Part 1. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Chapter 20. COTTON PEST CONTROL
Subchapter B. QUARANTINE REQUIREMENTS
The Texas Department of Agriculture (the department) adopts amendments to §20.12 and §20.16, concerning a suppressed area under the department's cotton pest control program, without changes to the proposal published in the May 25, 2007, issue of the Texas Register (32 TexReg 2809). Amendments are adopted to add the St. Lawrence Boll Weevil Eradication Zone (the St. Lawrence Zone) to the list of suppressed areas in §20.12 and to exempt transportation of regulated articles through Sterling County from certain quarantine requirements in §20.16.
The addition of the St. Lawrence Zone to the list of suppressed areas will minimize the risk of artificial re-infestation of the area by boll weevils, 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.
In accordance with §20.12, the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation (the foundation) recommended that the department declare the St. Lawrence Zone as suppressed. The foundation provided scientific documentation acceptable to the department, which indicates that movement of regulated articles into this zone presents a threat to the success of boll weevil eradication. The data provided indicates that boll weevil numbers for the 2006 cotton crop year were below the requirement of an average of 0.025 boll weevils per trap per week. Consequently, the Commissioner of Agriculture declared the St. Lawrence Zone to be suppressed on May 8, 2007.
Amendments to §20.16 are adopted to exempt regulated articles being transported through Sterling County from restrictions in §20.16. This exemption is not expected to pose a risk to boll weevil eradication because no cotton is grown in Sterling County and when the amendments become effective all surrounding counties will have attained either suppressed or functionally eradicated status. Enactment of this exemption will avoid imposing an unnecessary regulatory burden and expenses on persons transporting regulated articles through Sterling County.
No comments were received on the proposal.
The amendments to §20.12 and §20.16 are adopted in accordance with the Texas Agriculture 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.
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 July 6, 2007.
TRD-200702861
Dolores Alvarado Hibbs
Deputy General Counsel
Texas Department of Agriculture
Effective date: July 26, 2007
Proposal publication date: May 25, 2007
For further information, please call: (512) 463-4075