7 U.S.C. § 7712 — Regulation of movement of plants, plant products, biological control organisms, noxious weeds, articles, and means of conveyance

be accompanied by a permit^* issued by the Secretary prior to the importation, entry, exportation, or movement in interstate commerce;

be accompanied by a certificate of inspection issued (in a manner and form required by the Secretary) by appropriate officials of the country or State^* from which the plant, plant product, biological control organism, noxious weed, article, or means of conveyance is to be moved;

be subject to remedial measures the Secretary determines to be necessary to prevent the spread of plant pests or noxious weeds; and

with respect to plants or biological control organisms, be grown or handled under post-entry quarantine conditions by or under the supervision of the Secretary for the purposes of determining whether the plant or biological control organism may be infested with plant pests or may be a plant pest or noxious weed.

specify how public input will be sought in advance of and during the process of promulgating regulations necessitating a risk assessment in order to ensure a fully transparent and publicly accessible process; and

include consideration of the following:

The Secretary shall conduct a study of the role for and application of systems approaches designed to guard against the introduction of plant pathogens into the United States associated with proposals to import plants or plant products into the United States.

In conducting the study the Secretary shall ensure participation by scientists from State departments of agriculture, colleges and universities, the private sector, and the Agricultural Research Service.

Not later than 2 years after June 20, 2000, the Secretary shall submit a report on the results of the study conducted under this section to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives.

In the case of noxious weeds, the Secretary may publish, by regulation, a list of noxious weeds that are prohibited or restricted from entering the United States or that are subject to restrictions on interstate movement within the United States.

Any person^* may petition the Secretary to add a plant species to, or remove a plant species from, the regulations issued by the Secretary under this subsection.

In the case of a petition submitted under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall act on the petition within a reasonable time and notify the petitioner of the final action the Secretary takes on the petition. The Secretary’s determination on the petition shall be based on sound science.

In the case of biological control organisms, the Secretary may publish, by regulation, a list of organisms whose movement in interstate commerce is not prohibited or restricted. Any listing may take into account distinctions between organisms such as indigenous, nonindigenous, newly introduced, or commercially raised.

Any person may petition the Secretary to add a biological control organism to, or remove a biological control organism from, the regulations issued by the Secretary under this subsection.

In the case of a petition submitted under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall act on the petition within a reasonable time and notify the petitioner of the final action the Secretary takes on the petition. The Secretary’s determination on the petition shall be based on sound science.