Voluntary Relinquishment of a Regulated Garbage Compliance 

Agreement 

Any establishment may voluntarily relinquish their Regulated Garbage 

Compliance Agreement(s) (RG CA(s)) for any reason. If an establishment 

wishes to cease regulated garbage handling activities and relinquish their RG 

CA(s), the establishment must advise the United States Department of 

Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS). An 

authorized representative of the establishment must write a letter to the APHIS 

Administrator indicating that the establishment is voluntarily relinquishing 

their RG CA(s). 

The establishment must also contact the local USDA-APHIS-PPQ or CBP 

personnel responsible for maintaining and monitoring the current RG CA(s), 

and notify them of the establishment’s intent to relinquish their RG CA(s). 

PPQ and CBP should notify all impacted agency locations. 

In addition, the establishment must notify all of their customers affected by the 

voluntary relinquishment of the RG CA(s) of the establishment’s change in 

status. 

The establishment should email the relinquishment letter and any attachments 

to ppq.ops.regulated.garbage@aphis.usda.gov. Include “Relinquishment of 

Compliance agreement” in the subject line of the email. 

Alternatively, the establishment can send the relinquishment letter and any 

attachments by mail to: 

Administrator 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

c/o AQI VMO Director 

USDA-APHIS-PPQ Field Operations 

2150 Centre Ave Bldg B 

Fort Collins, CO 80526 

The following information should be included in the letter: 

1. Establishment name. 

2. Establishment address and phone number. 

3. RG CA number, if applicable. 

4. Date on the most recent RG CA being relinquished. 

5. Name and title of signatory (this person must be an authorized 

representative for the establishment wishing to relinquish the RG CA, and 

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Voluntary Relinquishment of a Regulated Garbage Compliance Agreement 

be vested with the authority to make decisions on behalf of the 

establishment). 

6. A statement indicating that the signatory is an authorized representative of 

the establishment, and is vested with the authority to make decisions on 

behalf of the establishment, and that the establishment wishes to relinquish 

their RG CA.The statement should also indicate that the signatory 

understands that upon relinquishment of the RG CA, the establishment is 

no longer authorized to handle regulated garbage, to include collecting, 

transporting, or processing regulated garbage, as defined in Title 7 Code of 

Federal Regulations 330.400 - 330.403 and Title 9 Code of Federal 

Regulations 94.5. 

The statement should indicate that the signatory understands that the Plant 

Protection Act and the Animal Health Protection Act provides authority to 

USDA to assess penalties for violations of regulations (7 USC § 7734 and 

7 USC § 8313). Any person who knowingly violates the Plant Protection 

Act (PPA) (7 USC § 7701 et seq) and/or Animal Health Protection Act 

(AHPA) (7 USC § 8301 et seq), may be criminally prosecuted and found 

guilty of a misdemeanor which can result in penalties, or a one-year prison 

term, or both. Additionally, any person violating the PPA and/or the AHPA 

may be assessed civil penalties of up to $594,129 per violation or twice the 

gross loss or gain, resulting from the violation, whichever is greater. 

The statement must indicate that the signatory understands that in the 

future, if the establishment is interested in handling regulated garbage, the 

establishment must re- apply for USDA-APHIS approval to handle 

regulated garbage and complete USDA APHIS’s 3-Step Approval Process. 

7. Authorized Representative’s signature. 

8. Date of signature. 

A copy of the most recent RG CA must be attached to the relinquishment 

letter. 

If the establishment is sending the relinquishment letter electronically to the 

Administrator, the original signed letter must be provided to the local PPQ or 

CBP office responsible for maintaining and monitoring the RG CA for their 

files. 

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