II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2575 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct research, monitoring, management, treatment, and outreach activities relating to sudden oak death 

syndrome and to convene regular meetings of, or conduct regular consultations with, Federal, State, tribal, and local government officials 

to provide recommendations on how to carry out those activities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2004 

Mrs. BOXER (for herself and Mr. SMITH) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

and Forestry 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct research, 

monitoring, management, treatment, and outreach activities relating to sudden oak death syndrome and to convene regular meetings of, or conduct regular consultations with, Federal, State, tribal, and local government 

officials to provide recommendations on how to carry 

out those activities. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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•S 2575 IS 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sudden Oak Death 

3 Syndrome Control Act of 2004’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) tan oak, coast live oak, Shreve’s oak, and 

7 black oak trees are among the most beloved features 

8 of the topography of California and the Pacific 

9 Northwest and efforts should be made to protect 

10 those trees from disease; 

11 (2) the die-off of those trees, as a result of the 

12 exotic fungal pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, is 

13 approaching epidemic proportions; 

14 (3) native plants and forests must be protected 

15 from Phytophthora ramorum; 

16 (4) more information is needed on— 

17 (A) Phytophthora ramorum, including the 

18 existence of Phytophthora ramorum throughout 

19 the United States; and 

20 (B) sudden oak death syndrome, includ21 ing— 

22 (i) the causes; 

23 (ii) the methods of transmittal; and 

24 (iii) the best methods of treatment; 

25 (5) the host list for Phytophthora ramorum in26 cludes 60 plant species in 32 genera, including— 
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1 (A) some of the most popular and economi2 cally important landscape and garden plants in 

3 the United States; and 

4 (B) wild huckleberry plants, potentially en5 dangering the commercial blueberry and cran6 berry industries; 

7 (6) sudden oak death syndrome threatens to 

8 create major economic and environmental problems 

9 in California, the Pacific Northwest, and other re10 gions, including— 

11 (A) the increased threat of fire and fallen 

12 trees; 

13 (B) the cost of tree removal and a reduc14 tion in property values; and 

15 (C) loss of revenue due to— 

16 (i) restrictions on the movement of 

17 forest products and nursery stock; and 

18 (ii) the impact on the commercial 

19 nursery and small fruit industries; 

20 (7) in 2002, the Secretary of Agriculture im21 posed a quarantine on the exportation from 10 coun22 ties in northern California and Curry County, Or23 egon, of oak trees and nursery plants that serve as 

24 hosts for Phytophthora ramorum; 
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1 (8) on April 9, 2004, after the discovery of 

2 Phytophthora ramorum in 2 nurseries in southern 

3 California— 

4 (A) restrictions were placed on the inter5 state movement of species that could potentially 

6 serve as hosts to Phytophthora ramorum; and 

7 (B) new restrictions were implemented on 

8 the interstate movement of host plants and po9 tential host plants from all commercial nurs10 eries in the State of California that are outside 

11 the 10 quarantined counties; 

12 (9) on April 22, 2004, the restrictions referred 

13 to in paragraph (8)(B) were expanded to include— 

14 (A) all plants in the same genus as host 

15 and potential host plants; and 

16 (B) plants growing within 10 meters of a 

17 host or potential host plant; and 

18 (10) several States and Canada have placed re19 strictions on the importation of nursery plants from 

20 California. 

21 SEC. 3. RESEARCH, MONITORING, AND REGULATION OF 

22 SUDDEN OAK DEATH SYNDROME. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture (re24 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall carry out 

25 a sudden oak death syndrome research, monitoring, and 
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1 regulation program to develop methods to control, man2 age, or eradicate sudden oak death syndrome from— 

3 (1) trees and shrubs on both public and private 

4 land; and 

5 (2) host plants and potential host plants from 

6 commercial nurseries. 

7 (b) RESEARCH, MONITORING, AND REGULATION AC8 TIVITIES.—In carrying out the program under subsection 

9 (a), the Secretary may— 

10 (1) conduct open space, roadside, and aerial 

11 surveys; 

12 (2) provide monitoring technique workshops 

13 with respect to— 

14 (A) Phytophthora ramorum in wildland 

15 and urban areas; and 

16 (B) Phytophthora ramorum infestations in 

17 nurseries; 

18 (3) conduct a comprehensive and biologically 

19 sound national survey of forests, plant nurseries, 

20 and landscapes that may have been exposed to 

21 Phytophthora ramorum, with priority given to sur22 veying and inspecting plants at commercial nurseries 

23 and adjacent wildlands throughout the United 

24 States; 
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1 (4) develop a comprehensive risk assessment of 

2 the threat posed by Phytophthora ramorum to nat3 ural and managed plant resources in the United 

4 States, including modes of transmission and the risk 

5 of infestation; 

6 (5) conduct a study of a representative sample 

7 of nursery plants imported into the United States 

8 from Europe, where Phytophthora ramorum is 

9 known to be found; 

10 (6) develop baseline information on the dis11 tribution, condition, and mortality rates of oaks with 

12 Phytophthora ramorum infestation; 

13 (7) maintain a geographic information system 

14 database of Phytophthora ramorum occurrences; 

15 (8) conduct research on Phytophthora ramorum 

16 ecology, pathology, and management in wildland, 

17 urban, and nursery settings; 

18 (9) evaluate the susceptibility of oak and other 

19 vulnerable species in the United States, with priority 

20 given to evaluating the susceptibility of commercially 

21 important nursery species; 

22 (10) conduct assessments of trees that could 

23 pose a hazard due to infestation of Phytophthora 

24 ramorum; and 

25 (11) provide diagnostic services. 
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1 SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT, TREATMENT, AND FIRE PREVEN2 TION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct sud4 den oak death syndrome management, treatment, and fire 

5 prevention activities. 

6 (b) MANAGEMENT, TREATMENT, AND FIRE PREVEN7 TION ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out subsection (a), the 

8 Secretary shall— 

9 (1) carry out activities to reduce the threat of 

10 fire and fallen trees killed by sudden oak death syn11 drome; 

12 (2) increase and improve firefighting and emer13 gency response capabilities in areas where fire haz14 ard has increased due to tree die-off; 

15 (3) treat vegetation to prevent fire in areas 

16 heavily infected with sudden oak death syndrome; 

17 and 

18 (4) provide grants to local units of government 

19 for hazard tree removal, disposal and recycling, as20 sessment and management of restoration and miti21 gation projects, green waste treatment facilities, re22 forestation, and resistant tree breeding. 

23 SEC. 5. EDUCATION AND OUTREACH. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct edu25 cation and outreach activities to make information avail26 able to the public on sudden death oak syndrome. 
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1 (b) EDUCATION AND OUTREACH ACTIVITIES.—In 

2 carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary may— 

3 (1) develop and distribute educational materials 

4 for homeowners, arborists, urban foresters, park 

5 managers, public works personnel, recreationists, 

6 nursery workers, landscapers, naturists, firefighting 

7 personnel, and other individuals, as the Secretary 

8 determines appropriate; 

9 (2) design and maintain a website to provide in10 formation on sudden oak death syndrome; and 

11 (3) provide financial and technical support to 

12 States, local governments, and nonprofit organiza13 tions providing information on sudden oak death 

14 syndrome. 

15 SEC. 6. INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMUNICATION. 

16 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that close communication between the affected agen18 cies at all levels of government is required for the pro19 grams authorized under this Act to be effective. 

20 (b) REGULAR MEETINGS OR CONSULTATIONS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with section 

22 204(a) of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

23 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1534(a)), the Secretary shall con24 vene regular meetings of, or conduct regular con25 sultations with, Federal, State, tribal, and local gov-
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1 ernment officials for the purpose of providing a 

2 means of exchanging information and recommenda3 tions on how to carry out this Act effectively. 

4 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Meetings or consulta5 tions conducted under paragraph (1) shall— 

6 (A) be conducted in a manner that ensures 

7 that the various regions of the United States 

8 are represented; and 

9 (B) include— 

10 (i) representatives from the Animal 

11 and Plant Health Inspection Service; 

12 (ii) representatives from the Agri13 culture Research Service; 

14 (iii) representatives from the Coopera15 tive State Research, Education, and Exten16 sion Service; 

17 (iv) representatives from the Forest 

18 Service; 

19 (v) representatives from State forester 

20 offices; and 

21 (vi) State representatives from the 

22 National Plant Board. 

23 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 There are authorized to be appropriated for each of 

25 fiscal years 2005 through 2009— 
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1 (1) to carry out section 3, $25,000,000; 

2 (2) to carry out section 4, $18,500,000; and 

3 (3) to carry out section 5, $700,000. 

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