 California Embargoes Cut Stock Load Due to Unidentified Flying Insect
A load of cut stock lumber was embargoed at a Needles, Calif. border station when a state inspector found “two beetles and a flying insect of unknown species.” The pests could not be identified because, as of July 10, entomologists have been placed on furlough on Fridays, the day of the incident. The inspector on duty did not have the expertise to identify whether or not the pests were non-native invasive species, so the load owner was given three options: take the load home (more than 900 miles), wait until Monday when an entomologist would be available to identify the species, or take the load 190 miles to a fumigation facility to be treated at the owner’s expense. He chose the latter option. The statute the inspector sited was 6461.5. On the California Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) site – the only location referencing the statute – it says that 6461.5 “provides the authority to reject any plant material moving from one state to another which is pest infested, or for which there is reasonable cause to believe may be pest infested. Border station inspectors may therefore reject and confiscate plant material presumed to present a risk of pest or disease introduction into California.” The page is headlined the “Transport of Privately-Owned House Plants Into California from Other States.” There are no references to wood products or even the importation of commercial nursery stock. It appears this statute is being applied broadly by inspection agents to any product or load that has pests. When they cannot identify the pest the load is treated as if it were infested with an invasive species. Businesses across the country are unaware of this serious impediment to the free flow of interstate commerce. They only realize the magnitude of the situation when they are faced with the three impractical and costly options described above. Keep in mind, the Friday furlough is an additional day the entomologists are unavailable – they were already off on weekends. With this rule being more broadly applied more truckloads are going to be held up. In conversations between NWPCA and an official at the California Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services agency, the official acknowledged the fact that furlough days were adversely impacting commerce in the State of California. She sympathized with those trying to do business in the state, but suggested this is a legislative issue and it is state lawmakers, not regulators, who determine the furlough constraints. Since this conversation the FAQ page has been removed. We are trying to learn why because that could have ominous consequences, but this alert is being written on a Friday so regulators are on furlough. California is just one state creating unique standards, guidelines and regulations. This state-by-state piecemeal method of dealing with invasive species is unworkable for our industry. It is creating an unlevel playing field between the states and flinging open doors to alternative materials. NWPCA continues to push for a national domestic treatment and marking standard consistent with ISPM 15. It is the most workable approach to assuring the best interest of our industry.
Call to Action: After two years of negotiations with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. USDA will be holding public hearings on the issue of wood packaging and invasive species in four locations around the country, which we will announce in PalletCentral as soon as they have been determined. These forums are every bit as significant to our industry’s future as the meeting to discuss the National Association of State Fire Marshals proposal to test and certify all wood pallets. We need the same grassroots energy that brought 44 industry members to Chicago to express our industry’s needs on a single system for addressing the invasive species problem. We need big turnouts and forceful voices. USDA officials have told us that while the forums are intended for an expression of all statements and views, there are some questions they would like to have addressed specifically by wood packaging industry members. NWPCA will soon be distributing that list of questions with some talking points that might be helpful as you prepare your remarks.
Watch for the list of USDA public hearing locations in future issues of PalletCentral magazine.
Australia Has “Zero Tolerance for Bark”
In addition to ISPM15 requirements, the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) has a “ZERO tolerance for bark on timber packaging and dunnage.” Bark is the external natural growth layer covering trees and branches. All timber, solid wood packaging and timber products imported to Australia must be BARK FREE. This standard is different from the debarking requirements applied by the European Union. To see Australia’s examples of “bark contamination” click on the AQIS link below:
http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/import/timber/bark
Where bark is found on timber or wood products, including timber packaging and dunnage, one of the options below will be applied to the consignment to address bark related quarantine risks:
- The consignment will be ordered for dry heat treatment, ethylene oxide fumigation or gamma irradiation
- The consignment will be ordered to have the bark removed at a Quarantine Approved Premise. After the bark has been removed, the consignment will be inspected to verify that bark has been removed and that there is no quarantine risk remaining, such as insects. The removed bark will be destroyed by an AQIS approved method
- The consignment will be re-exported or destroyed.
All options will be at the importer's expense. For further details, please refer to the Import Conditions Database (ICON). http://www.daffa.gov.au/aqis/import/icon-icd
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