4 TAC §20.13
The Texas Department of Agriculture (the department) adopts
an amendment to §20.13 concerning quarantine requirements for cotton
pest control, without changes to the proposed text as published in the March
15, 2002 issue of the
Texas Register
(27 TexReg
1966). The amendment is adopted to prevent the artificial re-infestation of
boll weevil into an area that is 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 twelve active eradication zones in the
state comprising approximately six million acres of cotton. The Rolling Plains
Central Boll Weevil Eradication 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 adopted amendment 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.
No written or oral comments were received on the proposal.
The amendment to §20.13 is adopted 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.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of
the Secretary of State on April 30, 2002.
TRD-200202666
Dolores Alvarado Hibbs
Deputy General Counsel
Texas Department of Agriculture
Effective date: May 20, 2002
Proposal publication date: March 15, 2002
For further information, please call: (512) 463-4075