PROPOSED RULES
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 05-01-179.
Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: WAC 16-470-103 Definitions and 16-470-105 Area under order for apple maggot -- Pest free area -- Quarantine areas. This proposal amends the current apple maggot and plum curculio quarantine by changing the boundaries of the existing area under quarantine to add a portion of Yakima County and remove a portion of the existing area under quarantine in Kittitas County. An effective date of August 15, 2005, is proposed.
Hearing Location(s): Washington State Department of Agriculture, 21 North 1st Avenue, Conference Room 238, Yakima, WA 98902, on March 24, 2005, at 1:00 p.m.
Date of Intended Adoption: April 7, 2005.
Submit Written Comments to: Henri Gonzales, P.O. Box 42560, Olympia, WA 98504-2560, e-mail hgonzales@agr.wa.gov, fax (360) 902-2094, by March 24, 2005.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Henri Gonzales by March 17, 2005, TTY (360) 902-1996.
Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: The apple maggot is an insect native to eastern North America. Its hosts include apples, crabapple, and native hawthorn. In its larval development stage it can cause extensive damage to fruit. Since 1980, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) has conducted annual surveys for apple maggot. During this past summer (2004), WSDA identified several apple maggots originating from multiple sites in the Nile Valley area in Yakima County. Consistent with the recommendations of the Apple Maggot Working Group, this proposal amends WAC 16-470-105 by adding a portion of Yakima County to the existing apple maggot quarantine area. Survey data from 2004 also allows further refinement of the boundaries of the existing area under quarantine in Kittitas County. This proposal reduces the existing apple maggot quarantine area in Kittitas County. In addition, this proposal amends WAC 16-470-103 by eliminating the requirement that once an orchard is designated as "threatened with infestation" from apple maggot or plum curculio it must remain that way for two harvest seasons.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: Amending the current apple maggot quarantine is necessary to protect the environmental quality and agricultural crops of the state. Failure to adopt the proposed amendments would jeopardize foreign and domestic markets for Washington apples.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapter 17.24 and 34.05 RCW.
Statute Being Implemented: Chapter 17.24 RCW.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Name of Proponent: Washington State Department of Agriculture with the support of the Apple Maggot Working Group, governmental.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting: Mary Toohey, 1111 Washington Street, Olympia, WA 98504-2560, (360) 902-1907; Implementation and Enforcement: Dr. Brad White, 1111 Washington Street, Olympia, WA 98504-2560, (360) 902-2071.
No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. RCW 19.85.030 (1)(a) requires that an agency must prepare a small business economic impact statement (SBEIS) for proposed rules that impose a more than minor cost on businesses in an industry. Analysis of the economic impact of the proposed rule amendments indicates that the amendments will not have a more than minor impact on the regulated industry; therefore, an SBEIS has not been prepared. However, neglecting to amend the current rule as proposed may result in loss of markets and potential exports, which would have a more than minor economic impact on the Washington state commercial tree fruit industry.
A cost-benefit analysis is not required under RCW 34.05.328. The Washington State Department of Agriculture is not a listed agency under RCW 34.05.328 (5)(a)(i).
February 16, 2005
Mary A. Martin Toohey
Assistant Director
OTS-7733.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 01-14-075, filed 7/3/01,
effective 8/3/01)
WAC 16-470-103
Definitions.
The following definitions
shall apply to WAC 16-470-101 through 16-470-130:
(1) "Established" means present in a country, state, county or other area, multiplying and expected to continue.
(2) "Threatened with infestation" means that any life
stage of apple maggot or plum curculio has been found within
one-half mile of an orchard or other production site,
including any portion of an orchard outside or beyond the
one-half mile area. Orchards or production sites in a
quarantined area, which are not surveyed by a plant protection
organization, are considered to be threatened with
infestation. An orchard or other production site will be
removed from threatened with infestation status, if control
measures are performed at the detection site, and survey by
the department shows no further detection(s) within the
one-half mile area around the orchard or other production site
throughout the subsequent full growing season. ((Once an
orchard or other production site meets the criteria for
threatened with infestation status, it must remain in that
status through at least two harvest seasons.))
[Statutory Authority: Chapter 17.24 RCW. 01-14-075, § 16-470-103, filed 7/3/01, effective 8/3/01.]
(a) Counties of Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Columbia,
Douglas, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan,
Pend Oreille, Stevens, Walla Walla, and Whitman((, and
Yakima)).
(b) The portion of Kittitas County designated as follows:
Beginning at the ((northwest corner of Wanapum Dam and
Huntzinger Road; south along Huntzinger Road to the Yakima
County line; east to the Columbia River; north along the
Columbia River to the Wanapum Dam; and west)) point where
Interstate Highway No. 90 crosses longitude 120°31' minutes W;
thence southerly to the Kittitas - Yakima County line; thence
easterly along said county line to the Columbia River; thence
northerly along said Columbia River to Interstate Highway No.
90; thence westerly along Interstate Highway No. 90 to the
point of beginning.
(c) The portions of Yakima County east of longitude 120°48' minutes W.
(2) A quarantine for apple maggot is declared for the following portions of Washington state:
(a) Counties of Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Klickitat, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane, Skagit, Skamania, Thurston, Wahkiakum, and Whatcom.
(b) The counties of Kittitas ((County)) and Yakima,
except for the areas designated in subsection (1)(b) and (c)
of this section.
(3) A quarantine for apple maggot is declared for all states or foreign countries where apple maggot is established. The area under quarantine includes, but is not limited to, the states of Idaho, Oregon, Utah, and California, and, in the eastern United States, all states and districts east of and including North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, and any other areas where apple maggot is established.
[Statutory Authority: Chapters 17.24 and 34.05 RCW. 04-09-027, § 16-470-105, filed 4/13/04, effective 8/16/04. Statutory Authority: Chapter 17.24 RCW. 01-14-075, § 16-470-105, filed 7/3/01, effective 8/3/01.]