The Plant Protection Act
Plant Protection and Quanrantine
June 2002
After 17 years in the making, the Plant Protection Act (PPA) became
law in June 2000 as part of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act.
The PPA consolidates all or part of 10 existing USDA plant health
laws into one comprehensive law, including the authority to regulate
plants, plant products, certain biological control organisms, noxious
weeds, and plant pests. The Plant Quarantine Act, the Federal
Pest Act, and the Federal Noxious Weed Act are among the 10 statutes
the new Act replaces. The PPA is necessary because of the major
impact plant pests currently have and could have on the agriculture,
environment, economy, and commerce of the United States.
The PPA gives the Secretary of Agriculture, and through delegated
authority, USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS),
the ability to prohibit or restrict the importation, exportation,
and the interstate movement of plants, plant products, certain biological
control organisms, noxious weeds, and plant pests. Under the
PPA, violators face harsher civil penalties than ever before for smuggling
illegal plants or produce that could harbor plant pests or diseases.
The PPA gives the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to subpoena
documentary evidence and witnesses to prosecute violators. The
Act also provides APHIS with a cost recovery mechanism for expenses
related to the disposal of abandoned shipments at U.S. ports of entry.
This factsheet highlights some of the most important changes the
PPA will have on the way APHIS conducts business.
Action Areas
The PPA grants significant new regulatory authority for noxious weeds
and clarifies APHISí existing regulatory authority for beneficial
organisms used in biological control.
Currently, APHISí Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program
is developing plans and procedures to incorporate new PPA authorities.
PPQ has identified eight PPA action areas and established implementation
timeframes to ensure that new authorities are fully incorporated into
program activities.
These action items are:
1. Publishing a public notice describing procedures and standards
for import requests;
2. Conducting a study outlining the role and application of
systems approaches associated with proposals to import plants and
plant products;
3. Establishing uniform procedures for conducting warrantless
inspections;
4. Developing guidelines for the issuance of subpoenas;
5. Creating guidelines for the standardization of civil penalties
that will be applied consistently nationwide for specific violations;
6. Establishing internal procedures for cost recovery of expenses
related to the disposal of smuggled or illegal agricultural products
that are abandoned after APHIS takes regulatory action at U.S. ports
of entry;
7. Soliciting public comment at regional public meetings on
a concept paper prior to publication of a proposed rule for noxious
weeds; and
8. Publishing regulations for the movement of biological control
organisms.
Any new regulations or guidelines issued under the PPA can be found
in the Federal Register and the APHIS website, which can be viewed
at www.aphis.usda.gov.
Civil Penalties and Subpoena Power
One of the PPAís most significant changes is the harsher civil
penalties it allows the USDA to impose. The PPA increases civil
penalties to a maximum of $50,000 for any individual who violates
the law. However, the maximum of $1,000 remains for first-time offenders
carrying an agricultural product through U.S. ports of entry for personal
use only. Any business or group violating the PPA can now be
fined a maximum of $250,000 and no more than $500,000 per adjudication.
Smugglers also face criminal penalties when the violation is intentional.
These increased penalties allow APHIS to get tougher on those who
threaten American agriculture.
Under the PPA, anyone causing harm to or interfering with an animal
used in official inspections, such as one of the animals in USDA's
Beagle Brigade, can be fined up to $10,000. The Beagle Brigade
is made up of detector dogs that work at international airports and
borders to sniff passenger luggage and packages for hidden fruits,
vegetables, meats, and other agricultural products that may contain
invasive animal or plant pests or diseases.
PPQ is currently developing uniform standards for the enforcement
of these new civil penalties.
The PPA also gives the Secretary of Agriculture the power to issue
subpoenas for documents and witnesses to aid in the prosecution of
violators. When an APHIS inspection leads to suspicion that
prohibited materials are being housed in a facility, a thorough investigation
will begin. APHIS will request a subpoena to be issued based
on an active investigation, evidence that previous attempts to gain
access to documents has been refused, and that the request for documents
that pertain to the investigation is reasonable. The subpoena
will set a date and time for APHIS to obtain the documents.
A notice regarding APHIS' subpoena authority and procedures will
be published in the Federal Register in the near future.
Warrantless Inspections
Currently, APHIS conducts inspections without warrants every day
on passenger baggage and cargo at all of this countryís international
airports and most border crossings. Inspectors look for prohibited
agricultural products that could harm American agriculture by bringing
in plant pests and diseases. Under the PPA, APHIS also has the
authority to conduct inspections without warrants on interstate commerce,
based on probable cause, as well as intrastate commerce as part of
an extraordinary emergency.
A working group comprised of PPQ staff and APHISí Investigative
and Enforcement Services staff, with guidance from USDAís Office
of General Counsel, is developing written guidelines for warrantless
inspections. These guidelines will follow the U.S. Attorney
Generalís guidelines for warrantless inspections and will include
search criteria and procedures that ensure that warrantless inspections
do not violate the legal or constitutional rights of citizens.
Cost Recovery Measures
Previously, when APHIS required regulatory action for infested or
prohibited agricultural products and the importer abandoned the shipment,
APHIS covered the cost of disposing of the cargo. With the PPA,
if the importer fails to take the required remedial measures, APHIS
will take the necessary action and bill the importer for all associated
costs.
Quality Assurance Programs
The PPA allows APHIS-PPQ to work with industry and other cooperators
to establish programs to improve the health and pest and disease?free
status of specific commodities. One outcome of this cooperation
is that APHIS can publish industry-developed standards under its regulatory
authority.
If industry members wish to voluntarily comply with these best practices
or higher standards, APHIS can authorize them to put a predetermined
quality sticker or seal on their product.
Noxious Weeds
The PPA expands the definition of noxious weed from the definition
in the Federal Noxious Weed Act, which included only weeds that were
of foreign origin, new to, or not widely prevalent in the United States.
The PPA now defines a noxious weed as a weed that could bring harm
to agriculture, the public health, navigation, irrigation, natural
resources, or the environment. Under the PPA, noxious weeds
are regulated similarly to plant pests.
The PPA allows the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a classification
system to describe the status and action levels for noxious weeds.
In conjunction with the classification system, the Secretary may develop
integrated management plans for noxious weeds for the specific geographic
region or ecological range where the noxious weed is found in the
United States.
The PPA gives authority to the Secretary of Agriculture and APHIS
to declare an extraordinary emergency when a newly introduced or not
widely prevalent noxious weed poses a significant threat and to declare
an emergency that would enable the transfer of money from other agencies
or corporations of the Department, including the Commodity Credit
Corporation, to cover the cost of eradicating the weed. An extraordinary
emergency declaration gives APHIS the authority to hold, seize, quarantine,
treat, or destroy any plant or plant product being moved within a
State that is believed to be infested with a plant pest or noxious
weed. This authority is used when a State is unable to take
the necessary measures itself.
A list of noxious weeds that are prohibited from entering the United
States or moving from State to State, except under a permit with restricted
conditions, is currently available on the APHIS website. Any
person may petition the Secretary of Agriculture to add or remove
a plant species from this list.
Biological Control
The PPA separates biological control organisms, which were formerly
grouped with plant pests, and defines them as any enemy, antagonist,
or competitor used to control plant pests or noxious weeds.
This recognizes that not all organisms in need of permits are plant
pests and that some are actually beneficial to U.S. agriculture and
the environment.
APHIS has proposed new regulations for the movement of plant pests
and release of biological control agents of weeds, which should be
published in the Federal Register in the near future.
The PPA reaffirms APHIS authority to regulate biologicalcontrol to
prevent the introduction or dissemination of plant pests or noxious
weeds and encourages the USDA, other Federal agencies, and the States
to facilitate biological control whenever feasible. The Act
also provides APHIS with guidance on how to regulate the movement
of biological control organisms and authorizes APHIS' participation
in activities that enable the effective transfer of biological control
techniques.
Additional Information
The PPA broadens the scope of APHIS' authority and clarifies existing
authorities to enable APHIS to continue its mission of protecting
Americaís plants and animals. For more information on
the PPA, or to read the Act in its entirety, please visit the APHIS
website at www.aphis.usda.gov or call APHIS' PPQ program at (301)
734-8295.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination
in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national
origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual
orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases
apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative
means for communication of program information (Braille, large print,
audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600
(voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office
of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202)720-5964 (voice
and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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