4 TAC §20.13
The Texas Department of Agriculture (the department) proposes
an amendment to §20.13, concerning functionally eradicated areas under
the department's cotton pest control program. The amendment is proposed to
add the Rolling Plains Central Boll Weevil Eradication Zone (Rolling Plains
Central Zone) to the list of areas that have been declared functionally 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 eleven active eradication
zones in the state comprising approximately six million acres of cotton. The
Rolling Plains Central Zone has now reached the functionally eradicated status.
Once a zone has achieved this status but is still surrounded by infested counties,
the zone can become re-infested with boll weevil from outside areas. Elimination
of boll weevil re- infestations can be expensive. In areas of the southeastern
United States, the control to stop re-infestations ranged from $20,000 to
over one million dollars with an average cost of $125,000 per outbreak. The
designation as functionally eradicated will help protect the Rolling Plains
Central Zone 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.
In accordance with 4 T.A.C. §20.13, the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication
Foundation (the foundation) recommended that the department to declare the
Rolling Plains Central Zone as functionally eradicated. The foundation 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 boll weevils per trap per
week for the season. Consequently, the Commissioner of Agriculture declared
the Rolling Plains Central Zone to be functionally eradicated on February
19, 2002.
Ed Gage, coordinator for pest management programs, has determined that
for the first five-year period the proposed amendment is 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 amendment is 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, or 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.
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
.
The amendment to §20.13 is 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.
§20.13.Functionally Eradicated Areas.
(a)
(No change.)
(b)
The Southern Rolling Plains
and Rolling Plains Central
Boll Weevil Eradication
Zones
[
Zone
], as defined
in the Texas Agriculture Code, §74.1021,
have
[
has
]
been declared as functionally eradicated by the commissioner.
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 February 28, 2002.
TRD-200201258
Dolores Alvarado Hibbs
Deputy General Counsel
Texas Department of Agriculture
Earliest possible date of adoption: April 14, 2002
For further information, please call: (512) 463-4075