Imported Seed

SUMMARY: We are planning to revise the ``Imported Seed'' regulations

issued under the Federal Seed Act (FSA) so that they reflect both the

1982 transfer of authority for portions of the FSA from the

Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, to the

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and recent

amendments to the FSA.

We are also considering revising the regulations to respond to

developments in the seed industry; among other changes, we are

considering revising the list of noxious weeds under the FSA,

establishing a reciprocal seed import certification program with

Canada, and allowing APHIS to enter into compliance agreements with

U.S. companies who wish to import Canadian seed for cleaning.

This notice solicits public comment on these issues.

DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or

before October 31, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to

Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, USDA, room 804,

Federal Building, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782. Please

state that your comments refer to Docket No. 93-126-1. Comments

received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th

Street and Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to

inspect comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to

facilitate entry into the comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Polly Lehtonen, Botanist,

Biological Assessment And Taxonomic Support, Plant Protection and

Quarantine, APHIS, USDA, 6505 Belcrest Road, room 624, Federal

Building, Hyattsville, MD 20782, (301) 436-8896.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

In 1939, Congress enacted the Federal Seed Act (FSA), directing the

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to regulate interstate commerce

in seeds and the USDA and the Department of Treasury to regulate

foreign commerce in seeds. Title III of the FSA, ``Foreign Commerce,''

requires shipments of imported agricultural and vegetable seeds to be

labeled correctly and to be tested for the presence of certain noxious

weeds as a condition of entry into the United States. On October 1,

1982, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the USDA transferred

authority for issuing and enforcing regulations under Title III (7 CFR

201.101 through 201.230; referred to below as the regulations) to the

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

We are planning to revise the regulations to reflect this transfer

of authority, as well as recent amendments to the FSA. We are also

considering revising the regulations in response to developments in the

seed industry.

Recent Amendments to the FSA

We are planning to remove the pure live seed requirements (7 CFR

201.102) from the regulations, since a January 8, 1983, amendment to

the FSA repealed the pure live seed requirements for imported seed.

Exemptions from Seed Import Requirements

Section 201.101 of the regulations exempts from the import

requirements 48 types of seed if imported for purposes other than

seeding. We are considering exempting all vegetable and agricultural

seeds from import requirements if imported for purposes other than

seeding.

Noxious Weed Seeds

We are considering expanding the list of noxious weeds under

Sec. 201.108 of the regulations to include seeds of all the plants

considered to be noxious weeds under the Federal Noxious Weed Act

regulations in 7 CFR 360.

Seed Import Certification Program With Canada

Imported vegetable and agricultural seeds are examined at the port

of entry wherever Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) inspectors are

present. At the Canadian border, however, U.S. Customs Service officers

sample shipments of imported seed and mail the samples to the USDA Seed

Examination Facility (SEF) in Beltsville, MD, where they are tested.

Testing of samples at SEF determines whether a seed shipment meets FSA

labeling requirements and whether it contains noxious weeds at or below

acceptable levels. Only after SEF examination can an imported seed

shipment from Canada be approved for entry.

During the last 5 years, seed imports from Canada have increased by

about 47 percent, with no corresponding increase in SEF staffing or

funding; delays in testing samples and releasing seed shipments have

resulted. Meanwhile, the annual percentage of Canadian seed shipments

refused admission by SEF because of noxious weed content has remained

at around 3 percent. Moreover, the same 6 U.S. companies have imported

90 percent of the seed rejected for noxious weed content.

Therefore, we are considering initiating a seed import

certification program with Canada. Under this program, APHIS would

allow Canadian-grown seed shipments to enter the United States without

SEF testing for noxious weed content, if accompanied by certification

from a registered seed technologist or a senior member of the

Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada. The certification would

indicate that the seed shipment meets FSA labeling and noxious weed

requirements and also is free of seeds from any of the noxious weeds

listed under the Federal Noxious Weed Act regulations (7 CFR 360). This

program would be reciprocal, as Canada already allows U.S.-grown seed

to enter Canada under a similar program.

We believe that a certification program could lighten the SEF

workload associated with Canadian-grown seed shipments without

compromising the integrity of the seed examination program and thus

free up resources for other important SEF activities, such as

identification of nonindigenous weed seeds intercepted at ports of

entry, identification of insect and pathogen host material, and

examination of high-risk seed shipments for noxious weed contamination.

Compliance Agreements

Several U.S. companies currently import for cleaning Canadian seed

containing noxious weeds. When SEF determines that a seed sample

contains noxious weeds, they send a notice to the importer refusing

entry for that shipment. The importer is then required, within one

year, to clean the shipment under the supervision of an PPQ inspector

or inspector designate. The shipment must then be sampled and retested

for noxious weed content. If the shipment is not cleaned and retested

within a year, it must be exported or destroyed.

We are considering allowing U.S. seed importers wishing to import

seed from Canada for cleaning to enter into compliance agreements with

APHIS and their State governments. The compliance agreements would

detail approved methods for destruction of seed screenings. Also, the

agreements would not require cleaning to be supervised by an APHIS

inspector or inspector designate, but would provide for unannounced

visits to the cleaning facilities by APHIS and State inspectors. We

would continue to require cleaned seed to be retested for noxious weed

content.

It is likely that the 6 U.S. companies currently importing the

majority of Canadian seed containing noxious weeds would enter into

such compliance agreements. We believe that the establishment of

compliance agreements also would reduce the heavy Canadian seed testing

workload at SEF and free up resources needed for other important SEF

activities, while maintaining the integrity of the seed examination

program. Further, a seed certification program would reduce the

processing time required for Canadian seed imports to enter the United

States.

Vegetable and Agricultural Seed Sampling

We are considering updating the tables of imported seed types in

Sec. 201.221a, based on changes in seed industry practices and

scientific developments. We are considering changing scientific names

of certain listed seeds to those currently recognized by the scientific

community and the USDA Germplasm Resource Information Network. Also, we

are considering adding seed types to the tables so that they might be

consistent with the AMS lists of seed types regulated for interstate

shipment.

Commenters may wish to address the following questions:

1. If a certification program with Canada is established, should

APHIS keep records of Canadian seed imports entering under a seed

import certification program? Would it be important for APHIS to keep

records as to which companies are importing how much and what type of

seed? Would such recordkeeping create an unnecessary paperwork burden?

2. If seed import compliance agreements with U.S. companies are

established, should APHIS be able to end an agreement following a

single violation of that agreement? Should Canadian seed entering the

United States for cleaning under a compliance agreement be tested by an

accredited Canadian laboratory prior to entry?

We will consider comments that are received within 45 days of

publication of this notice in the Federal Register. We will publish a

proposal in the Federal Register regarding any proposed amendment of

the regulations. This proposal would include discussion of issues

raised by the comments. Further, if we propose to amend the

regulations, we will hold a public hearing concerning that proposal, as

required by 7 U.S.C. 1592(c).

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1592.

Done in Washington, DC, this 9th day of September 1994.

Terry L. Medley,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 94-22851 Filed 9-14-94; 8:45 am]

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