The conterminous 48 States and the District of Columbia are quarantined in order to prevent the spread of black stem rust. No person shall move interstate any regulated article except in accordance with this subpart. 1

1 Any properly identified employee of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is authorized to stop and inspect persons and means of conveyance, and to seize, quarantine, treat, apply other remedial measures to destroy, or otherwise dispose of regulated articles as provided in sections 414 and 421 of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7714 and 7731).

[54 FR 32791, Aug. 10, 1989, as amended at 66 FR 21050, Apr. 27, 2001]

In this subpart the following definitions apply:

Administrator. The Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), or any person authorized to act for the Administrator.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculure.

Black stem rust. The disease commonly known as the black stem rust of grains (Puccinia graminis).

Certificate. A document in which an inspector, or a person operating under a compliance agreement, affirms that a specified regulated article has met the criteria in § 301.38-5(b) and may be moved interstate to any destination.

Clonally propagated. Reproduced asexually through cuttings, tissue culture, suckers, or crown division. For the purposes of this subpart, a Berberis plant will be considered clonally propagated only if its parent stock is, or was derived from, a seed-propagated black stem rust-resistant plant of more than 2 years' growth.

Compliance agreement. A written agreement between a State that is a protected area or that encompasses a protected area and a person who moves regulated articles interstate, or in a non-protected area between APHIS and such person, in which that person agrees to comply with this subpart.

Departmental permit. A document issued by the Administrator in which he or she affirms that interstate movement of the regulated article identified on the document is for scientific or experimental purposes, and that the regulated article is eligible for interstate movement under the conditions specified on the Departmental permit and found by the Administrator to be adequate to prevent the introduction of rust-susceptible varieties of the genera Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia into protected areas.

Inspector. Any APHIS employee or other person authorized by the Administrator in accordance with law to enforce this subpart.

Interstate. From any State into or through any other State.

Limited permit. A document issued by an inspector to allow the interstate movement into or through a protected area of regulated articles not eligible for certification under this subpart to a specified destination outside the protected area.

Moved (movement, move). Shipped, offered to a common carrier for shipment, received for transportation or transported by a common carrier, or carried, transported, moved, or allowed to be moved. “Movement” and “move” shall be construed in accordance with this definition.

Person. Any association, company, corporation, firm, individual, joint stock company, partnership, society, or any other legal entity.

Regulated article. Any article identified as a regulated article under § 301.38-2 as follows: listed as of January 30, 2023, added in accordance with § 301.38-2(c), or otherwise designated in accordance with § 301.38-2(d).

Rust-resistant plants. All plants of the genera Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia, and their progeny, that have proven resistant to black stem rust during testing by the United States Department of Agriculture, 1 and that are listed as rust-resistant in accordance with § 301.38-2.

1 Testing is performed by the Agricultural Research Service of USDA as follows: In a greenhouse, the suspect plant, or test subject, is placed under a screen with a control plant, i.e., a known rust-susceptible variety of Berberis, Mahoberberis, or Mahonia. Infected wheat stems, a primary host of black stem rust, are placed on top of the screen. The plants are moistened and maintained in 100% humidity, causing the spores to swell and fall on the plants lying under the screen. The plants are then observed for 7 days at 20-80% relative humidity. This test procedure is repeated 12 times. If in all 12 tests, the rust-susceptible plant shows signs of infection after 7 days and the test plants do not, USDA will declare the test plant variety rust-resistant. The tests must be performed on new growth, just as the leaves are unfolding.

Rust-susceptible plants. All plants of the genera Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia not listed as rust-resistant in accordance with § 301.38-2.

Seedling. Any plant of the genera Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia grown from seed and having less than 2 years' growth.

State. The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, or any State, territory or possession of the United States.

Two years' growth. The growth of a plant during all growing seasons of 2 successive calendar years.

[54 FR 32791, Aug. 10, 1989; 54 FR 38494, Sept. 18, 1989; 67 FR 8178, Feb. 22, 2002; 71 FR 5778, Feb. 3, 2006; 87 FR 80004, Dec. 29, 2022]

(a) Rust-resistant regulated articles. The Administrator has determined that certain Berberis , Mahoberberis, and Mahoniaspecies and varieties are rust-resistant. A list of all such articles is located at www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/plant-pest-and-disease-programs/pests-and-diseases/barberry/ct_barberry.

(b) Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia. All plants, seeds, fruits, and other plant parts capable of propagation from rust-susceptible species and varieties of the genera Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia, except Mahonia cuttings for decorative purposes, are regulated articles.

(c) Process for adding rust-resistant regulated articles—(1) Normal process. (i) If the Administrator determines that an article not already listed at www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/plant-pest-and-disease-programs/pests-and-diseases/barberry/ct_barberry meets the definition of rust-resistant plants found in this subpart, APHIS will publish a notice in the Federal Register proposing to designate the article as a rust-resistant regulated article for black stem rust. The notice will provide the basis for this determination, and will request public comment.

(ii) If no comments are received on the notice, or if the comments do not change the Administrator's determination, APHIS will publish a second notice in the Federal Register designating the article as a rust-resistant regulated article for black stem rust and listing it.

(2) Requested process. A person may request that an additional rust-resistant variety be added to the list at www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/plant-pest-and-disease-programs/pests-and-diseases/barberry/ct_barberry. The person requesting that a rust-resistant variety be added to the list must provide APHIS with a description of the variety, including a written description and color pictures that can be used by an inspector to clearly identify the variety and distinguish it from other varieties. If APHIS determines the variety should be added to the list, APHIS will propose to add it to the list pursuant to paragraph (c)(1) of this section.

(d) Immediate designation of regulated articles. Any other product or article not listed at www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/plant-pest-and-disease-programs/pests-and-diseases/barberry/ct_barberry is a regulated article if an inspector determines it presents a risk of spread of black stem rust. The inspector must notify the person in possession of the product or article that it is subject to the provisions of this subpart.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0579-0186) [87 FR 80004, Dec. 29, 2022, as amended at 89 FR 23501, Apr. 4, 2024]

(a) The Administrator may designate as a protected area in accordance with paragraph (d)of this section any State that has eradicated rust-susceptible plants of the genera Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia under the cooperative Federal-State eradication program. In addition, the State must employ personnel with responsibility for the issuance and withdrawal of certificates in accordance with § 301.38-5, and maintain and enforce an inspection program under which every plant nursery within the State is inspected at least once each year to ensure that they are free of rust-susceptible plants. During the requisite nursery inspections, all nursery stock shall be examined to determine that it consists only of rust-resistant varieties of the genera Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia, and that the plants are true to type. Plants that do not meet this criteria must be destroyed.

(b) The Administrator may designate as a protected area any county within a State, rather than the entire State, if areas within the State have eradicated rust-susceptible plants of the genera Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia under the cooperative Federal-State program, and;

(1) The State employs personnel with responsibility for the issuance and withdrawal of certificates in accordance with § 301.38-5;

(2) The State is enforcing restrictions on the intrastate movement of the regulated articles that are equivalent to those imposed by this subpart on the interstate movement of regulated articles, as determined by the Administrator; and

(3) The State maintains and enforces an inspection program under which every plant nursery within the county is inspected at least once each year to ensure that plant nurseries within that area are free of rust-susceptible plants of the genera Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia. During the requisite nursery inspections, all nursery stock shall be examined to determine that it consists only of rust-resistant varieties of the genera Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia, and that the plants are true to type. Plants that do not meet this criteria must be destroyed.

(c) All seed used to propagate plants of the genera Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia in protected areas, and all seed used to propagate plants of the genera Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia that are certified as rust-resistant for interstate movement into protected areas, must be produced at properties where a State inspector has verified that no wild or domesticated rust-susceptible plants are growing at or within one-half mile of the property. 1

1 Persons performing the inspections must be able to recognize rust-susceptible varieties of Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia. Inspectors must work side by side, 10 to 20 feet apart, and walk outward away from the property a distance of one-half mile measured from the edge of the property, and observe all plants growing in the half-mile band. The distance between the inspectors may vary within this range, depending upon the visibility of the plant growth. In areas with low brush and flat terrain, the inspectors may be the maximum distance of 20 feet apart if they can observe all plants growing within 10 feet of them. In areas of high plant growth or hilly terrain, the inspectors must be closer together due to limited or obstructed visibility. Inspectors must observe all plants growing between themselves and the mid-point of the distance between themselves and the next inspector. This process must be repeated so that the entire band, measured from the border of the property to the circumference of an imaginary circle having the property as its mid-point, is visually inspected in this manner.

(d) The Administrator will publish a list of all protected areas on the Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) website at www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/plant-pest-and-disease-programs/pests-and-diseases/barberry/ct_barberry. The list will include the date that the list was last updated. Lists of all protected areas may also be obtained by request from any local PPQ office; local offices are listed in telephone directories and on the internet at www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/ppq-program-overview/sphd. After a change is made to the list of protected areas in accordance with this section, APHIS will publish a notice in the Federal Register informing the public that the change has occurred and describing the change to the protected areas.

(e) Each State that is a protected area or that encompasses a protected area must submit annually to the Administrator a written statement, signed by an inspector, assuring APHIS that all nursery inspections have been performed in accordance with this section. The statement must be submitted by January 1st of each year, and must include a list of the nurseries inspected and found free of rust-susceptible plants.

(f) The Administrator may remove a protected area from the list of designated protected areas at www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/plant-pest-and-disease-programs/pests-and-diseases/barberry/ct_barberry if he or she determines that it no longer meets the criteria of paragraph (a) or (b)(1) through (3) of this section. A hearing will be held to resolve any conflict as to any material fact. Rules of practice for the hearing shall be adopted by the Administrator.

[54 FR 32791, Aug. 10, 1989, as amended at 55 FR 29558, July 20, 1990; 57 FR 3118, Jan. 28, 1992; 71 FR 5778, Feb. 3, 2006; 87 FR 80004, Dec. 29, 2022]

(a) Non-protected areas. Interstate movement of regulated articles into or through any State or area that is not designated as a protected area under § 301.38-3(d) is allowed without restriction under this subpart.

(b) Protected areas—(1) Prohibited movement. The following regulated articles are prohibited from moving interstate into or through any protected area:

(i) All rust-susceptible Berberis, Mahoberberis, and Mahonia plants, seeds, fruits, and other plant parts capable of propagation, except Mahonia cuttings for decorative purposes.

(ii) All seed-propagated plants of the Berberis species and varieties designated as rust-resistant in § 301.38-2(a)(1) that are of less than 2 years' growth, and any seeds, fruits, and other plant parts capable of propagation from such plants.

(2) Restricted movement. The following regulated articles may be moved interstate into or through a protected area with a certificate issued and attached in accordance with §§ 301.38-5 and 301.38-7:

(i) Seed-propagated plants of at least 2 years' growth, clonally propagated plants of any age, seeds, fruits, and other plant parts capable of propagation of the Berberis species and varieties designated as rust-resistant in § 301.38-2(a)(1);

(ii) Plants, seeds, fruits, and other plant parts capable of propagation of the Mahoberberis and Mahonia species and varieties designated as rust-resistant in accordance with § 301.38-2.

(c) An inspector may issue a limited permit to allow a regulated article not eligible for certification under § 301.38-4(b)(2) to move interstate into or through a protected area to a specified destination that is stated in the permit and is outside the protected area, if the requirements of all other applicable Federal domestic plant quarantines are met. A regulated article moved interstate under a limited permit must be placed in a closed sealed container that prevents unauthorized removal of the regulated article, and that remains sealed until the regulated article reaches the final destination stated in the permit. At the final destination, the sealed container must be opened only in the presence of an inspector or with the authorization of an inspector obtained expressly for that shipment.

(d) The United States Department of Agriculture may move any regulated article interstate into or through a protected area in accordance with the conditions determined necessary to prevent the introduction or spread of black stem rust in protected areas, as specified in a Departmental permit issued for this purpose.

[54 FR 32791, Aug. 10, 1989, as amended at 67 FR 8180, Feb. 22, 2002; 71 FR 5778, Feb. 3, 2006; 87 FR 80005, Dec. 29, 2022]

(a) Any person, other than a person authorized to issue certificates under paragraph (c) of this section, who desires to move interstate a regulated article that must be accompanied by a certificate under § 301.38-4(b), shall, as far in advance of the desired interstate movement as possible (and no less than 48 hours before the desired interstate movement), request an inspector 1 to issue a certificate. To expedite the issuance of a certificate, an inspector may direct that the regulated articles be assembled in a manner that facilitates inspection.

1 Services of an inspector may be requested by contacting a local APHIS office (listed in telephone directories under Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine). The addresses and telephone numbers of local offices may also be obtained by writing to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Domestic and Emergency Operations, 4700 River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, Maryland 20737-1236.

(b) An inspector may issue a certificate for the interstate movement of a regulated article if he or she:

(1) Determines, upon examination, that the regulated article may be moved interstate in accordance with this subpart; and

(2) Determines that the regulated article may be moved interstate in accordance with all other Federal domestic plant quarantines and regulations applicable to the regulated article.

(c) Certificates for interstate movement of regulated articles may be issued by an inspector to a person operating under a compliance agreement for use with subsequent shipments of regulated articles to facilitate their movement. A person operating under a compliance agreement must make the determinations set forth in paragraph (b) of this section before shipping any regulated articles.

(d) Any certificate that has been issued may be withdrawn by an inspector, orally or in writing, if he or she determines that the holder of the certificate has not complied with the conditions of this subpart for the use of the certificate. If the withdrawal is oral, the inspector will confirm the withdrawal and the reasons for the withdrawal, in writing, within 20 days of oral notification of the withdrawal. Any person whose certificate has been withdrawn may appeal the decision, in writing within 10 days after receiving written notification of the withdrawal. The appeal must state all of the facts and reasons upon which the person relies to show that the certificate was wrongfully withdrawn. A hearing will be held to resolve any conflict as to any material fact. An appeal shall be granted or denied, in writing, as promptly as circumstances allow, and the reasons for the decision shall be stated. In a non-protected area, appeal shall be made to the Administrator. The Administrator shall adopt rules of practice for the hearing. The certificate will remain withdrawn pending decision of the appeal.

[54 FR 32791, Aug. 10, 1989, as amended at 59 FR 67608, Dec. 30, 1994; 67 FR 8180, Feb. 22, 2002; 88 FR 80005, Dec. 29, 2022]

(a) Any State may enter into a written compliance agreement with any person who grows or handles regulated articles in a protected area, or moves interstate regulated articles from a protected area, under which that person agrees to comply with this subpart, to provide inspectors with information concerning the source of any regulated articles acquired each year, and to prevent the unauthorized use of certificates issued for future use under the compliance agreement. 1

1 In non-protected areas, compliance agreements may be arranged by contacting a local office of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine, or by writing to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Domestic and Emergency Operations, 4700 River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, Maryland 20737-1236.

(b) A compliance agreement may be cancelled by an inspector, orally or in writing, whenever he or she determines that the person who has entered into the compliance agreement has failed to comply with the agreement or this subpart. If the cancellation is oral, the cancellation and the reasons for the cancellation will be confirmed, in writing, within 20 days of oral notification of the cancellation. Any person whose compliance agreement has been cancelled may appeal the decision, in writing, within 10 days after receiving written notification of the cancellation. The appeal must state all of the facts and reasons upon which the person relies to show that the compliance agreement was wrongfully cancelled. A hearing will be held to resolve any conflict as to any material fact. An appeal shall be granted or denied, in writing, as promptly as circumstances allow, and the reasons for the decision shall be stated. In a non-protected area, appeal shall be made to the Administrator. The Administrator shall adopt rules of practice for the hearing. The compliance agreement will remain cancelled pending decision of the appeal.

[54 FR 32791, Aug. 10, 1989; 54 FR 38494, Sept. 18, 1989, as amended at 57 FR 3118, Jan. 28, 1992; 59 FR 67608, Dec. 30, 1994; 87 FR 80005, Dec. 29, 2022]

(a) The certificate required for the interstate movement of a regulated article must, at all times during the interstate movement, be attached to the outside of the container containing the regulated article except as follows:

(1) The certificate may be attached to the regulated article itself if it is not in container; or

(2) The certificate may be attached to the accompanying waybill or other shipping document if the regulated article is identified and described on the certificate or waybill.

(b) The carrier must furnish the certificate to the consignee at the destination of the regulated article.

The services of an inspector 1 during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., will be furnished without cost to persons requiring the services. The United States Department of Agriculture will not be responsible for any other costs or charges.

1 See footnote 1 in § 301.38-3.

[54 FR 32791, Aug. 10, 1989; 54 FR 38494, Sept. 18, 1989; 87 FR 80005, Dec. 29, 2022]