Deadline to Submit Comments to APHIS on Lacey Declaration Review Is April 14
This notice is a reminder that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is requesting comments from the public by April 14, 2011 to assist in its review of the Lacey Act Declaration requirements for imported plants and plant products. Once this review is completed, APHIS will submit a report to Congress detailing its results and is authorized to issue certain regulations.
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The review is required by the 2008 Lacey Act Amendments, and is expected to cover the implementation of the (i) import declaration requirement, (ii) requirement for “unknown” species and countries, (iii) average percent recycled content requirement, and (iv) exclusion for packaging material.
APHIS adds that comments may also be submitted on the enforcement of the 2008 Act, and all comments received will be included with its analysis, as part of the report sent to Congress.
The 2008 Act requires APHIS to include certain information in its report, including:
Evaluation if Info in Declaration Helps with Enforcement
The 2008 Act states that the report shall evaluate the effectiveness -- in terms of enforcement -- of each type of information the import declaration requires, including the (1) scientific name of any plant contained in the importation, (2) value of the importation, (3) quantity and unit of measure of the plant, and (4) name of the country from which the plant was taken.
Also, if “Unknown” Species/Country & Recycled Content Provisions are Enforcement Aid
In addition, the report shall also evaluate the enforcement effectiveness of listing each plant species that may have been used if the species used varies and is unknown, and/or each country from which the plant used may have been taken, if the plant is commonly taken from more than one country and the country of harvest is unknown.
(An an alternative to this requirement, APHIS currently offers nine “Special Case” codes for certain species groupings, that allow, for example, the genus code to be “Special,” the species code to be “SPF”, and the country of harvest to be “**”. See ITT’s Online Archives or 12/08/10 news, 10120806, for BP summary.)
The report must also evaluate the enforcement effectiveness of the average percent content requirement, without regard to the species or country, for paper or paperboard products containing recycled content.
To Consider if Declaration Can be Harmonized with Other Regs
The report should also assess the potential to harmonize the above requirements with other applicable import regulations in existence as of the date of the report.
Any Recommendations for Legislation to Help ID Violative Plants
In addition, the report should include any recommendations for legislation that would assist in the identification of plants that are imported into the U.S. in violation of the declaration requirement.
An Analysis of the Trade Impact of Restrictions and Declaration
Lastly, the report must analyze the impact of the 2008 Act’s plant import, export, etc. prohibitions and the declaration requirement on the cost of legal plant imports and the extent and methodology of illegal logging practices and trafficking.
APHIS Can Issue Regs After Review is Completed
In addition, no later than 180 days after the review is completed, the 2008 Act states that APHIS has the authority to issue regulations to:
(i) limit to specific plants only, the unknown species/country or average recycled content requirements,
(ii) modify these two requirements in other ways as warranted by the review results, or
(iii) limit the scope of the exclusion for packaging, as warranted by the review results.
(Note that the 2008 Act indicates that the “unknown” requirements for species and countries and the exemption for recycled content are expected to be modified if any regulations are issued.)
(APHIS states any comments submitted in response to previous notices regarding implementation of the 2008 Act will also be taken into account and do not need to be resubmitted.
The Lacey Act was amended on May 22, 2008, by making it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce a broad range of plants, as well as plant products, with some limited exceptions, taken or traded in violation of the laws of the U.S., a U.S. State, or other countries. The amendments made it unlawful to make or submit any false information or label; they also implemented an import declaration requirement and provided for civil and criminal penalties.)
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 02/25/11 news, 11022524, and 02/28/11 news, 11022808 for BP notices on this request for comments.
See ITT’s Online Archives or 07/06/10 news, 10070615, for BP summary of 52 groups recommending a second set of business friendly changes to Lacey declaration.
See ITT’s Online Archives or 06/16/10 news, 10061646, for BP summary stating that no new enforcement phases were expected (four, including an initial outreach phase, have been implemented to date.)
APHIS contact: George Balady (301) 734-8295
(FR Pub 02/28/11, D/N APHIS-2008-0119)