PROPOSED RULES
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 08-03-146.
Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: Chapter 16-324 WAC, Rules for the certification of seed potatoes. The department is proposing to revise the current seed potato certification rule by repealing the requirement for PVY testing for Generation 1 lots.
Hearing Location(s): Washington State Department of Agriculture, 1111 Washington Street S.E., Natural Resources Building, Conference Room 259, Olympia, WA 98504-2560, on April 23, 2008, at 9:00 a.m.
Date of Intended Adoption: April 30, 2008.
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 April 23, 2008.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Henri Gonzales by April 16, 2008, TTY (800) 833-6388.
Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: The department is proposing to revise the current seed potato certification rule by repealing the requirement for PVY testing for Generation 1 lots because of changes in the US-Canada necrotic virus management plan. The PVY testing for Generation 1 see potato lots was required in the US-Canada necrotic virus management plan. The management plan was recently revised to repeal this requirement because of changes in the genetic make-up of PVY.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: This testing is now an unnecessary expense for growers enrolled in the voluntary certification program.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapters 15.14 and 34.05 RCW.
Statute Being Implemented: Chapter 15.14 RCW.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Name of Proponent: Washington state department of agriculture, governmental.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation and Enforcement: Tom Wessels, 1111 Washington Street, Olympia, WA 98504-2560, (360) 902-1984.
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. The department has analyzed the economic effects of the proposed revisions and has concluded that there are no additional costs on the regulated industry and, therefore, a formal SBEIS is not required.
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).
March 19, 2008
Mary A. Martin Toohey
Assistant Director
OTS-1298.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 07-11-010, filed 5/3/07,
effective 6/3/07)
WAC 16-324-385
Production requirements.
(1) A grower is
not eligible to produce nuclear, generation 1, or generation 2
seed potatoes, if ring rot has been detected on his or her
farm during the previous two years.
(2) Prenuclear class.
(a) Prenuclear seed lots must be derived from disease tested micropropagated plants. All testing methods and laboratories must be approved by the department.
(b) A minimum of one percent (and not less than twenty samples) of prenuclear seed produced in a greenhouse must be tested and found free of potato virus X (PVX), potato virus Y (PVY), potato virus S (PVS), potato leafroll virus (PLRV), Erwinia carotovora ssp. caratovora (soft rot), Erwinia carotovora ssp. atroseptica (black leg), and Clavibacter michiganense ssp. sependonicum (ring rot).
(c) The department will inspect all facilities used in the production of prenuclear class seed potatoes on a periodic basis. Department approval is necessary in order to utilize these facilities.
(3) Nuclear class.
(a) Nuclear class seed potatoes must be propagated entirely from prenuclear plants.
(b) Each nuclear class seed lot must be distinctly separated in storage and in the field.
(c) If a ground rig is used for spraying, wide enough spacing between rows must be left, so that tires will not touch plants during the growing season.
(d) Growers must plant cut seed and single drop seed separately, with single drop seed identified.
(4) Generations 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
(a) Growers must leave a distinct separation of at least six feet unplanted or planted to some other crop between lots of seed potatoes from different classes. A similar separation must be left between different varieties, unless the varieties are readily distinguishable by visual observation.
(b) When more than one lot of seed potatoes is planted in the same field, growers must stake or mark the identity of each lot.
(((c) All generation 1 lots must be sampled and tested
under the department's supervision for PVY at a rate of four
hundred plants for every ten lots. For farms with fewer than
ten generation 1 lots, a minimum of four hundred plants must
be sampled and tested.))
[Statutory Authority: Chapters 15.14 and 34.05 RCW. 07-11-010, § 16-324-385, filed 5/3/07, effective 6/3/07. Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.14 RCW. 00-20-070, § 16-324-385, filed 10/3/00, effective 11/3/00.]