Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2005/07/07/05-13313/cut-flowers-from-countries-with-chrysanthemum-white-rust
Timestamp: 2017-08-23 15:54:33
Document Index: 611311711

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 319', '§\u2009319', '§\u2009319', '§\u2009319', '§\u2009319', '§\u2009319']

A Proposed Rule by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on 07/07/2005
We will consider all comments that we receive on or before September 6, 2005.
70 FR 39194
39194-39199 (6 pages)
Docket No. 03-016-1
05-13313
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/05-13313 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/05-13313
Start Preamble Start Printed Page 39194
We are proposing to amend the cut flowers regulations to establish specific requirements for the importation of cut flowers that are hosts of chrysanthemum white rust (CWR) from countries where the disease is known to occur. We are also proposing to amend the nursery stock regulations to update lists of countries where CWR is known to occur. We are proposing these changes in order to make our cut flowers and nursery stock regulations consistent. This action is necessary because of numerous recent findings of CWR on cut flowers from Europe that pose a risk of introducing CWR in the United States.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. 03-016-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. 03-016-1.
Ms. Sharon Porsche, Import Specialist, Commodity Import Analysis and Operation, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-5281.
The regulations in 7 CFR part 319 prohibit or restrict the importation of plants, plant parts, and related materials to prevent the introduction of plant pests and noxious weeds into the United States. The regulations in “Subpart-Nursery Stock, Plants, Roots, Bulbs, Seeds, and Other Plant Products,” §§ 319.37 through 319.37-14 (referred to below as the nursery stock regulations) restrict, among other things, the importation of living plants, plant parts, and seeds for propagation. Conditions governing the importation of cut flowers into the United States are contained in “Subpart—Cut Flowers” (§§ 319.74-1 through 319.74-4, referred to below as the cut flowers regulations).
Puccinia horiana Henn., a filamentous fungus and obligate parasite, is the causal agent of chrysanthemum white rust (CWR). CWR is a serious disease in nurseries, where it may cause complete loss of glasshouse chrysanthemum crops. The disease is indigenous to Japan, where it was noted in 1895, and it remained confined to China and Japan until 1963. However, since 1964, P. horiana has spread rapidly on infected imported cuttings and is now established in Europe, Africa, Australia, Central America, South America, and the Far East.
CWR is not established in the United States and is a regulated pest for the United States. This disease has the potential to be extremely damaging to the commercial horticulture and florist industries if it becomes established in greenhouses within the United States. Section 319.37-2 of the nursery stock regulations prohibits the importation of CWR-susceptible plant species from countries where the disease is established.
CWR was detected and eradicated in California in 1991; since then, there have been repeated incidents of CWR in several coastal California counties. There were also CWR outbreaks in commercial nurseries in New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington between 1995 and 1997 and in dooryard or hobbyist plantings in New York and New Jersey in 1997. Whenever CWR has been detected in the United States, it has been eradicated through immediate and cooperative action by Federal and State officials.
Plants for planting as well as cut flowers that are hosts can be a pathway for the introduction of CWR. Detections of CWR on cut flowers from Mexico and Venezuela, countries where the disease occurs, prompted APHIS to place administrative restrictions on cut flowers of CWR hosts from those countries because, in many cases, those cut flowers had been determined to be the pathway for the incursion of CWR into the United States. These restrictions are: (1) Cut flowers that are hosts of CWR are prohibited entry from Venezuela, (2) cut flowers that are hosts of CWR from Mexico are allowed entry into the United States if they are accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by Mexico's national plant protection organization with an additional declaration that the shipment originated from an approved grower. The boxes and/or paperwork accompanying a shipment from Mexico must also be marked or stamped with the name of the approved grower.
Numerous findings of CWR on cut flowers from the Netherlands in 2003 prompted us to place administrative restrictions on certain cut flowers from the Netherlands also. These restrictions require cut flowers that are hosts of Start Printed Page 39195CWR from the Netherlands be allowed entry into the United States if they are accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the Netherlands. This certificate must contain an additional declaration stating that the place of production as well as the consignment have been inspected and found free of Puccinia horiana.
Because of these findings from the Netherlands and the risk of introducing CWR posed from other countries where the disease is known to occur, we are proposing to establish new entry requirements for cut chrysanthemums from all regions where CWR is known to occur.
Studies have shown that the following flowers are hosts of CWR (the studies cited are footnoted at the end of the table):
Chrysanthemum arcticum L.1 Arctanthemum arcticum (L.) Tzvelev and Dendranthema arcticum (L.) Tzvelev Arctic chrysanthemum and arctic daisy.
Chrysanthemum boreale (Makino) Makino1,2 Chrysanthemum indicum L. var. boreale Makino and Dendranthema boreale (Makino) Ling ex Kitam
Chrysanthemum indicum L.1,2,3 Dendranthema indicum (L.) Des Moul
Chrysanthemum japonense Nakai1,2 Dendranthema japonense (Nakai) Kitam. and Dendranthema occidentali-japonense Kitam Nojigiku.
Chrysanthemum japonicum Makino1,2 Chrysanthemum makinoi Matsum. & Nakai and Dendranthema japonicum (Makino) Kitam Ryuno-giku.
Chrysanthemum ×morifolium Ramat.2,4 Anthemis grandiflorum Ramat., Anthemis stipulacea Moench, Chrysanthemum sinense Sabine ex Sweet, Chrysanthemum stipulaceum (Moench) W. Wight, Dendranthema ×grandiflorum (Ramat.) Kitam., Dendranthema ×morifolium (Ramat.) Tzvelev, and Matricaria morifolia Ramat Florist's chrysanthemum, chrysanthemum, and mum.
Chrysanthemum pacificum Nakai1 Ajania pacifica (Nakai) K. Bremer & Humphries and Dendranthema pacificum (Nakai) Kitam Iso-giku.
Chrysanthemum shiwogiku Kitam1 Ajania shiwogiku (Kitam.) K. Bremer & Humphries and Dendranthema shiwogiku (Kitam.) Kitam Shio-giku.
Chrysanthemum yoshinaganthum Makino ex Kitam2 Dendranthema yoshinaganthum (Makino ex Kitam.) Kitam
Chrysanthemum zawadskii and Herbich subsp. yezoense (Maek.) Y. N. Lee1 Chrysanthemum arcticum subsp. maekawanum Kitam, Chrysanthemum arcticum var. yezoense Maek. [basionym], Chrysanthemum yezoense Maek. [basionym], Dendranthema yezoense (F. Maek.) D. J. N. Hind, and Leucanthemum yezoense (Maek.) Á Löve & D. Löve
Chrysanthemum zawadskii and Herbich subsp. zawadskii 1 Chrysanthemum sibiricum Turca. ex DC., nom. inval., Dendranthema zawadskii (Herbich) Tzvelev, and Dendranthema zawadskii var. zawadskii
Leucanthemella serotina (L.) Tzvelev 3 Chrysanthemum serotinum L., Chrysanthemum uliginosum (Waldst. & Kit. ex Willd.) Pers., and Pyrethrum uliginosum (Waldst. & Kit. ex Willd.) Giant daisy or high daisy.
Nipponanthemum nipponicum (Franch. ex Maxim) Kitam 2 Chrysanthemum nipponicum (Franch. ex Maxim.) Matsum. and Leucanthemum nipponicum Franch. ex Maxim Nippon daisy or Nippon-chrysanthemum.
1 Water, J.K. “Chrysanthemum White Rust,” EPPO Bulletin, No. 11, pp. 239-242 (1981).
2 Hiratsuka, N. “Three species of Chrysanthemum rust in Japan and its neighboring districts,” Sydowia, Series 2, Supplement 1, pp. 34-44 (1957).
3 Dickens, J.K. kl., “The resistance of various cultivars and species of chrysanthemum to white rust (Puccinia horiana Henn.),” Plant Pathol, No. 17, pp. 19-22 (1968).
4 Yamada, S., “Experiments on the epidemiology and control of chrysanthemum white rust caused by Puccinia horiana,” Annals of the Phytopathological Society of Japan, No. 20, pp. 148-154 (1956).
We are proposing to amend the cut flowers regulations to establish specific production and certification requirements that cut flowers of these types would have to meet in order to be eligible for importation from a region where CWR is known to occur. According to the information available to us,[1,2] CWR is known to occur in the following regions: The countries of Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Hungary, Iceland, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Republic of South Africa, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia; the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom); and all countries, territories, and possessions of countries located in part or entirely between 90° and 180° East longitude.
We propose to require that all production sites in the regions where CWR is known to occur be registered with the national plant protection organization of the country in which the production site is located, and that the national plant protection organization present APHIS with a list of registered production sites. Production sites would be subject to inspections to verify the absence of Puccinia horiana, therefore we would require that APHIS-authorized inspectors and NPPO inspectors be granted access to all production sites and other areas necessary to monitor them.
We would also require that cut flowers that are hosts to CWR and Start Printed Page 39196imported from any of the countries where the disease is known to occur be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organization of the country of origin. The certificate would have to contain an additional declaration stating that the place of production as well as the consignment have been inspected and found free of Puccinia horiana. In addition, we would require that box labels and documents accompanying each shipment identify the registered production site. Cut flowers not meeting these requirements would be refused entry into the United States.
In addition, if any shipment of cut flowers is found to be infested with CWR upon arrival to the United States, we would prohibit imports from the originating production site until such time as APHIS and the national plant protection organization of the exporting country can agree that the eradication measures taken have been effective and the pest risk within the production site has been eliminated.
We believe that these proposed measures are necessary because of numerous recent findings of CWR on cut flowers from Europe. Currently, the administrative procedures for importing cut flowers vary, depending on the originating country. These proposed measures are being applied administratively to cut flowers imported from Mexico and the Netherlands and have proved effective in preventing the introduction of CWR by cut flowers imported from these countries. Therefore, we are proposing to add these mitigation measures to the regulations for all regions where CWR is known to exist.
This action would dispel the possible appearance of disparity in mitigation measures for different countries by consolidating all requirements for cut flowers imported from countries where CWR is known to occur. This action would also remove the current administrative prohibition on the importation of cut flowers that are hosts to CWR from Venezuela, provided they meet the import requirements discussed in the previous paragraphs.
In addition to the changes discussed above, we would amend the entries for Chrysanthemum spp. and Dendranthema spp. in the table in § 319.37-2(a) of the nursery stock regulations to update the list of CWR-affected countries found in each of those entries so that they match the list of regions we would establish in the cut flowers regulations. This change would ensure consistency in our regulations.
We are proposing to amend the cut flowers regulations to establish specific requirements for the importation of cut flowers that are hosts of CWR from countries where the disease is known to occur. We are also proposing to amend the nursery stock regulations to update lists of countries where CWR is known to occur. This action is necessary because of numerous recent findings of CWR on cut flowers from Europe that pose a risk of introducing CWR in the United States.
In 2002, U.S. floriculture and nursery crop sales were close to $14 billion based on growers' receipts. Chrysanthemums were among the most profitable flowers for their growers. Total U.S. sales of chrysanthemums were estimated at $182.4 million in 2002. Of this amount, $78.1 million were attributed to florists' cut chrysanthemums and the remaining $104.3 million to potted (i.e., hardy) chrysanthemums. Chrysanthemums were not only one of the top four garden plants in terms of sales in 2002, they were also the garden plants with the second fastest price gains since 1995.[3]
In 2002, 11 percent ($63 million) of the money spent on imported cut flowers was for chrysanthemums. About 76 percent of the cut flowers imported into the United States originate in countries where, based on interceptions by U.S. inspectors, CWR exists.
In 1995, chrysanthemum growers in San Diego County, CA, spent, on average, $5,000 per business establishment to fight a CWR infestation. The infestation was eradicated quickly and followed by an 8-week host-free period. However, the cost reached $100,000 for one greenhouse that experienced repeated infestations and remained quarantined for 10 months. Between 1992 and 1997, direct and indirect losses from CWR infestations to chrysanthemum growers in Santa Barbara County, CA, were approximately $2 million. The county reported an annual value of Start Printed Page 39197chrysanthemum production of more than $10 million in 1997.[7]
The economic effects that could result from the proposed changes in the regulations are expected to be small for U.S. importers of cut chrysanthemums. The cost of the phytosanitary certification would be borne by the exporters, who may pass those costs on to U.S. importers. The expected benefit from the proposed change in import requirements for cut flowers from all CWR-affected countries is the protection of U.S. floriculture and nursery crop industries and the people they employ. In 2002, these two industries contributed $14 billion in sales revenue to the U.S. economy.
This proposed rule would continue to allow imports of cut chrysanthemums from CWR-affected countries, as long as the exporters from these countries comply with the proposed import requirements. We do not know the cost of certification in these countries compared to the average value of imported consignments of chrysanthemums, but it is expected to be minor. We do not expect that small entities in the U.S. floriculture industry will be significantly affected. However, the proposed requirements would help safeguard the U.S. floriculture and nursery industries from additional introductions of CWR.
In accordance with section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the information collection or recordkeeping requirements included in this proposed rule have been submitted for approval to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Please send written comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for APHIS, Washington, DC 20503. Please state that your comments refer to Docket No. 03-016-1. Please send a copy of your comments to: (1) Docket No. 03-016-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238, and (2) Clearance Officer, OCIO, USDA, room 404-W, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250. A comment to OMB is best assured of having its full effect if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication of this proposed rule.
We are proposing to amend the cut flowers regulations to establish specific requirements for the importation of cut flowers that are hosts of CWR from countries where the disease is known to occur. We are also proposing to amend the nursery stock regulations to update lists of countries where CWR is known to occur. We are proposing these changes in order to make our regulations consistent. This action is necessary because of numerous recent findings of CWR on cut flowers from Europe that pose a risk of introducing CWR in the United States.
We are proposing to require that each shipment of cut flowers must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organization of the country of origin that contains an additional declaration stating that the place of production as well as the consignment have been inspected and found free of Puccinia horiana.
Estimate of burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.2294914 hours per response.
Respondents: Foreign national plant protection organizations.
Estimated annual number of respondents: 43,722.
Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 8.1428571.
Estimated annual number of responses: 356,022.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 81,704 hours. (Due to averaging, the total annual burden hours may not equal the product of the annual number of responses multiplied by the reporting burden per response.)
End List of Subjects Start Printed Page 39198
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450 and 7701-7772; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3
2. In the table in § 319.37-2(a), the entries for “Chrysanthemum spp. (chrysanthemum)” and “Dendranthema spp. (chrysanthemum)” would be revised to read as follows:
Chrysanthemum spp. (chrysanthemum) Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Hungary, Iceland, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Republic of South Africa, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia; the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom); and all countries, territories, and possessions of countries located in part or entirely between 90° and 180° East longitude Puccinia horiana P. Henn. (white rust of chrysanthemum).
Dendranthema spp. (chrysanthemum) Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Hungary, Iceland, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Republic of South Africa, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia; the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom); and all countries, territories, and possessions of countries located in part or entirely between 90° and 180° East longitude Puccinia horiana P. Henn. (white rust of chrysanthemum).
3. In § 319.74-2, paragraph (d) would be redesignated as paragraph (e) and a new paragraph (d) would be added to read as follows:
Chrysanthemum japonense Nakai Dendranthema japonense (Nakai) Kitam and Dendranthema occidentali-japonense Kitam Nojigiku.
Chrysanthemum × morifolium Ramat Anthemis grandiflorum Ramat., Anthemis stipulacea Moench, Chrysanthemum sinense Sabine ex Sweet, Chrysanthemum stipulaceum (Moench) W. Wight, Dendranthema × grandiflorum (Ramat.) Kitam., Dendranthema × morifolium (Ramat.) Tzvelev, and Matricaria morifolia Ramat Florist's chrysanthemum, chrysanthemum, and mum.
Chrysanthemum zawadskii and Herbich subsp. yezoense (Maek.) Y. N. Lee Chrysanthemum arcticum subsp. maekawanum Kitam, Chrysanthemum arcticum var. yezoense Maek. [basionym], Chrysanthemum yezoense Maek. [basionym], Dendranthema yezoense (F. Maek.) D. J. N. Hind, and Leucanthemum yezoense (Maek.) Á. Löve & D. Löve
Chrysanthemum zawadskii and Herbich subsp. zawadskii Chrysanthemum sibiricum Turcz. ex DC., nom. inval., Dendranthema zawadskii (Herbich) Tzvelev, and Dendranthema zawadskii var. zawadskii
(2) Chrysanthemum white rust is considered to exist in the following regions: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, Iceland, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Republic of South Africa, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia; the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom); and all countries, territories, and possessions of countries located in part or entirely between 90° and 180° East longitude.
(i) The flowers must be grown in a production site that is registered with the national plant protection organization of the country in which the production site is located and the national plant protection organization must provide a list of registered sites to APHIS.
(ii) Each shipment of cut flowers must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organization of the country of origin that contains an additional declaration stating that the place of production as well as the consignment have been inspected and found free of Puccinia horiana.
(4) Cut flowers not meeting these conditions will be refused entry into the United States. The detection of chrysanthemum white rust in a shipment of cut flowers from a registered production site upon arrival in the United States will result in the prohibition of imports originating from the production site until such time when APHIS and the national plant protection organization of the exporting country can agree that the eradication measures taken have been effective and that the pest risk within the production site has been eliminated.
Done in Washington, DC, this 30th day of June 2005.
1. CAB International Crop Protection Compendium, 2003 Edition.
2. Pests not known to occur in the United States or of limited distribution, No. 57: Chrysanthemum white rust, prepared by K. Whittle, Biological Assessment Support Staff, PPQ, APHIS.
3. Floriculture and Nursery Crops Outlook/ Electronic Outlook Report from the Economic Research Service/ FLO-1/ September 12, 2002/Alberto Jerardo.
4. Rizvi, Anwar S., Roeland Elliston, and Philip Bell, “Chrysanthemum White Rust: A National Management Plan for Exclusion and Eradication”, June 2002.
[FR Doc. 05-13313 Filed 7-6-05; 8:45 am]