Insect Permits and Congressional Act

[Wayne F Wehling]

Two weeks ago Congress passed the Plant Protection Act as Title IV of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000.  The Act will more than likely be signed by the President in the next few days.  Only Title IV is included below.

106TH CONGRESS REPORT
" !
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SENATE 2d Session 106)ll
AGRICULTURAL RISK PROTECTION ACT OF 2000
llllllll , 2000.*Ordered to be printed
llllllllll , from the committee of conference,
submitted the following
CONFERENCE REPORT
[To accompany H.R. 2559]
The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the
two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R.
2559), to amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to strengthen the
safety net for agricultural producers by providing greater access to
more affordable risk management tools and improved protection
from production and income loss, to improve the efficiency and in-tegrity
of the Federal crop insurance program, and for other pur-poses,
having met, after full and free conference, have agreed to
recommend and do recommend to their respective Houses as fol-lows:
That the House recede from its disagreement to the amend-ment
of the Senate and agree to the same with an amendment as
follows:
In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the Senate
amendment, insert the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.*This Act may be cited as the ++Agricultural
Risk Protection Act of 2000,,.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.*The table of contents of this Act is
as follows:
TITLE I*CROP INSURANCE COVERAGE
Subtitle A*Crop Insurance Coverage
Sec. 101. Premium schedule for additional coverage.
Sec. 102. Premium schedule for other plans of insurance.
Sec. 103. Catastrophic risk protection.
Sec. 104. Administrative fee for additional coverage.
Sec. 105. Assigned yields and actual production history adjustments.
Sec. 106. Review and adjustment in rating methodologies.
Sec. 107. Quality adjustment.
Sec. 108. Double insurance and prevented planting.
Sec. 109. Noninsured crop disaster assistance program.
Subtitle B*Improving Program Integrity
Sec. 121. Improving program compliance and integrity.
Sec. 122. Protection of confidential information.
Sec. 123. Good farming practices.
Sec. 124. Records and reporting.
Subtitle C*Research and Pilot Programs
Sec. 131. Research and development.
Sec. 132. Pilot programs.
Sec. 133. Education and risk management assistance.
Sec. 134. Options pilot program.
Subtitle D*Administration
Sec. 141. Relation to other laws.
Sec. 142. Management of Corporation.
Sec. 143. Contracting for rating of plans of insurance.
Sec. 144. Electronic availability of crop insurance information.
Sec. 145. Adequate coverage for States.
Sec. 146. Submission of policies and materials to Board.
Sec. 147. Funding.
Sec. 148. Standard Reinsurance Agreement.
Subtitle E*Miscellaneous
Sec. 161. Limitation on revenue coverage for potatoes.
Sec. 162. Crop insurance coverage for cotton and rice.
Sec. 163. Indemnity payments for certain producers.
Sec. 164. Sense of Congress regarding the Federal crop insurance program.
Sec. 165. Sense of Congress on rural America, including minority and limited-re-source
farmers.
Subtitle F*Effective Dates and Implementation
Sec. 171. Effective dates.
Sec. 172. Regulations.
Sec. 173. Savings clause.
TITLE II*AGRICULTURAL ASSISTANCE
Subtitle A*Market Loss Assistance
Sec. 201. Market loss assistance.
Sec. 202. Oilseeds.
Sec. 203. Specialty crops.
Sec. 204. Other commodities.
Sec. 205. Payments in lieu of loan deficiency payments.
Sec. 206. Expansion of producers eligible for loan deficiency payments.
Subtitle B*Conservation
Sec. 211. Conservation assistance.
Sec. 212. Condition on development of Little Darby National Wildlife Refuge, Ohio.
Subtitle C*Research
Sec. 221. Carbon cycle research.
Sec. 222. Tobacco research for medicinal purposes.
Sec. 223. Research on soil science and forest health management.
Sec. 224. Research on waste streams from livestock production.
Sec. 225. Improved storage and management of livestock and poultry waste.
Sec. 226. Ethanol research pilot plant.
Sec. 227. Bioinformatics Institute for Model Plant Species.
Subtitle D*Agricultural Marketing
Sec. 231. Value-added agricultural product market development grants.
Subtitle E*Nutrition Programs
Sec. 241. Calculation of minimum amount of commodities for school lunch require-ments.
Sec. 242. School lunch data.
Sec. 243. Child and adult care food program integrity.
Sec. 244. Adjustments to WIC program.
Subtitle F*Other Programs
Sec. 251. Authority to provide loan in connection with boll weevil eradication.
Sec. 252. Animal disease control.
Sec. 253. Emergency loans for seed producers.
Sec. 254. Temporary suspension of authority to combine certain offices.
Sec. 255. Farm operating loan eligibility.
Sec. 256. Water systems for rural and Native villages in Alaska.
Sec. 257. Crop and pasture flood compensation program.
Sec. 258. Flood mitigation near Pierre, South Dakota.
Sec. 259. Restoration of eligibility for crop loss assistance.
Subtitle G*Administration
Sec. 261. Funding.
Sec. 262. Obligation period.
Sec. 263. Regulations.
Sec. 264. Paygo adjustment.
Sec. 265. Commodity Credit Corporation reimbursement.
TITLE III*BIOMASS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2000
Sec. 301. Short title.
Sec. 302. Findings.
Sec. 303. Definitions.
Sec. 304. Cooperation and coordination in biomass research and development.
Sec. 305. Biomass Research and Development Board.
Sec. 306. Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee.
Sec. 307. Biomass Research And Development Initiative.
Sec. 308. Administrative support and funds.
Sec. 309. Reports.
Sec. 310. Termination of authority.
TITLE IV*PLANT PROTECTION ACT
Sec. 401. Short title.
Sec. 402. Findings.
Sec. 403. Definitions.
Subtitle A*Plant Protection
Sec. 411. Regulation of movement of plant pests.
Sec. 412. Regulation of movement of plants, plant products, biological control orga-nisms,
noxious weeds, articles, and means of conveyance.
Sec. 413. Notification and holding requirements upon arrival.
Sec. 414. General remedial measures for new plant pests and noxious weeds.
Sec. 415. Declaration of extraordinary emergency and resulting authorities.
Sec. 416. Recovery of compensation for unauthorized activities.
Sec. 417. Control of grasshoppers and mormon crickets.
Sec. 418. Certification for exports.
Subtitle B*Inspection and Enforcement
Sec. 421. Inspections, seizures, and warrants.
Sec. 422. Collection of information.
Sec. 423. Subpoena authority.
Sec. 424. Penalties for violation.
Sec. 425. Enforcement actions of attorney general.
Sec. 426. Court jurisdiction.
Subtitle C*Miscellaneous Provisions
Sec. 431. Cooperation.
Sec. 432. Buildings, land, people, claims, and agreements.
Sec. 433. Reimbursable agreements.
Sec. 434. Regulations and orders.
Sec. 435. Protection for mail handlers.
Sec. 436. Preemption.
Sec. 437. Severability.
Sec. 438. Repeal of superseded laws.
Subtitle D*Authorization of Appropriations
Sec. 441. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 442. Transfer authority.
TITLE V*INSPECTION ANIMALS
Sec. 501. Civil penalty.
Sec. 502. Subpoena authority.

=====================================
TITLE IV*PLANT PROTECTION ACT
SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ++Plant Protection Act,,.
SEC. 402. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that*
(1) the detection, control, eradication, suppression, preven-tion,
or retardation of the spread of plant pests or noxious
weeds is necessary for the protection of the agriculture, environ-ment,
and economy of the United States;
(2) biological control is often a desirable, low-risk means of
ridding crops and other plants of plant pests and noxious
weeds, and its use should be facilitated by the Department of
Agriculture, other Federal agencies, and States whenever fea-sible;
(3) it is the responsibility of the Secretary to facilitate ex-ports,
imports, and interstate commerce in agricultural prod-ucts
and other commodities that pose a risk of harboring plant
pests or noxious weeds in ways that will reduce, to the extent
practicable, as determined by the Secretary, the risk of dissemi-nation
of plant pests or noxious weeds;
(4) decisions affecting imports, exports, and interstate
movement of products regulated under this title shall be based
on sound science;
(5) the smooth movement of enterable plants, plant prod-ucts,
biological control organisms, or other articles into, out of,
or within the United States is vital to the United State,s econ-omy
and should be facilitated to the extent possible;
(6) export markets could be severely impacted by the intro-duction
or spread of plant pests or noxious weeds into or within
the United States;
(7) the unregulated movement of plant pests, noxious weeds,
plants, certain biological control organisms, plant products,
and articles capable of harboring plant pests or noxious weeds
could present an unacceptable risk of introducing or spreading
plant pests or noxious weeds;
(8) the existence on any premises in the United States of a
plant pest or noxious weed new to or not known to be widely
prevalent in or distributed within and throughout the United
States could constitute a threat to crops and other plants or
plant products of the United States and burden interstate com-merce
or foreign commerce; and
(9) all plant pests, noxious weeds, plants, plant products,
articles capable of harboring plant pests or noxious weeds regu-lated
under this title are in or affect interstate commerce or for-eign
commerce.
SEC. 403. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) ARTICLE.*The term ++article,, means any material or
tangible object that could harbor plant pests or noxious weeds.
(2) BIOLOGICAL CONTROL ORGANISM.*The term ++biological
control organism,, means any enemy, antagonist, or competitor
used to control a plant pest or noxious weed.
(3) ENTER AND ENTRY.*The terms ++enter,, and ++entry,,
mean to move into, or the act of movement into, the commerce
of the United States.
(4) EXPORT AND EXPORTATION.*The terms ++export,, and ++ex-portation,,
mean to move from, or the act of movement from, the
United States to any place outside the United States.
(5) IMPORT AND IMPORTATION.*The terms ++import,, and
++importation,, mean to move into, or the act of movement into,
the territorial limits of the United States.
(6) INTERSTATE.*The term ++interstate,, means*
(A) from one State into or through any other State; or
(B) within the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin
Islands of the United States, or any other territory or pos-session
of the United States.
(7) INTERSTATE COMMERCE.*The term ++interstate com-merce,,
means trade, traffic, or other commerce*
(A) between a place in a State and a point in another
State, or between points within the same State but through
any place outside that State; or
(B) within the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin
Islands of the United States, or any other territory or pos-session
of the United States.
(8) MEANS OF CONVEYANCE.*The term ++means of convey-ance,,
means any personal property used for or intended for use
for the movement of any other personal property.
(9) MOVE AND RELATED TERMS.*The terms ++move,,, ++mov-ing,,,
and ++movement,, mean*
(A) to carry, enter, import, mail, ship, or transport;
(B) to aid, abet, cause, or induce the carrying, entering,
importing, mailing, shipping, or transporting;
(C) to offer to carry, enter, import, mail, ship, or trans-port;
(D) to receive to carry, enter, import, mail, ship, or
transport;
(E) to release into the environment; or
(F) to allow any of the activities described in a pre-ceding
subparagraph.
(10) NOXIOUS WEED.*The term ++noxious weed,, means any
plant or plant product that can directly or indirectly injure or
cause damage to crops (including nursery stock or plant prod-ucts),
livestock, poultry, or other interests of agriculture, irriga-tion,
navigation, the natural resources of the United States, the
public health, or the environment.
(11) PERMIT.*The term ++permit,, means a written or oral
authorization, including by electronic methods, by the Secretary
to move plants, plant products, biological control organisms,
plant pests, noxious weeds, or articles under conditions pre-scribed
by the Secretary.
(12) PERSON.*The term ++person,, means any individual,
partnership, corporation, association, joint venture, or other
legal entity.
(13) PLANT.*The term ++plant,, means any plant (including
any plant part) for or capable of propagation, including a tree,
a tissue culture, a plantlet culture, pollen, a shrub, a vine, a
cutting, a graft, a scion, a bud, a bulb, a root, and a seed.
(14) PLANT PEST.*The term ++plant pest,, means any living
stage of any of the following that can directly or indirectly in-jure,
cause damage to, or cause disease in any plant or plant
product:
(A) A protozoan.
(B) A nonhuman animal.
(C) A parasitic plant.
(D) A bacterium.
(E) A fungus.
(F) A virus or viroid.
(G) An infectious agent or other pathogen.
(H) Any article similar to or allied with any of the arti-cles
specified in the preceding subparagraphs.
(15) PLANT PRODUCT.*The term ++plant product,, means*
(A) any flower, fruit, vegetable, root, bulb, seed, or
other plant part that is not included in the definition of
plant; or
(B) any manufactured or processed plant or plant part.
(16) SECRETARY.*The term ++Secretary,, means the Sec-retary
of Agriculture.
(17) STATE.*The term ++State,, means any of the several
States of the United States, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Dis-trict
of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United
States, or any other territory or possession of the United States.
(18) SYSTEMS APPROACH.*For the purposes of section
412(e), the term ++systems approach,, means a defined set of
phytosanitary procedures, at least 2 of which have an inde-pendent
effect in mitigating pest risk associated with the move-ment
of commodities.
(19) THIS TITLE.*Except when used in this section, the
term ++this title,, includes any regulation or order issued by the
Secretary under the authority of this title.
(20) UNITED STATES.*The term ++United States,, means all
of the States.
Subtitle A*Plant Protection
SEC. 411. REGULATION OF MOVEMENT OF PLANT PESTS.
(a) PROHIBITION OF UNAUTHORIZED MOVEMENT OF PLANT
PESTS.*Except as provided in subsection (c), no person shall im-port,
enter, export, or move in interstate commerce any plant pest,
unless the importation, entry, exportation, or movement is author-ized
under general or specific permit and is in accordance with such
regulations as the Secretary may issue to prevent the introduction
of plant pests into the United States or the dissemination of plant
pests within the United States.
(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROCESSES.*The Secretary shall en-sure
that the processes used in developing regulations under sub-section
(a) governing consideration of import requests are based on
sound science and are transparent and accessible.
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF MOVEMENT OF PLANT PESTS BY REGULA-TION.*
(1) EXCEPTION TO PERMIT REQUIREMENT.*The Secretary
may issue regulations to allow the importation, entry, expor-tation,
or movement in interstate commerce of specified plant
pests without further restriction if the Secretary finds that a
permit under subsection (a) is not necessary.
(2) PETITION TO ADD OR REMOVE PLANT PESTS FROM REGU-LATION.*
Any person may petition the Secretary to add a plant
pest to, or remove a plant pest from, the regulations issued by
the Secretary under paragraph (1).
(3) RESPONSE TO PETITION BY THE SECRETARY.*In the case
of a petition submitted under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall
act on the petition within a reasonable time and notify the peti-tioner
of the final action the Secretary takes on the petition. The
Secretary,s determination on the petition shall be based on
sound science.
(d) PROHIBITION OF UNAUTHORIZED MAILING OF PLANT
PESTS.*
(1) IN GENERAL.*Any letter, parcel, box, or other package
containing any plant pest, whether sealed as letter-rate postal
matter or not, is nonmailable and shall not knowingly be con-veyed
in the mail or delivered from any post office or by any
mail carrier, unless the letter, parcel, box, or other package is
mailed in compliance with such regulations as the Secretary
may issue to prevent the dissemination of plant pests into the
United States or interstate.
(2) APPLICATION OF POSTAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS.*
Nothing in this subsection authorizes any person to open any
mailed letter or other mailed sealed matter except in accordance
with the postal laws and regulations.
(e) REGULATIONS.*Regulations issued by the Secretary to im-plement
subsections (a), (c), and (d) may include provisions requir-ing
that any plant pest imported, entered, to be exported, moved in
interstate commerce, mailed, or delivered from any post office*
(1) be accompanied by a permit issued by the Secretary
prior to the importation, entry, exportation, movement in inter-state
commerce, mailing, or delivery of the plant pest;
(2) be accompanied by a certificate of inspection issued (in
a manner and form required by the Secretary) by appropriate
officials of the country or State from which the plant pest is to
be moved;
(3) be raised under post-entry quarantine conditions by or
under the supervision of the Secretary for the purposes of deter-mining
whether the plant pest*
(A) may be infested with other plant pests;
(B) may pose a significant risk of causing injury to,
damage to, or disease in any plant or plant product; or
(C) may be a noxious weed; and
(4) be subject to remedial measures the Secretary deter-mines
to be necessary to prevent the spread of plant pests.
SEC. 412. REGULATION OF MOVEMENT OF PLANTS, PLANT PRODUCTS,
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL ORGANISMS, NOXIOUS WEEDS, AR-TICLES,
AND MEANS OF CONVEYANCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.*The Secretary may prohibit or restrict the im-portation,
entry, exportation, or movement in interstate commerce of
any plant, plant product, biological control organism, noxious weed,
article, or means of conveyance, if the Secretary determines that the
prohibition or restriction is necessary to prevent the introduction
into the United States or the dissemination of a plant pest or nox-ious
weed within the United States.
(b) POLICY.*The Secretary shall ensure that processes used in
developing regulations under this section governing consideration of
import requests are based on sound science and are transparent and
accessible.
(c) REGULATIONS.*The Secretary may issue regulations to im-plement
subsection (a), including regulations requiring that any
plant, plant product, biological control organism, noxious weed, ar-ticle,
or means of conveyance imported, entered, to be exported, or
moved in interstate commerce*
(1) be accompanied by a permit issued by the Secretary
prior to the importation, entry, exportation, or movement in
interstate commerce;
(2) be accompanied by a certificate of inspection issued (in
a manner and form required by the Secretary) by appropriate
officials of the country or State from which the plant, plant
product, biological control organism, noxious weed, article, or
means of conveyance is to be moved;
(3) be subject to remedial measures the Secretary deter-mines
to be necessary to prevent the spread of plant pests or
noxious weeds; and
(4) with respect to plants or biological control organisms, be
grown or handled under post-entry quarantine conditions by or
under the supervision of the Secretary for the purposes of deter-mining
whether the plant or biological control organism may be
infested with plant pests or may be a plant pest or noxious
weed.
(d) NOTICE.*Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall publish for public comment a notice
describing the procedures and standards that govern the consider-ation
of import requests. The notice shall*
(1) specify how public input will be sought in advance of
and during the process of promulgating regulations necessi-tating
a risk assessment in order to ensure a fully transparent
and publicly accessible process; and
(2) include consideration of the following:
(A) Public announcement of import requests that will
necessitate a risk assessment.
(B) A process for assigning major/nonroutine or
minor/routine status to such requests based on current
state of supporting scientific information.
(C) A process for assigning priority to requests.
(D) Guidelines for seeking relevant scientific and eco-nomic
information in advance of initiating informal rule-making.
(E) Guidelines for ensuring availability and trans-parency
of assumptions and uncertainties in the risk as-sessment
process including applicable risk mitigation meas-ures
relied upon individually or as components of a system
of mitigative measures proposed consistent with the pur-poses
of this title.
(e) STUDY AND REPORT ON SYSTEMS APPROACH.*
(1) STUDY.*The Secretary shall conduct a study of the role
for and application of systems approaches designed to guard
against the introduction of plant pathogens into the United
States associated with proposals to import plants or plant prod-ucts
into the United States.
(2) PARTICIPATION BY SCIENTISTS.*In conducting the study
the Secretary shall ensure participation by scientists from State
departments of agriculture, colleges and universities, the private
sector, and the Agricultural Research Service.
(3) REPORT.*Not later than 2 years after the date of enact-ment
of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report on the re-sults
of the study conducted under this section to the Committee
on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives.
(f) NOXIOUS WEEDS.*
(1) REGULATIONS.*In the case of noxious weeds, the Sec-retary
may publish, by regulation, a list of noxious weeds that
are prohibited or restricted from entering the United States or
that are subject to restrictions on interstate movement within
the United States.
(2) PETITION TO ADD OR REMOVE PLANTS FROM REGULA-TION.*
Any person may petition the Secretary to add a plant
species to, or remove a plant species from, the regulations
issued by the Secretary under this subsection.
(3) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.*In the case of a petition
submitted under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall act on the
petition within a reasonable time and notify the petitioner of the
final action the Secretary takes on the petition. The Secretary,s
determination on the petition shall be based on sound science.
(g) BIOLOGICAL CONTROL ORGANISMS.*
(1) REGULATIONS.*In the case of biological control orga-nisms,
the Secretary may publish, by regulation, a list of orga-nisms
whose movement in interstate commerce is not prohibited
or restricted. Any listing may take into account distinctions be-tween
organisms such as indigenous, nonindigenous, newly in-troduced,
or commercially raised.
(2) PETITION TO ADD OR REMOVE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OR-GANISMS
FROM THE REGULATIONS.*Any person may petition the
Secretary to add a biological control organism to, or remove a
biological control organism from, the regulations issued by the
Secretary under this subsection.
(3) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.*In the case of a petition
submitted under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall act on the
petition within a reasonable time and notify the petitioner of the
final action the Secretary takes on the petition. The Secretary,s
determination on the petition shall be based on sound science.
SEC. 413. NOTIFICATION AND HOLDING REQUIREMENTS UPON AR-RIVAL.
(a) DUTY OF SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.*
(1) NOTIFICATION.*The Secretary of the Treasury shall
promptly notify the Secretary of Agriculture of the arrival of
any plant, plant product, biological control organism, plant
pest, or noxious weed at a port of entry.
(2) HOLDING.*The Secretary of the Treasury shall hold a
plant, plant product, biological control organism, plant pest, or
noxious weed for which notification is made under paragraph
(1) at the port of entry until the plant, plant product, biological
control organism, plant pest, or noxious weed*
(A) is inspected and authorized for entry into or transit
movement through the United States; or
(B) is otherwise released by the Secretary of Agri-culture.
(3) EXCEPTIONS.*Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply to
any plant, plant product, biological control organism, plant
pest, or noxious weed that is imported from a country or region
of a country designated by the Secretary of Agriculture, pursu-ant
to regulations, as exempt from the requirements of such
paragraphs.
(b) DUTY OF RESPONSIBLE PARTIES.*
(1) NOTIFICATION.*The person responsible for any plant,
plant product, biological control organism, plant pest, noxious
weed, article, or means of conveyance required to have a permit
under section 411 or 412 shall provide the notification de-scribed
in paragraph (3) as soon as possible after the arrival of
the plant, plant product, biological control organism, plant pest,
noxious weed, article, or means of conveyance at a port of entry
and before the plant, plant product, biological control organism,
plant pest, noxious weed, article, or means of conveyance is
moved from the port of entry.
(2) SUBMISSION.*The notification shall be provided to the
Secretary, or, at the Secretary,s direction, to the proper official
of the State to which the plant, plant product, biological control
organism, plant pest, noxious weed, article, or means of convey-ance
is destined, or both, as the Secretary may prescribe.
(3) ELEMENTS OF NOTIFICATION.*The notification shall
consist of the following:
(A) The name and address of the consignee.
(B) The nature and quantity of the plant, plant prod-uct,
biological control organism, plant pest, noxious weed,
article, or means of conveyance proposed to be moved.
(C) The country and locality where the plant, plant
product, biological control organism, plant pest, noxious
weed, article, or means of conveyance was grown, produced,
or located.
(c) PROHIBITION ON MOVEMENT OF ITEMS WITHOUT AUTHORIZA-TION.*
No person shall move from a port of entry or interstate any
imported plant, plant product, biological control organism, plant
pest, noxious weed, article, or means of conveyance unless the im-ported
plant, plant product, biological control organism, plant pest,
noxious weed, article, or means of conveyance*
(1) is inspected and authorized for entry into or transit
movement through the United States; or
(2) is otherwise released by the Secretary.
SEC. 414. GENERAL REMEDIAL MEASURES FOR NEW PLANT PESTS AND
NOXIOUS WEEDS.
(a) AUTHORITY TO HOLD, TREAT, OR DESTROY ITEMS.*If the
Secretary considers it necessary in order to prevent the dissemina-tion
of a plant pest or noxious weed that is new to or not known
to be widely prevalent or distributed within and throughout the
United States, the Secretary may hold, seize, quarantine, treat,
apply other remedial measures to, destroy, or otherwise dispose of
any plant, plant pest, noxious weed, biological control organism,
plant product, article, or means of conveyance that*
(1) is moving into or through the United States or inter-state,
or has moved into or through the United States or inter-state,
and*
(A) the Secretary has reason to believe is a plant pest
or noxious weed or is infested with a plant pest or noxious
weed at the time of the movement; or
(B) is or has been otherwise in violation of this title;
(2) has not been maintained in compliance with a post-entry
quarantine requirement; or
(3) is the progeny of any plant, biological control organism,
plant product, plant pest, or noxious weed that is moving into
or through the United States or interstate, or has moved into
the United States or interstate, in violation of this title.
(b) AUTHORITY TO ORDER AN OWNER TO TREAT OR DESTROY.*
(1) IN GENERAL.*The Secretary may order the owner of
any plant, biological control organism, plant product, plant
pest, noxious weed, article, or means of conveyance subject to
action under subsection (a), or the owner,s agent, to treat, apply
other remedial measures to, destroy, or otherwise dispose of the
plant, biological control organism, plant product, plant pest,
noxious weed, article, or means of conveyance, without cost to
the Federal Government and in the manner the Secretary con-siders
appropriate.
(2) FAILURE TO COMPLY.*If the owner or agent of the
owner fails to comply with the Secretary,s order under this sub-
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May 24, 2000 (10:03 p.m.).92
S.L.C.
section, the Secretary may take an action authorized by sub-section
(a) and recover from the owner or agent of the owner the
costs of any care, handling, application of remedial measures,
or disposal incurred by the Secretary in connection with actions
taken under subsection (a).
(c) CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM.*
(1) DEVELOPMENT REQUIRED.*To facilitate control of nox-ious
weeds, the Secretary may develop a classification system to
describe the status and action levels for noxious weeds. The
classification system may include the current geographic dis-tribution,
relative threat, and actions initiated to prevent intro-duction
or distribution.
(2) MANAGEMENT PLANS.*In conjunction with the classi-fication
system, the Secretary may develop integrated manage-ment
plans for noxious weeds for the geographic region or eco-logical
range where the noxious weed is found in the United
States.
(d) APPLICATION OF LEAST DRASTIC ACTION.*No plant, biologi-cal
control organism, plant product, plant pest, noxious weed, arti-cle,
or means of conveyance shall be destroyed, exported, or returned
to the shipping point of origin, or ordered to be destroyed, exported,
or returned to the shipping point of origin under this section unless,
in the opinion of the Secretary, there is no less drastic action that
is feasible and that would be adequate to prevent the dissemination
of any plant pest or noxious weed new to or not known to be widely
prevalent or distributed within and throughout the United States.
SEC. 415. DECLARATION OF EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY AND RE-SULTING
AUTHORITIES.
(a) AUTHORITY TO DECLARE.*If the Secretary determines that
an extraordinary emergency exists because of the presence of a plant
pest or noxious weed that is new to or not known to be widely preva-lent
in or distributed within and throughout the United States and
that the presence of the plant pest or noxious weed threatens plants
or plant products of the United States, the Secretary may*
(1) hold, seize, quarantine, treat, apply other remedial
measures to, destroy, or otherwise dispose of, any plant, biologi-cal
control organism, plant product, article, or means of convey-ance
that the Secretary has reason to believe is infested with the
plant pest or noxious weed;
(2) quarantine, treat, or apply other remedial measures to
any premises, including any plants, biological control orga-nisms,
plant products, articles, or means of conveyance on the
premises, that the Secretary has reason to believe is infested
with the plant pest or noxious weed;
(3) quarantine any State or portion of a State in which the
Secretary finds the plant pest or noxious weed or any plant, bio-logical
control organism, plant product, article, or means of
conveyance that the Secretary has reason to believe is infested
with the plant pest or noxious weed; and
(4) prohibit or restrict the movement within a State of any
plant, biological control organism, plant product, article, or
means of conveyance when the Secretary determines that the
prohibition or restriction is necessary to prevent the dissemina-
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S.L.C.
tion of the plant pest or noxious weed or to eradicate the plant
pest or noxious weed.
(b) REQUIRED FINDING OF EMERGENCY.*The Secretary may
take action under this section only upon finding, after review and
consultation with the Governor or other appropriate official of the
State affected, that the measures being taken by the State are inad-equate
to eradicate the plant pest or noxious weed.
(c) NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES.*
(1) IN GENERAL.*Except as provided in paragraph (2), be-fore
any action is taken in any State under this section, the Sec-retary
shall notify the Governor or other appropriate official of
the State affected, issue a public announcement, and file for
publication in the Federal Register a statement of*
(A) the Secretary,s findings;
(B) the action the Secretary intends to take;
(C) the reasons for the intended action; and
(D) where practicable, an estimate of the anticipated
duration of the extraordinary emergency.
(2) TIME SENSITIVE ACTIONS.*If it is not possible to file for
publication in the Federal Register prior to taking action, the
filing shall be made within a reasonable time, not to exceed 10
business days, after commencement of the action.
(d) APPLICATION OF LEAST DRASTIC ACTION.*No plant, biologi-cal
control organism, plant product, plant pest, noxious weed, arti-cle,
or means of conveyance shall be destroyed, exported, or returned
to the shipping point of origin, or ordered to be destroyed, exported,
or returned to the shipping point of origin under this section unless,
in the opinion of the Secretary, there is no less drastic action that
is feasible and that would be adequate to prevent the dissemination
of any plant pest or noxious weed new to or not known to be widely
prevalent or distributed within and throughout the United States.
(e) PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION.*The Secretary may pay com-pensation
to any person for economic losses incurred by the person
as a result of action taken by the Secretary under this section. The
determination by the Secretary of the amount of any compensation
to be paid under this subsection shall be final and shall not be sub-ject
to judicial review.
SEC. 416. RECOVERY OF COMPENSATION FOR UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVI-TIES.
(a) RECOVERY ACTION.*The owner of any plant, plant biologi-cal
control organism, plant product, plant pest, noxious weed, arti-cle,
or means of conveyance destroyed or otherwise disposed of by
the Secretary under section 414 or 415 may bring an action against
the United States to recover just compensation for the destruction or
disposal of the plant, plant biological control organism, plant prod-uct,
plant pest, noxious weed, article, or means of conveyance (not
including compensation for loss due to delays incident to deter-mining
eligibility for importation, entry, exportation, movement in
interstate commerce, or release into the environment), but only if the
owner establishes that the destruction or disposal was not author-ized
under this title.
(b) TIME FOR ACTION; LOCATION.*An action under this section
shall be brought not later than 1 year after the destruction or dis-posal
of the plant, plant biological control organism, plant product,
plant pest, noxious weed, article, or means of conveyance involved.
The action may be brought in any United States district court where
the owner is found, resides, transacts business, is licensed to do
business, or is incorporated.
SEC. 417. CONTROL OF GRASSHOPPERS AND MORMON CRICKETS.
(a) IN GENERAL.*Subject to the availability of funds pursuant
to this section, the Secretary shall carry out a program to control
grasshoppers and Mormon crickets on all Federal lands to protect
rangeland.
(b) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.*
(1) IN GENERAL.*Subject to paragraph (3), upon the re-quest
of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Inte-rior
shall transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture, from any no-year
appropriations, funds for the prevention, suppression, and
control of actual or potential grasshopper and Mormon cricket
outbreaks on Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the Sec-retary
of the Interior. The transferred funds shall be available
only for the payment of obligations incurred on such Federal
lands.
(2) TRANSFER REQUESTS.*Requests for the transfer of
funds pursuant to this subsection shall be made as promptly as
possible by the Secretary.
(3) LIMITATION.*Funds transferred pursuant to this sub-section
may not be used by the Secretary until funds specifically
appropriated to the Secretary for grasshopper control have been
exhausted.
(4) REPLENISHMENT OF TRANSFERRED FUNDS.*Funds
transferred pursuant to this subsection shall be replenished by
supplemental or regular appropriations, which shall be re-quested
as promptly as possible.
(c) TREATMENT FOR GRASSHOPPERS AND MORMON CRICKETS*
(1) IN GENERAL.*Subject to the availability of funds pursu-ant
to this section, on request of the administering agency or the
agriculture department of an affected State, the Secretary, to
protect rangeland, shall immediately treat Federal, State, or
private lands that are infested with grasshoppers or Mormon
crickets at levels of economic infestation, unless the Secretary
determines that delaying treatment will not cause greater eco-nomic
damage to adjacent owners of rangeland.
(2) OTHER PROGRAMS.*In carrying out this section, the
Secretary shall work in conjunction with other Federal, State,
and private prevention, control, or suppression efforts to protect
rangeland.
(d) FEDERAL COST SHARE OF TREATMENT.*
(1) CONTROL ON FEDERAL LANDS.*Out of funds made
available or transferred under this section, the Secretary shall
pay 100 percent of the cost of grasshopper or Mormon cricket
control on Federal lands to protect rangeland.
(2) CONTROL ON STATE LANDS.*Out of funds made avail-able
under this section, the Secretary shall pay 50 percent of the
cost of grasshopper or Mormon cricket control on State lands.
(3) CONTROL ON PRIVATE LANDS.*Out of funds made avail-able
under this section, the Secretary shall pay 33.3 percent of
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S.L.C.
the cost of grasshopper or Mormon cricket control on private
lands.
(e) TRAINING.*From appropriated funds made available or
transferred by the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of Agri-culture
for such purposes, the Secretary of Agriculture shall provide
adequate funding for a program to train personnel to accomplish ef-fectively
the objective of this section.
SEC. 418. CERTIFICATION FOR EXPORTS.
The Secretary may certify as to the freedom of plants, plant
products, or biological control organisms from plant pests or nox-ious
weeds, or the exposure of plants, plant products, or biological
control organisms to plant pests or noxious weeds, according to the
phytosanitary or other requirements of the countries to which the
plants, plant products, or biological control organisms may be ex-ported.
Subtitle B*Inspection and Enforcement
SEC. 421. INSPECTIONS, SEIZURES, AND WARRANTS.
(a) ROLE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL.*The activities authorized by
this section shall be carried out consistent with guidelines approved
by the Attorney General.
(b) WARRANTLESS INSPECTIONS.*The Secretary may stop and
inspect, without a warrant, any person or means of conveyance
moving*
(1) into the United States to determine whether the person
or means of conveyance is carrying any plant, plant product, bi-ological
control organism, plant pest, noxious weed, or article
subject to this title;
(2) in interstate commerce, upon probable cause to believe
that the person or means of conveyance is carrying any plant,
plant product, biological control organism, plant pest, noxious
weed, or article subject to this title; and
(3) in intrastate commerce from or within any State, por-tion
of a State, or premises quarantined as part of a extraor-dinary
emergency declared under section 415 upon probable
cause to believe that the person or means of conveyance is car-rying
any plant, plant product, biological control organism,
plant pest, noxious weed, or article regulated under that section
or is moving subject to that section.
(c) INSPECTIONS WITH A WARRANT.*
(1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.*The Secretary may enter, with a
warrant, any premises in the United States for the purpose of
conducting investigations or making inspections and seizures
under this title.
(2) APPLICATION AND ISSUANCE OF A WARRANT.*Upon
proper oath or affirmation showing probable cause to believe
that there is on certain premises any plant, plant product, bio-logical
control organism, plant pest, noxious weed, article, facil-ity,
or means of conveyance regulated under this title, a United
States judge, a judge of a court of record in the United States,
or a United States magistrate judge may, within the judge,s or
magistrate,s jurisdiction, issue a warrant for the entry upon the
premises to conduct any investigation or make any inspection or
seizure under this title. The warrant may be applied for and ex-ecuted
by the Secretary or any United States Marshal.
SEC. 422. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.
The Secretary may gather and compile information and conduct
any investigations the Secretary considers necessary for the admin-istration
and enforcement of this title.
SEC. 423. SUBPOENA AUTHORITY.
(a) AUTHORITY TO ISSUE.*The Secretary shall have power to
subpoena the attendance and testimony of any witness, and the pro-duction
of all documentary evidence relating to the administration
or enforcement of this title or any matter under investigation in con-nection
with this title.
(b) LOCATION OF PRODUCTION.*The attendance of any witness
and production of documentary evidence may be required from any
place in the United States at any designated place of hearing.
(c) ENFORCEMENT OF SUBPOENA.*In the case of disobedience to
a subpoena by any person, the Secretary may request the Attorney
General to invoke the aid of any court of the United States within
the jurisdiction in which the investigation is conducted, or where
the person resides, is found, transacts business, is licensed to do
business, or is incorporated, in requiring the attendance and testi-mony
of any witness and the production of documentary evidence.
In case of a refusal to obey a subpoena issued to any person, a court
may order the person to appear before the Secretary and give evi-dence
concerning the matter in question or to produce documentary
evidence. Any failure to obey the court,s order may be punished by
the court as a contempt of the court.
(d) COMPENSATION.*Witnesses summoned by the Secretary
shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are paid to witnesses
in courts of the United States, and witnesses whose depositions are
taken and the persons taking the depositions shall be entitled to the
same fees that are paid for similar services in the courts of the
United States.
(e) PROCEDURES.*The Secretary shall publish procedures for
the issuance of subpoenas under this section. Such procedures shall
include a requirement that subpoenas be reviewed for legal suffi-ciency
and signed by the Secretary. If the authority to sign a sub-poena
is delegated, the agency receiving the delegation shall seek re-view
for legal sufficiency outside that agency.
(f) SCOPE OF SUBPOENA.*Subpoenas for witnesses to attend
court in any judicial district or to testify or produce evidence at an
administrative hearing in any judicial district in any action or pro-ceeding
arising under this title may run to any other judicial dis-trict.
SEC. 424. PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION.
(a) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.*Any person that knowingly violates
this title, or that knowingly forges, counterfeits, or, without author-ity
from the Secretary, uses, alters, defaces, or destroys any certifi-cate,
permit, or other document provided for in this title shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be fined in ac-cordance
with title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for a period
not exceeding 1 year, or both.
(b) CIVIL PENALTIES.*
(1) IN GENERAL.*Any person that violates this title, or that
forges, counterfeits, or, without authority from the Secretary,
uses, alters, defaces, or destroys any certificate, permit, or other
document provided for in this title may, after notice and oppor-tunity
for a hearing on the record, be assessed a civil penalty
by the Secretary that does not exceed the greater of*
(A) $50,000 in the case of any individual (except that
the civil penalty may not exceed $1,000 in the case of an
initial violation of this title by an individual moving regu-lated
articles not for monetary gain), $250,000 in the case
of any other person for each violation, and $500,000 for all
violations adjudicated in a single proceeding; or
(B) twice the gross gain or gross loss for any violation,
forgery, counterfeiting, unauthorized use, defacing, or de-struction
of a certificate, permit, or other document pro-vided
for in this title that results in the person deriving pe-cuniary
gain or causing pecuniary loss to another.
(2) FACTORS IN DETERMINING CIVIL PENALTY.*In deter-mining
the amount of a civil penalty, the Secretary shall take
into account the nature, circumstance, extent, and gravity of the
violation or violations and the Secretary may consider, with re-spect
to the violator*
(A) ability to pay;
(B) effect on ability to continue to do business;
(C) any history of prior violations;
(D) the degree of culpability; and
(E) any other factors the Secretary considers appro-priate.
(3) SETTLEMENT OF CIVIL PENALTIES.*The Secretary may
compromise, modify, or remit, with or without conditions, any
civil penalty that may be assessed under this subsection.
(4) FINALITY OF ORDERS.*The order of the Secretary as-sessing
a civil penalty shall be treated as a final order review-able
under chapter 158 of title 28, United States Code. The va-lidity
of the Secretary,s order may not be reviewed in an action
to collect the civil penalty. Any civil penalty not paid in full
when due under an order assessing the civil penalty shall there-after
accrue interest until paid at the rate of interest applicable
to civil judgments of the courts of the United States.
(c) LIABILITY FOR ACTS OF AN AGENT.*When construing and
enforcing this title, the act, omission, or failure of any officer, agent,
or person acting for or employed by any other person within the
scope of his or her employment or office, shall be deemed also to be
the act, omission, or failure of the other person.
(d) GUIDELINES FOR CIVIL PENALTIES.*The Secretary shall co-ordinate
with the Attorney General to establish guidelines to deter-mine
under what circumstances the Secretary may issue a civil pen-alty
or suitable notice of warning in lieu of prosecution by the Attor-ney
General of a violation of this title.
SEC. 425. ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS OF ATTORNEY GENERAL.
The Attorney General may*
(1) prosecute, in the name of the United States, all criminal
violations of this title that are referred to the Attorney General
by the Secretary or are brought to the notice of the Attorney
General by any person;
(2) bring an action to enjoin the violation of or to compel
compliance with this title, or to enjoin any interference by any
person with the Secretary in carrying out this title, whenever
the Secretary has reason to believe that the person has violated,
or is about to violate this title, or has interfered, or is about to
interfere, with the Secretary; and
(3) bring an action for the recovery of any unpaid civil pen-alty,
funds under reimbursable agreements, late payment pen-alty,
or interest assessed under this title.
SEC. 426. COURT JURISDICTION.
(a) IN GENERAL.*The United States district courts, the District
Court of Guam, the District Court of the Virgin Islands, the highest
court of American Samoa, and the United States courts of other ter-ritories
and possessions are vested with jurisdiction in all cases
arising under this title. Any action arising under this title may be
brought, and process may be served, in the judicial district where
a violation or interference occurred or is about to occur, or where
the person charged with the violation, interference, impending viola-tion,
impending interference, or failure to pay resides, is found,
transacts business, is licensed to do business, or is incorporated.
(b) EXCEPTION.*This section does not apply to the imposition
of civil penalties under section 424(b).
Subtitle C*Miscellaneous Provisions
SEC. 431. COOPERATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.*The Secretary may cooperate with other Fed-eral
agencies or entities, States or political subdivisions of States,
national governments, local governments of other nations, domestic
or international organizations, domestic or international associa-tions,
and other persons to carry out this title.
(b) RESPONSIBILITY.*The individual or entity cooperating with
the Secretary under subsection (a) shall be responsible for*
(1) the authority necessary to conduct the operations or take
measures on all land and properties within the foreign country
or State, other than those owned or controlled by the United
States; and
(2) other facilities and means as the Secretary determines
necessary.
(c) TRANSFER OF BIOLOGICAL CONTROL METHODS.*The Sec-retary
may transfer to a State, Federal agency, or other person bio-logical
control methods using biological control organisms against
plant pests or noxious weeds.
(d) COOPERATION IN PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.*The Secretary
may cooperate with State authorities or other persons in the admin-istration
of programs for the improvement of plants, plant products,
and biological control organisms.
(e) PHYTOSANITARY ISSUES.*The Secretary shall ensure that
phytosanitary issues involving imports and exports are addressed
based on sound science and consistent with applicable international
agreements. To accomplish these goals, the Secretary may*
(1) conduct direct negotiations with plant health officials or
other appropriate officials of other countries;
(2) provide technical assistance, training, and guidance to
any country requesting such assistance in the development of
agricultural health protection systems and import/export sys-tems;
and
(3) maintain plant health and quarantine expertise in other
countries*
(A) to facilitate the establishment of phytosanitary sys-tems
and the resolution of phytosanitary issues;
(B) to assist those countries with agricultural health
protection activities; and
(C) to provide general liaison on agricultural health
issues with the plant health or other appropriate officials
of the country.
SEC. 432. BUILDINGS, LAND, PEOPLE, CLAIMS, AND AGREEMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.*To the extent necessary to carry out this title,
the Secretary may acquire and maintain all real or personal prop-erty
for special purposes and employ any persons, make grants, and
enter into any contracts, cooperative agreements, memoranda of un-derstanding,
or other agreements.
(b) TORT CLAIMS.*
(1) IN GENERAL.*Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
Secretary may pay tort claims in the manner authorized in the
first paragraph of section 2672 of title 28, United States Code,
when the claims arise outside the United States in connection
with activities that are authorized under this title.
(2) REQUIREMENTS OF CLAIM.*A claim may not be allowed
under this subsection unless the claim is presented in writing
to the Secretary within 2 years after the date on which the
claim accrues.
SEC. 433. REIMBURSABLE AGREEMENTS.
(a) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS.*The Secretary
may enter into reimbursable fee agreements with persons for
preclearance of plants, plant products, biological control organisms,
and articles at locations outside the United States for movement
into the United States.
(b) FUNDS COLLECTED FOR PRECLEARANCE.*Funds collected
for preclearance shall be credited to accounts which may be estab-lished
by the Secretary for this purpose and shall remain available
until expended for the preclearance activities without fiscal year
limitation.
(c) PAYMENT OF EMPLOYEES.*
(1) IN GENERAL.*Notwithstanding any other law, the Sec-retary
may pay employees of the Department of Agriculture per-forming
services relating to imports into and exports from the
United States, for all overtime, night, or holiday work per-formed
by them, at rates of pay established by the Secretary.
(2) REIMBURSEMENT OF THE SECRETARY.*
(A) IN GENERAL.*The Secretary may require persons
for whom the services are performed to reimburse the Sec-retary
for any sums of money paid by the Secretary for the
services.
(B) USE OF FUNDS.*All funds collected under this
paragraph shall be credited to the account that incurs the
costs and shall remain available until expended without
fiscal year limitation.
(d) LATE PAYMENT PENALTIES.*
(1) COLLECTION.*Upon failure to reimburse the Secretary
in accordance with this section, the Secretary may assess a late
payment penalty, and the overdue funds shall accrue interest,
as required by section 3717 of title 31, United States Code.
(2) USE OF FUNDS.*Any late payment penalty and any ac-crued
interest shall be credited to the account that incurs the
costs and shall remain available until expended without fiscal
year limitation.
SEC. 434. REGULATIONS AND ORDERS.
The Secretary may issue such regulations and orders as the
Secretary considers necessary to carry out this title.
SEC. 435. PROTECTION FOR MAIL HANDLERS.
This title shall not apply to any employee of the United States
in the performance of the duties of the employee in handling the
mail.
SEC. 436. PREEMPTION.
(a) REGULATION OF FOREIGN COMMERCE.*No State or political
subdivision of a State may regulate in foreign commerce any article,
means of conveyance, plant, biological control organism, plant pest,
noxious weed, or plant product in order*
(1) to control a plant pest or noxious weed;
(2) to eradicate a plant pest or noxious weed; or
(3) prevent the introduction or dissemination of a biological
control organism, plant pest, or noxious weed.
(b) REGULATION OF INTERSTATE COMMERCE.*
(1) IN GENERAL.*Except as provided in paragraph (2), no
State or political subdivision of a State may regulate the move-ment
in interstate commerce of any article, means of convey-ance,
plant, biological control organism, plant pest, noxious
weed, or plant product in order to control a plant pest or nox-ious
weed, eradicate a plant pest or noxious weed, or prevent
the introduction or dissemination of a biological control orga-nism,
plant pest, or noxious weed, if the Secretary has issued
a regulation or order to prevent the dissemination of the biologi-cal
control organism, plant pest, or noxious weed within the
United States.
(2) EXCEPTIONS.*
(A) REGULATIONS CONSISTENT WITH FEDERAL REGULA-TIONS.*
A State or a political subdivision of a State may
impose prohibitions or restrictions upon the movement in
interstate commerce of articles, means of conveyance,
plants, biological control organisms, plant pests, noxious
weeds, or plant products that are consistent with and do
not exceed the regulations or orders issued by the Secretary.
(B) SPECIAL NEED.*A State or political subdivision of
a State may impose prohibitions or restrictions upon the
movement in interstate commerce of articles, means of con-veyance,
plants, plant products, biological control orga-
nisms, plant pests, or noxious weeds that are in addition
to the prohibitions or restrictions imposed by the Secretary,
if the State or political subdivision of a State demonstrates
to the Secretary and the Secretary finds that there is a spe-cial
need for additional prohibitions or restrictions based
on sound scientific data or a thorough risk assessment.
SEC. 437. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this title or application of any provision of
this title to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remain-der
of this title and the application of the provision to other persons
and circumstances shall not be affected by the invalidity.
SEC. 438. REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED LAWS.
(a) REPEAL.*The following provisions of law are repealed:
(1) The Act of August 20, 1912 (commonly known as the
++Plant Quarantine Act,,)(7 U.S.C. 151)164a, 167).
(2) The Federal Plant Pest Act (7 U.S.C. 150aa et seq., 7
U.S.C. 147a note).
(3) Subsections (a) through (e) of section 102 of the Depart-ment
of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 147a).
(4) The Federal Noxious Weed Act of 1974 (7 U.S.C. 2801
et seq.), except the first section and section 15 of that Act (7
U.S.C. 2801 note; 7 U.S.C. 2814).
(5) The Act of January 31, 1942 (commonly known as the
++Mexican Border Act,,)(7 U.S.C. 149).
(6) The Joint Resolution of April 6, 1937 (commonly known
as the ++Insect Control Act,,)(7 U.S.C. 148 et seq.).
(7) The Halogeton Glomeratus Act (7 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.).
(8) The Golden Nematode Act (7 U.S.C. 150 et seq.).
(9) Section 1773 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (Public
Law 99)198; 7 U.S.C. 148f).
(b) EMERGENCY TRANSFER AUTHORITY REGARDING PLANT
PESTS.*The first section of Public Law 97)46 (7 U.S.C. 147b) is
amended*
(1) by striking ++plant pests or,,; and
(2) by striking ++section 102 of the Act of September 21,
1944, as amended (7 U.S.C. 147a), and,,.
(c) EFFECT ON REGULATIONS.*Regulations issued under the
authority of a provision of law repealed by subsection (a) shall re-main
in effect until such time as the Secretary issues a regulation
under section 434 that supersedes the earlier regulation.
Subtitle D*Authorization of
Appropriations
SEC. 441. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such amounts as may
be necessary to carry out this title. Except as specifically authorized
by law, no part of the money appropriated under this section shall
be used to pay indemnities for property injured or destroyed by or
at the direction of the Secretary.
SEC. 442. TRANSFER AUTHORITY.
(a) AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER CERTAIN FUNDS.*In connection
with an emergency in which a plant pest or noxious weed threatens
any segment of the agricultural production of the United States, the
Secretary may transfer from other appropriations or funds available
to the agencies or corporations of the Department of Agriculture
such amounts as the Secretary considers necessary to be available
in the emergency for the arrest, control, eradication, and prevention
of the spread of the plant pest or noxious weed and for related ex-penses.
(b) AVAILABILITY.*Any funds transferred under this section
shall remain available for such purposes without fiscal year limita-tion.