[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 178 (Thursday, September 15, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-22851]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: September 15, 1994]
VOL. 59, NO. 178
Thursday, September 15, 1994
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 201
[Docket No. 93-126-1]
Imported Seed
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: We are planning to revise the ``Imported Seed'' regulations
issued under the Federal Seed Act (FSA) so that they reflect both the
1982 transfer of authority for portions of the FSA from the
Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, to the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and recent
amendments to the FSA.
We are also considering revising the regulations to respond to
developments in the seed industry; among other changes, we are
considering revising the list of noxious weeds under the FSA,
establishing a reciprocal seed import certification program with
Canada, and allowing APHIS to enter into compliance agreements with
U.S. companies who wish to import Canadian seed for cleaning.
This notice solicits public comment on these issues.
DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or
before October 31, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to
Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, USDA, room 804,
Federal Building, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782. Please
state that your comments refer to Docket No. 93-126-1. Comments
received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th
Street and Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to
inspect comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to
facilitate entry into the comment reading room.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Polly Lehtonen, Botanist,
Biological Assessment And Taxonomic Support, Plant Protection and
Quarantine, APHIS, USDA, 6505 Belcrest Road, room 624, Federal
Building, Hyattsville, MD 20782, (301) 436-8896.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In 1939, Congress enacted the Federal Seed Act (FSA), directing the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to regulate interstate commerce
in seeds and the USDA and the Department of Treasury to regulate
foreign commerce in seeds. Title III of the FSA, ``Foreign Commerce,''
requires shipments of imported agricultural and vegetable seeds to be
labeled correctly and to be tested for the presence of certain noxious
weeds as a condition of entry into the United States. On October 1,
1982, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the USDA transferred
authority for issuing and enforcing regulations under Title III (7 CFR
201.101 through 201.230; referred to below as the regulations) to the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
We are planning to revise the regulations to reflect this transfer
of authority, as well as recent amendments to the FSA. We are also
considering revising the regulations in response to developments in the
seed industry.
Recent Amendments to the FSA
We are planning to remove the pure live seed requirements (7 CFR
201.102) from the regulations, since a January 8, 1983, amendment to
the FSA repealed the pure live seed requirements for imported seed.
Exemptions from Seed Import Requirements
Section 201.101 of the regulations exempts from the import
requirements 48 types of seed if imported for purposes other than
seeding. We are considering exempting all vegetable and agricultural
seeds from import requirements if imported for purposes other than
seeding.
Noxious Weed Seeds
We are considering expanding the list of noxious weeds under
Sec. 201.108 of the regulations to include seeds of all the plants
considered to be noxious weeds under the Federal Noxious Weed Act
regulations in 7 CFR 360.
Seed Import Certification Program With Canada
Imported vegetable and agricultural seeds are examined at the port
of entry wherever Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) inspectors are
present. At the Canadian border, however, U.S. Customs Service officers
sample shipments of imported seed and mail the samples to the USDA Seed
Examination Facility (SEF) in Beltsville, MD, where they are tested.
Testing of samples at SEF determines whether a seed shipment meets FSA
labeling requirements and whether it contains noxious weeds at or below
acceptable levels. Only after SEF examination can an imported seed
shipment from Canada be approved for entry.
During the last 5 years, seed imports from Canada have increased by
about 47 percent, with no corresponding increase in SEF staffing or
funding; delays in testing samples and releasing seed shipments have
resulted. Meanwhile, the annual percentage of Canadian seed shipments
refused admission by SEF because of noxious weed content has remained
at around 3 percent. Moreover, the same 6 U.S. companies have imported
90 percent of the seed rejected for noxious weed content.
Therefore, we are considering initiating a seed import
certification program with Canada. Under this program, APHIS would
allow Canadian-grown seed shipments to enter the United States without
SEF testing for noxious weed content, if accompanied by certification
from a registered seed technologist or a senior member of the
Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada. The certification would
indicate that the seed shipment meets FSA labeling and noxious weed
requirements and also is free of seeds from any of the noxious weeds
listed under the Federal Noxious Weed Act regulations (7 CFR 360). This
program would be reciprocal, as Canada already allows U.S.-grown seed
to enter Canada under a similar program.
We believe that a certification program could lighten the SEF
workload associated with Canadian-grown seed shipments without
compromising the integrity of the seed examination program and thus
free up resources for other important SEF activities, such as
identification of nonindigenous weed seeds intercepted at ports of
entry, identification of insect and pathogen host material, and
examination of high-risk seed shipments for noxious weed contamination.
Compliance Agreements
Several U.S. companies currently import for cleaning Canadian seed
containing noxious weeds. When SEF determines that a seed sample
contains noxious weeds, they send a notice to the importer refusing
entry for that shipment. The importer is then required, within one
year, to clean the shipment under the supervision of an PPQ inspector
or inspector designate. The shipment must then be sampled and retested
for noxious weed content. If the shipment is not cleaned and retested
within a year, it must be exported or destroyed.
We are considering allowing U.S. seed importers wishing to import
seed from Canada for cleaning to enter into compliance agreements with
APHIS and their State governments. The compliance agreements would
detail approved methods for destruction of seed screenings. Also, the
agreements would not require cleaning to be supervised by an APHIS
inspector or inspector designate, but would provide for unannounced
visits to the cleaning facilities by APHIS and State inspectors. We
would continue to require cleaned seed to be retested for noxious weed
content.
It is likely that the 6 U.S. companies currently importing the
majority of Canadian seed containing noxious weeds would enter into
such compliance agreements. We believe that the establishment of
compliance agreements also would reduce the heavy Canadian seed testing
workload at SEF and free up resources needed for other important SEF
activities, while maintaining the integrity of the seed examination
program. Further, a seed certification program would reduce the
processing time required for Canadian seed imports to enter the United
States.
Vegetable and Agricultural Seed Sampling
We are considering updating the tables of imported seed types in
Sec. 201.221a, based on changes in seed industry practices and
scientific developments. We are considering changing scientific names
of certain listed seeds to those currently recognized by the scientific
community and the USDA Germplasm Resource Information Network. Also, we
are considering adding seed types to the tables so that they might be
consistent with the AMS lists of seed types regulated for interstate
shipment.
Commenters may wish to address the following questions:
1. If a certification program with Canada is established, should
APHIS keep records of Canadian seed imports entering under a seed
import certification program? Would it be important for APHIS to keep
records as to which companies are importing how much and what type of
seed? Would such recordkeeping create an unnecessary paperwork burden?
2. If seed import compliance agreements with U.S. companies are
established, should APHIS be able to end an agreement following a
single violation of that agreement? Should Canadian seed entering the
United States for cleaning under a compliance agreement be tested by an
accredited Canadian laboratory prior to entry?
We will consider comments that are received within 45 days of
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. We will publish a
proposal in the Federal Register regarding any proposed amendment of
the regulations. This proposal would include discussion of issues
raised by the comments. Further, if we propose to amend the
regulations, we will hold a public hearing concerning that proposal, as
required by 7 U.S.C. 1592(c).
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1592.
Done in Washington, DC, this 9th day of September 1994.
Terry L. Medley,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 94-22851 Filed 9-14-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
