USDA - APHIS - Plant Health, Plant Protection and Quarantine

Official Control - The Federally Recognized State
Managed Phytosanitary Program

The Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary Program - General Questions and Answers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary Program (FRSMP—pronounced “free-stamp”—Program) establishes an administrative process for granting Federal recognition to certain State-managed official control programs for plant pest eradication or containment. The program can also grant Federal recognition to certain State-managed exclusion programs to protect areas endangered by the introduction of a pest. Programs recognized by the FRSMP Program address quarantine pests of limited distribution within the United States that are not being regulated under a Federal program or are being considered for deregulation, The FRSMP Program may later offer recognition of programs for regulated non-quarantine pests.

Once a State-managed phytosanitary control program receives Federal recognition, USDA and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have the authority to enforce at U.S. ports of entry requirements that are equivalent to the State’s restrictions before quarantine-affected imported goods are transported interstate. Under the FRSMP Program, USDA will regulate commodities infested with a particular pest arriving in or destined for protected States.

Q. What does Official Control mean?
A. The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) defines Official Control as the active enforcement of mandatory phytosanitary regulations and the application of mandatory phytosanitary procedures with the objective of eradication or containment of quarantine pests or for the management of regulated non-quarantine pests.

Q. What is the difference between the old name, USDA’s Official Control Program, and the new name, Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary Program?
A. The program is not changing, only the name. The new name is a more descriptive way of characterizing the program, which provides Federal recognition to certain protected States that would be environmentally or economically endangered by the introduction of a particular pest.

Q. Is the United States mandated to implement Official Control?
A. Yes. Official Control is mandated by the IPPC to justify action on a pest at ports of entry when that pest is already present in the importing country. The United States is a signatory member in this agreement.

Q. Does that mean that USDA will not take action on a pest when the shipment is destined to a State without a Federally-recognized, State-managed phytosanitary program for it?
A. Pests that qualify for consideration under the FRSMP program are of limited distribution in the United States. If USDA and the States determine that the pest is easily managed by best practices and elect not to initiate a phytosanitary program or to seek Federal recognition under the FRSMP Program, no action will be taken if the pest is detected in interstate or foreign commerce.

If a phytosanitary program is in place for a pest in some States but not in others, the understanding is that the pest does not have a significant economic or environmental impact in States without a program, and the pest may move there in domestic and foreign trade without adverse affects. Action will still be taken when the shipment is destined for a State with a State-managed phytosanitary program under USDA’s FRSMP Program.

Q. What is the timeline for establishing the FRSMP Program?
A. USDA plans to launch the program by the end of 2012.