited certifying agent, based in La Paz, Bolivia.
Bolicert was accredited as a USDA organic certifier on March 13, 2003.

2. On June 16, 2015, the NOP issued Bolicert a Notice of Proposed Suspension due to
outstanding noncompliances identified at and following its accreditation renewal
inspection. Bolicert appealed the Notice, and AMS accepted the appeal.

3. On February 8, 2016, the NOP issued Bolicert a Notice of Proposed Suspension due to a
noncompliance related to annual reporting of certified operations. Bolicert appealed the
Notice, and AMS accepted the appeal.

4. On May 24, 2016, Bolicert entered into a settlement agreement with AMS to resolve both
Notices and appeals. The settlement included a number of terms that Bolicert agreed to
meet; AMS, in turn, agreed not to pursue an administrative process to uphold the
Proposed Suspensions. NOP counter-signed the settlement on May 26, 2016.

DISCUSSION

At Bolicert’s 2011 mid-term accreditation assessment, required under the USDA organic
regulations, the NOP found that Bolicert was not compliant with a number of accreditation
requirements. Bolicert was unable to submit acceptable corrective and preventive actions, and on
January 4, 2013, the NOP issued a Notice of Proposed Suspension of Accreditation. The Notice
was accompanied by a proposed settlement agreement to resolve the Notice, which was executed
on January 11, 2013.

Bolicert complied with the terms of the January 11, 2013 settlement agreement,
submitting acceptable corrective actions to outstanding noncompliances within 45 days.

However, at the 2014 accreditation renewal assessment, NOP noted that two settlement terms


were outstanding, and there were eight (8) new non-compliances. NOP also later identified an
additional non-compliance related to an incomplete 2015 annual report submission. Given these
outstanding items, the NOP issued a June 16, 2015 Notice of Proposed Suspension of
Accreditation. Bolicert appealed this Notice, and AMS accepted the appeal.

NOP issued a second Notice of Proposed Suspension to Bolicert on February 8, 2016.
This Notice was issued because Bolicert failed to successfully respond to a January 12, 2016
Notice of Noncompliance, which cited a violation to the USDA organic regulation requirement
that each certifying agent submit a complete list of certified operations to the NOP by January 2.
Bolicert appealed this Notice, and AMS accepted the appeal.

On May 24, 2016, Bolicert entered into a settlement agreement with AMS to resolve both
the June 16, 2015 and February 8, 2016 Notices of Proposed Suspension. In this settlement,
AMS agreed not to issue a formal Administrator’s Decision charging Bolicert with alleged
violations of the OFPA and the USDA organic regulations, if Bolicert agreed to a number of
terms. Two of the terms, which Bolicert agreed to in signing the agreement, are as follows.

First, Bolicert agreed to submit corrective and preventive actions for the three
outstanding noncompliances that NOP considered still outstanding from the 2014 Renewal
Assessment. Bolicert agreed to provide these to NOP within 45 days of signing the agreement.

Second, Bolicert agreed to submit its annual list of certified operations through the
Organic INTEGRITY Database, in accordance with NOP 2026 Instruction “Submitting Annual
Lists of Certified Operations,” no later than January 2 of each year. As subparts to this term,
Bolicert further agreed that,

“until all other terms of this settlement are successfully cleared, Bolicert further

agrees to add any new clients or changes to existing clients it certifies to the

INTEGRITY Database on a monthly basis, beginning the first day of the month
following settlement execution. Bolicert agrees that it will notify its Accreditation