[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]
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