Part 1.
TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Chapter 20.
COTTON PEST CONTROL
The Texas Department of Agriculture (the department) proposes amendments
to §§20.1 and 20.3, new §§20.10 - 20.17, and the repeal
of §§20.2 and 20.10, 20.13 and 20.14, all concerning quarantine
requirements for cotton pest control. The amendments and new sections are
proposed to prevent the artificial re-infestation of boll weevil into an
area that is suppressed, functionally eradicated, or eradicated. The boll
weevil eradication program in Texas was initiated in 1994 in an effort to
rid the state of the boll weevil. There are now 11 active eradication zones
in the state comprising approximately 6 million acres of cotton. The Southern
Rolling Plains Boll Weevil Eradication Zone was one of the first eradication
zones implemented and it has now reached the functionally eradicated status.
Once a zone has become eradicated but is still surrounded by infested counties,
the zone can still become re-infested from outside areas. Elimination of
weevil re-infestations can be expensive. In areas of the southeastern United
States, the cost to stop re-infestations ranged from $20,000 to over one
million dollars with an average cost of $125,000 per outbreak. The proposed
rules will help protect the Southern Rolling Plains Zone, and other zones
reaching the eradication stage in the future, from boll weevil re- infestation
through the establishment of quarantine restrictions on the movement of regulated
articles from a quarantined area into a restricted area. This proposal was
developed using input obtained from a Boll Weevil Quarantine Task Force composed
of representatives from cotton producer associations including the Texas
Cotton Ginners Association, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, the
Boll Weevil Technical Advisory Committee of the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication
Foundation and the Foundation.
The repeal of §20.2 is proposed because the department has proposed
a new Subchapter B of Chapter 20, which does not require the payment of an
inspection fee. The department also proposes the repeal of the current Subchapter
B. Quarantine Requirements §§20.10, 20.13 and 20.14. The repeal
of these sections is proposed because new sections have been added to replace §§20.10,
20.13 and 20.14 and current sections have been updated. New Subchapter B.
Quarantine Requirements §§20.10-20.17 will replace those now in
effect.
Section 20.1 defines terms used in Chapter 20 and is amended to include
new definitions of the terms "compliance agreement, functionally eradicated
area, hostable cotton, protection plan, restricted area, and trap " and amended
definitions of "certificate, cotton, cotton products, destroyed, or destruction,
eradicated area, seed cotton, suppressed area, and treatment." Definitions
of "quarantined area" and "quarantined articles" are deleted since they are
defined within new §20.11 and new §20.15, respectively. The definition
of "inspector" is deleted because that term is not used in the proposed new
sections. The amendments to §20.3 clarify the section and make it consistent
with proposed new §§20.10-20.17.
New §20.10 - 20.11 defines the pest and the quarantined areas. New §20.12
- 20.14 establishes three categories of boll weevil eradication (suppressed,
functionally eradicated, and eradicated areas) and identifies counties within
the functionally eradicated area. The Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation
recommended to the department that the Southern Rolling Plains Boll Weevil
Eradication Zone be declared functionally eradicated and provided scientific
documentation acceptable to the department indicating that movement of regulated
articles into this zone presented a threat to the success of boll weevil
eradication. The data indicated that boll weevil numbers were well below
the requirement of an average of 0.001 per trap. Consequently, the commissioner
declared the Southern Rolling Plains Zone to be functionally eradicated on
September 20, 2000. Regulated articles are listed in new §20.15. The
articles include equipment involved in harvesting and transportation of
cotton as well as cotton products. New §20.16 describes restrictions
for movement of cotton products and equipment as well as methods by which
movement is allowed. Equipment listed as a regulated article must be cleaned
or treated prior to moving into a restricted area. Other regulated articles
may be moved into a restricted area provided that the producer, transporter,
ginner, or other responsible party has implemented a protection plan approved
by the department and operates under the conditions of a compliance agreement
established with the department. New §20.17 provides for inspections
and certificates to be issued by an authorized representative of the department
to certify that regulated articles have been treated and do not represent
a pest risk.
Ed Gage, coordinator for pest management programs, has determined that
for the first five-year period the proposed amendments and new sections are
in effect, there is no anticipated fiscal impact on state or local governments
as a result of administration and enforcement of the sections.
Mr. Gage has also determined that for each year of the first five years
the proposed amendments and new sections are in effect, the public benefit
anticipated as a result of administering and enforcing the new and amended
sections is that the risk of artificial re-infestation of a restricted area
by boll weevils will be minimized thereby protecting the investment that
cotton producers and the State of Texas have made to eradicate the pest.
Once the boll weevil is reduced to low levels or eradicated from cotton producing
areas of the state, fewer insecticide applications should be necessary to
produce high quality cotton. In other eradicated areas of the United States,
it is estimated that growers are saving an average of $36 per acre in reduced
pesticide applications and earning an additional $42 per acre from increased
cotton yield. Preventing re-infestation by boll weevils in restricted areas
may enable Texas cotton producers to achieve similar results.
There will be a cost to some individuals, microbusinesses and small businesses
including cotton producers, transporters, ginners and others directly involved
in cotton production. There will be a cost incurred for cleaning and/or treating
equipment, such as cotton pickers, cotton strippers, boll buggies, and module
trucks, used for harvesting or transporting cotton when moved into or through
restricted areas. There will also be a cost incurred for cleaning and/or
treating equipment used in stalk destruction, such as tractors, shredders,
plows, and disks, when moved into or through restricted areas. Cleaning involves
the physical removal of hostable material through methods such as removal
by hand, high-pressure air cleaning, and high pressure washing. Treatment
of equipment will involve fumigation of regulated articles as prescribed
by the department. Costs associated with cleaning or treating equipment will
vary depending upon the cleaning or treatment method used, the cleanliness
of the equipment, the capabilities of the grower, and the type of equipment
being cleaned or treated. Because of the wide range of variables involved
in cleaning and treating equipment, a cost to affected persons cannot be
determined at this time. There may also be costs associated with implementing
a protection plan if mitigating measures are required to safeguard a restricted
area from re-infestation by boll weevil. In the proposed rule, a protection
plan is defined as a plan developed for the purpose of mitigating, with the
goal of preventing, boll weevil infestation and establishment in an area.
Mitigating measures will vary depending upon the location selected, the
type of equipment being used, and the associated quarantined article. Measures
may include, but are not limited to, the following: approved insecticide
field treatment of cotton and cotton products prior to delivery to an area
or a gin; requirements for moving, handling, storage and treatment or use
of approved insecticide applications to regulated articles; and the monitoring
of boll weevils at a specified site(s). Costs associated with implementing
a protection plan will vary due to the wide range of mitigating measures
possible. In some circumstances, the use of current practices or equipment
by a producer, transporter, ginner, or other responsible parties may be
approved in the protection plan, thereby minimizing costs to those affected
by the proposed rule. Because each plan may be unique and situation specific,
costs associated with implementing a protection plan cannot be determined
at this time.
Comments on the proposal may be submitted to Ed Gage, coordinator for
pest management, Texas Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 12847, Austin,
Texas 78711. Comments must be received no later than 30 days from the date
of the publication of the proposal in the
Texas
Register
.
Subchapter A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
4 TAC §20.1, §20.3
The amendments to §§20.1 and 20.3 are proposed in
accordance with the Texas Agriculture Code (the Code), §74.006, which
provides the department with the authority to adopt rules as necessary for
the effective enforcement and administration of Chapter 74, Subchapter A; §74.004
which provides the department with the authority to establish regulated areas,
dates and appropriate methods of destruction of stalks, other cotton parts
and products of host plants for cotton pests; and §74.122, which provides
the department with the authority to adopt rules relating to quarantining
areas of Texas that are infested with the boll weevil, including rules addressing
the storage and movement of regulated articles into and out of a quarantined
area; and §74.123, which authorizes the department to issue or authorize
the issuance of certificates or permits relating to movement of a regulated
article.
The code that is affected by the proposal is Texas Agriculture Code, Chapter
74, Subchapters A and D.
§20.1.Definitions.
[
(1)
(No change.)
(2)
Certificate--A phytosanitary certificate issued by an
authorized representative of the department
[
(3)
(No change.)
(4)
Compliance agreement - A written
agreement signed by a person engaged in growing, distributing, handling or
moving regulated articles whereby, he or she agrees to comply with conditions
specified in the agreement concerning the basis upon which a certificate
may be issued for movement of regulated articles or for the purposes of compliance
with applicable rules.
(5)
[
(6)
[
(7)
[
(8)
[
(9)
[
(10)
[
(11)
[
(12)
[
(13)
Foundation - The Texas Boll
Weevil Eradication Foundation, Inc.
(14)
Functionally eradicated area
- An area meeting the trapping criteria for a suppressed area with no confirmed
evidence of boll weevil reproduction occurring in the area and no oviposition
in squares, and in which the movement of regulated articles presents a threat
to the success of the boll weevil eradication program. The boll weevil population
must be equal to or less than an average of 0.001 boll weevils per trap per
week for the cotton growing season as measured by boll weevil pheromone
traps operated by the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation or other governmental
agency.
(15)
[
(16)
[
(17)
[
(18)
Hostable cotton --Cotton that
has fruiting structures such as buds, squares, flowers or bolls present.
[
Inspector--An employee of
the department, or the United States Department of Agriculture who is authorized
to conduct inspections, or an individual designated by the commissioner of
agriculture. ]
(19)
[
(20)
[
(21)
[
(22)
[
(23)
[
(24)
Protection plan - A plan developed
for the purpose of mitigating, with the goal of preventing, boll weevil infestation
and establishment in an area. Mitigating measures may include, but are not
limited to, the following:
(A)
approved insecticide field treatment of cotton
and cotton products prior to delivery to an area or a gin;
(B)
requirements for moving, handling, storage and
treatment or use of approved insecticide applications to regulated articles;
and
(C)
monitoring of boll weevils at a specified site(s).
[
Quarantined area--Any portion
of the State of Texas which has been placed under quarantine by the department
due to cotton pest(s) infestation.]
[
Quarantined articles--The
following articles are quarantined: boll weevil; pink bollworm; cotton; cotton
products; any means of transportation which have been used in conveying
cotton products and any other item contaminated with cotton or cotton pests,
including any equipment used in harvesting cotton. Baled cotton and manufactured
cotton products are not quarantined articles.]
(25)
[
(26)
Restricted Area --An area
designated as suppressed, functionally eradicated, or eradicated of boll
weevils, as those terms are defined in this section.
(27)
[
(28)
[
(29)
[
(30)
[
(31)
Trap -A type of adult boll
weevil pheromone trap approved by the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation.
(32)
[
(33)
[
§20.3.Violations and Enforcement Actions.
(a)
Violations. In addition to any other violations that may
arise under requirements of the Texas Agriculture Code, Chapter 74, or regulations
adopted pursuant to the Texas Agriculture Code, Chapter 71
or Chapter
74
:
(1)
Failure to comply with cotton stalk destruction requirements
outlined in Subchapter C of this chapter (relating to Stalk Destruction
Program) constitutes a violation.
(2)
Failure to submit a notification of alternative stalk
destruction methods when required constitutes a violation.
(b)
Enforcement Actions.
(1)
The department may direct any means of conveyance containing
plants, plant products, or other items susceptible to cotton pest contamination
to an authorized inspection point for treatment or reinspection prior to
entering a restricted
area
[
(2)
Any violation of these rules is subject to civil and criminal
penalties. In addition, the department may revoke a certificate
or
compliance agreement
, and/or assess administrative penalties as prescribed
in the Texas Agriculture Code, §12.020, against any person for a violation
of these rules
and/or for failure to adhere to the conditions of a protection
plan
.
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been
reviewed by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority
to adopt.
Filed with the Office of
the Secretary of State, on April 23, 2001.
TRD-200102325
Dolores Alvarado Hibbs
Deputy General Counsel
Texas Department of Agriculture
Earliest possible date of adoption: June 3, 2001
For further information, please call: (512) 463-4075
4 TAC §20.2
(Editor's note: The text of the following section proposed for
repeal will not be published. The section may be examined in the offices of
the Texas Department of Agriculture or in the Texas Register office, Room
245, James Earl Rudder Building, 1019 Brazos Street, Austin.)
The repeal of §20.2. is proposed in accordance
with the Texas Agriculture Code (the Code), §12.016, which provides
the department with the authority to adopt rules as necessary for administration
of the Code; and §74.006, which provides the department with the authority
to adopt rules as necessary for the enforcement of boll weevil eradication.
The code that is affected by the proposal is the Texas Agriculture Code,
Chapter 12 and Chapter 74, Subchapter A.
§20.2.Inspection Fee.
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been
reviewed by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority
to adopt.
Filed
with the Office of the Secretary of State, on April 23, 2001.
TRD-200102326
Dolores Alvarado Hibbs
Deputy General Counsel
Texas Department of Agriculture
Earliest possible date of adoption: June 3, 2001
For further information, please call: (512) 463-4075
In addition to the definitions set out in the Texas Agriculture
Code and in the Texas Administrative Code the
]
The
following
words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings
unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
inspector
]
allowing the movement of plants or plant products, or a document issued by
an
authorized representative of the department
[
inspector
] allowing the movement of equipment or vehicles.
(4)
] Cotton--All parts of cotton
and wild cotton plants of the genera Gossypium and Thurberia [
, except
cotton products
].
(5)
] Cotton destruction date--The
date established in this chapter for the destruction of cotton stalks.
(6)
] Cotton lint--All forms of
raw ginned cotton except linters and gin waste.
(7)
] Cotton products--Seed cotton,
cotton lint, linters, oil mill waste, gin waste,
squares, bolls,
gin trash, cotton seed, cottonseed hulls, and all other forms of unmanufactured
cotton fiber.
(8)
] Cotton seed--The seed of the
cotton plant, separated from lint.
(9)
] Destroyed, or destruction--Killed
by cutting or dislodging the roots,
burying the entire plant,
or by an alternative method which completely kills the leaves, stems, flowers,
fruit, and roots of the plant. In zones with a shred and/or plow destruction
requirement, shredded cotton will be considered destroyed.
(10)
] Eradicated area--An area
[
declared by the commissioner of agriculture to be
] apparently
free of [
either pink bollworm or
] boll weevil
or, for which
scientific documentation acceptable to the department has been provided that
indicates that no boll weevils were captured for a period of at least one
cotton growing season by weevil pheromone traps operated by the Texas Boll
Weevil Eradication Foundation or other governmental agency.
[
infestation. The commissioner may grant such a designation after a written
recommendation is submitted to the department from the Texas Boll Weevil
Eradication Foundation, the Director of the Texas Agricultural Extension
Service, the Director of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, or the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which includes competent scientific
documentation indicating the area is apparently free of infestation.
]
(11)
] Eradication area--A defined
area in which
a boll weevil
[
an
] eradication program
has been initiated.
(12)
] Gin motes--Short fragments
of unmanufactured cotton fiber removed from lint cleaners after ginning cotton.
(13)
] Gin trash--All material
produced during the cleaning and ginning of seed cotton, except lint, linters,
cotton seed, and gin waste.
(14)
] Gin waste--All forms of
unmanufactured waste cotton fiber resulting from the ginning of seed cotton,
including gin motes.
(15)
(16)
] Linters--Residual unmanufactured
cotton fiber separated from cottonseed after the lint has been removed.
(17)
] Non-hostable cotton--Cotton
that is free of fruiting structures such as buds, squares, flowers or bolls.
(18)
] No-till cotton field--A
field in which the soil is left undisturbed from the time the cotton crop
is harvested until the new crop is planted in narrow slots and weed control
is accomplished using herbicides.
(19)
] Oil mill waste--Waste products,
including linters, derived from the milling of cotton seed.
(20)
] Plow--To dislodge or sever
the roots of plants in a manner which prevents further growth. Equipment
used to accomplish this could include a stalk puller, any type of plow,
or similar implement.
(21)
(22)
(23)
] Regrowth cotton--Cotton
that has not been completely destroyed in such a way as to absolutely prevent
further growth.
(24)
] Seed cotton--All forms of
un-ginned
[
unginned
] cotton from which the seed has not
been separated.
(25)
] Stalk puller--An implement
which dislodges the roots of cotton plants by pulling up the stalks.
(26)
] Standing stalks--Original,
undestroyed cotton plants growing in a field before or after harvesting.
(27)
] Suppressed area--An area
[
declared by the commissioner of agriculture
]
in which some
boll weevil reproduction may be present in the area or a portion thereof,
and
in which the movement of
regulated
[
quarantined
] articles presents a threat to the success of
the boll weevil
eradication
program
[
of either pink bollworm or boll
weevil
].
The boll weevil population must be equal to or less than
0.025 boll weevils per trap per week for the cotton- growing season as measured
by boll weevil pheromone traps operated by the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication
Foundation or other governmental agency.
[
The commissioner may
grant such a designation after a written recommendation is submitted to the
department from the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation, the Director
of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, the Director of the Texas Agricultural
Experiment Station, or the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
which includes competent scientific documentation indicating that movement
of quarantined articles into the area presents a threat to the success of
eradication in an eradication area.
]
(28)
] Treatment--The act of eliminating
possible cotton pest infestation(s) by means of cleaning,
spraying
or fumigation
to
[
in instances in which normal cleaning
will not
] eliminate the infestation.
(29)
] Volunteer cotton--Cotton
developing after the growing season from incidental seeds.
zone
].
Subchapter B. QUARANTINE REQUIREMENTS