[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 62 (Tuesday, March 31, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17849-17850]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06695]



[[Page 17849]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2008-0119]


Implementation of Revised Lacey Act Provisions

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 amended the 
Lacey Act to provide, among other things, that importers submit a 
declaration at the time of importation for certain plants and plant 
products. Enforcement of the declaration requirement began on April 1, 
2009, and products requiring a declaration are being phased-in. The 
purpose of this notice is to inform the public of another phase of the 
Federal Government's enforcement schedule.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before June 
1, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2008-0119.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2008-0119, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may 
be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2008-
0119 or in our reading room, which is located in room 1141 of the USDA 
South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC. 
Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, 
please call (202) 799-7039 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Dorothy Wayson, National Policy 
Manager, Lacey Act Program, Compliance and Environmental Coordination 
Branch, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 150, Riverdale, MD 20737; 
(301) 851-2036.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.), first enacted in 1900 and 
significantly amended in 1981, is the United States' oldest wildlife 
protection statute. The Act combats trafficking in illegally taken 
wildlife, fish, or plants. The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 
2008, effective May 22, 2008, amended the Lacey Act by expanding its 
protection to a broader range of plants and plant products (Section 
8204, Prevention of Illegal Logging Practices). The Lacey Act now makes 
it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or 
purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any plant, with some limited 
exceptions, taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any 
law of the United States or an Indian tribe, or in violation of any 
State or foreign law that protects plants or that regulates certain 
specified plant-related activities. The Lacey Act also now makes it 
unlawful to make or submit any false record, account, or label for, or 
any false identification of, any plant.
    In addition, Section 3 of the Lacey Act, as amended, makes it 
unlawful, beginning December 15, 2008, to import certain plants, 
including plant products, without an import declaration. The 
declaration must contain the scientific name of the plant, value of the 
importation, quantity of the plant, and name of the country from which 
the plant was harvested. For paper and paperboard products containing 
recycled content, the declaration also must include the average percent 
of recycled content without regard for species or country of harvest. 
The plant import declaration requirement does not apply to plants used 
exclusively as packaging material to support, protect, or carry another 
item, unless the packaging material itself is the item being imported. 
Currently, enforcement of the declaration requirement is being phased 
in, as described in three notices we published in the Federal 
Register,\1\ the first on February 3, 2009 (74 FR 5911-5913, Docket No. 
APHIS-2008-0119), the second on September 2, 2009 (74 FR 45415-45418, 
Docket No. APHIS-2008-0119), and the third on February 6, 2015 (80 FR 
6681-6683, Docket No. APHIS-2008-0119).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ To view these notices and the comments we received, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2008-0119.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In our February 2009 notice, we committed to providing affected 
individuals and industry with at least 6 months' notice for any 
products that would be added to the phase-in schedule. The phased-in 
enforcement schedule began April 1, 2009. The most recent phase (V) 
began on August 6, 2015. The enforcement schedule is available on the 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) website at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/lacey_act/. We continue to consider the 
applicability of the declaration requirement to products not included 
in the current phase-in schedule and we invite public comment on how 
the declaration requirement should be enforced as to these products.
    Phase VI of the enforcement schedule, which would begin on October 
1, 2020, is described below. We invite public comment on the products 
covered under this phase of the plan, as well as on whether any 
additional Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) chapters should be included 
in the current phase-in schedule. Should there be additions to phase 
VI, we intend to provide at least 6 months' notice to persons and 
industries affected by those changes to facilitate compliance with the 
new requirements. Changes will be announced in the Federal Register.

Ch. 33 Headings (Essential Oils)

 3301295109-essential oils of cedarwood
 3301295121-essential oils of linaloe or bois de rose
 3301295139-essential oils of sandalwood
 3301295150-essential oils of ``other''

Ch. 42 Headings (Trunks, Cases, Suitcases)

 4202292000-trunks, cases, and suitcases of wood
 4202992000-other, of wood, not lined
 4202993000-other, of wood, lined

Ch. 44 Headings (Wood and Articles of Wood)

 441012-oriented strand board (OSB)
 4415-cases, boxes, crates, drums, containers, pallets, box-
pallets, etc.

Ch. 92 Headings (Musical Instruments)

 9205902000-wind musical instruments: bagpipes
 9205904020-clarinets
 9205904080-other (woodwind instruments)
 9205904060-flutes and piccolos
 9206002000-drums
 9207900040-musical instruments (fretted string instruments)
 9209.92-parts and accessories for musical instruments of 
heading 9202
 9209928000-parts and accessories for musical instruments
 9209992000-parts and accessories for bagpipes
 9209994040-parts and accessories for other woodwind 
instruments
 9209998000-parts and accessories for musical instruments of 
heading 9202, other

[[Page 17850]]

Ch. 96 Headings (Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles)

 9620005500-monopods, bipods, tripods and similar articles of 
wood
    Additional Information

    APHIS will continue to provide the latest information regarding the 
Lacey Act on our website, http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/lacey_act/. The website currently contains the Lacey Act, as amended; a 
slideshow covering background and context, requirements, commodities 
and products covered, information on prohibitions, and the current 
status of implementation of the declaration requirement of the Lacey 
Act; frequently asked questions; the phase-in implementation plan; a 
link to the Lacey Act Web Governance System (LAWGS); and the paper 
declaration form. The website will be updated as new materials become 
available. We encourage persons interested in receiving timely updates 
on APHIS' Lacey Act efforts to register for our stakeholder registry at 
https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAAPHIS/subscriber/new/ and 
select ``Lacey Act Declaration'' as a topic of interest.
Paperwork Reduction Act
    This notice contains no new information collection or recordkeeping 
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.). The information collection activities included in this notice 
are approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control 
number 0579-0349.
E-Government Act Compliance
    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is committed to 
compliance with the E-Government Act to promote the use of the internet 
and other information technologies, to provide increased opportunities 
for citizen access to Government information and services, and for 
other purposes. For information pertinent to E-Government Act 
compliance related to this notice, please contact Mr. Joseph Moxey, 
APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851-2483.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 26th day of March 2020.
Mark Davidson,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-06695 Filed 3-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P