WSR 02-08-087

PROPOSED RULES

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


[ Filed April 3, 2002, 11:10 a.m. ]

     Original Notice.

     Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 02-03-132.

     Title of Rule: Chapter 16-324 WAC, Certification of seed potato planting stock.

     Purpose: Revision of these rules to bring Washington's seed potato certification program into compliance with North American Plant Protection Organization standards, as agreed upon in NAFTA and GATT, to reflect industry practices and program efficiencies, and to raise testing fees by an amount not to exceed the fiscal growth factor.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapter 15.14 RCW.

     Statute Being Implemented: Chapter 15.14 RCW.

     Summary: Proposed changes would bring the rules into compliance with North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO) standards, as agreed upon in NAFTA and GATT. They would also increase fees within the fiscal growth factor, in order to meet the statutory requirement that the certification program be self-supporting. Technical and programmatic changes are necessary to comply with current industry and regulatory practices.

     Reasons Supporting Proposal: Compliance with NAPPO standards is necessary in order to maintain export market opportunities in foreign nations and other states. The affected industry has advised the Washington State Department of Agriculture that these proposed changes are desirable.

     Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting: Mary Toohey, 1111 Washington Street, Olympia, WA 98504, (360) 902-1907; Implementation and Enforcement: Tom Wessels, 1111 Washington Street, Olympia, WA 98504, (360) 902-1984.

     Name of Proponent: Washington State Seed Potato Commission and Washington State Department of Agriculture, public and governmental.

     Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.

     Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: About fifteen growers enroll in the Washington seed potato certification program, which is created by these rules. Enrollment and compliance with the requirements of this grower-supported program are intended to produce a known, high quality agricultural product apparently free of specified diseases and other pests, that normally commands a market premium. Washington certified seed potatoes compete on the domestic and international market, and our rules must comply with international standards as established by the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO).

     Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: In general, the proposed changes bring the rules into compliance with NAPPO standards, as agreed upon in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and GATT. In order to do this, the proposal would implement a requirement for a North American Certified Seed Potato Health Certificate for all seed potatoes originating in other states or Canada. The proposed changes also increase fees within the current fiscal growth factor. Technical changes include altering the sampling protocols for PVX testing, changing several tolerances for field inspection criteria, and removing a requirement for PVX testing for generation 2 seed potatoes. Proposed changes also include establishing an end date for accepting applications into the program.

     No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. The proposed change will not have a major impact on the participating growers. The cost to the growers of the 2.79% increase in lab fees will be more than offset by reducing sample size and eliminating the requirement to test G2 class seed potatoes.

     RCW 34.05.328 does not apply to this rule adoption. The Washington State Department of Agriculture is not a listed agency.

     Hearing Location: County Annex Building, 1000 North Forest Street, Bellingham, WA 98225, on May 15, 2002, at 11:00 a.m.

     Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Jodi Jones by May 9, 2002, TDD (360) 902-1996, or (360) 902-1806.

     Submit Written Comments to: Mary Toohey, P.O. Box 42560, Olympia, WA 98504-2560, e-mail mtoohey@agr.wa.gov, fax (360) 902-2094, by close of business May 16, 2002.

     Date of Intended Adoption: May 23, 2002.

April 3, 2002

Mary A. Martin Toohey

Assistant Director

OTS-5565.1


AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 00-20-070, filed 10/3/00, effective 11/3/00)

WAC 16-324-361   Definitions.   (1) "Certification" means that the lot of seed potatoes was inspected and meets the requirements of this chapter.

     (2) "Cull" means any lot of potatoes rejected for certification for any reason.

     (3) "Department" means the department of agriculture of the state of Washington.

     (4) "Director" means the director of the department of agriculture or his/her duly appointed representative.

     (5) "Disease tested" means tested for and found free of all of the following diseases: Potato virus A (PVA), potato virus M (PVM), potato virus S (PVS), potato virus X (PVX), potato virus Y (PVY), potato leafroll virus (PLRV), potato spindle tuber viroid (spindle tuber), Erwinia carotovora ssp. carotovora (soft rot), Erwinia carotovora ssp. atroseptica (black leg) and Clavibacter michiganense spp. sependonicum (ring rot).

     (6) "Micropropagated" means potato stock propagated using aseptic laboratory techniques and culture media to promote plant tissue growth.

     (7) "Microtubers" means tubers produced in vitro by a micropropagated plant or plantlet.

     (8) "Minitubers" means tubers produced under controlled greenhouse conditions.

     (9) "Nematode" means plant parasitic nematodes capable of infesting potatoes, including but not limited to the genus Meloidogyne.

     (10) "Nuclear stock" means plantlets, microtubers, minitubers, or seed potatoes produced from prenuclear stock, and grown in the field for the first time.

     (11) "Plot" means a seed potato planting that is 0.25 acre or less in size.

     (12) "Powdery scab" means the disease caused by the fungus Spongospora subterranea.

     (13) "Prenuclear" means micropropagated plants or tubers and plants or minitubers produced in a greenhouse.

     (14) "Quarantine pest" means a pest of potential economic importance and not yet present in the state, or present but not widely distributed and being officially controlled.

     (15) "Recertification" means the process of certifying a seed lot that was certified the previous year.

     (((15))) (16) "Rogue" means removing diseased or undesirable plants, including all associated plant parts from a seed potato field.

     (((16))) (17) "Seed lot" means a field, in whole or in part, or a group of fields producing seed potatoes, or the potato tubers harvested from a seed potato field.

     (((17))) (18) "Seed potatoes" means vegetatively propagated tubers used for potato production.

     (((18))) (19) "Seed source" means seed potatoes produced by an individual grower within a particular seed production area.

     (((19))) (20) "Trace" means a barely perceivable indication of plant disease that amounts to less than 0.001 percent of sample.

     (((20))) (21) "Tolerance" means the maximum acceptable percentage of potato plants or tubers that is diseased, infected by plant pests, defective or off-type based on visual inspection or laboratory testing by the director or other authorized person.

     (((21))) (22) "Unit method" means a method of planting in which cut seed pieces from one tuber are dropped consecutively in a row, or in which all tubers from one plant are dropped consecutively in a row.

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.14 RCW. 00-20-070, § 16-324-361, filed 10/3/00, effective 11/3/00. Statutory Authority: RCW 15.14.030. 97-11-028, § 16-324-361, filed 5/14/97, effective 6/14/97.]


AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 00-20-070, filed 10/3/00, effective 11/3/00)

WAC 16-324-375   Application and withdrawal.   (1) To apply for certification, applicants must use the form provided by the department and furnish all information requested, including the date, name, signature and address of the applicant, lot number, seed source identification number, variety, class planted, acres, date planted, seed spacing at planting, average length of rows, year the field was last cropped to potatoes, along with their variety and lot number, and a map of the field location. Applications for certification must reach the department on or before June 15 of each year, accompanied by the appropriate fee, field location maps and evidence of eligibility such as tags or certificates. A North American Certified Seed Potato Health Certificate is required for evidence of eligibility for seed lots originating in other states or Canada, and must be submitted with the application. Unless prior approval has been granted, late applications will be assessed a late fee of twenty dollars per application. The department will not accept applications after July 10.

     (2) Separate applications are required for each variety, seed source, and seed lot.

     (3) Separate applications are required for each field location that is separated by more than one hundred feet.

     (4) Growers may withdraw a seed potato lot from certification for any reason by notifying the department in writing.

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.14 RCW. 00-20-070, § 16-324-375, filed 10/3/00, effective 11/3/00. Statutory Authority: RCW 15.14.030. 97-11-028, § 16-324-375, filed 5/14/97, effective 6/14/97. Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.14 RCW. 91-10-029 (Order 2083), § 16-324-375, filed 4/24/91, effective 5/25/91; 86-15-045 (Order 1897), § 16-324-375, filed 7/17/86; 78-12-034 (Order 1587), § 16-324-375, filed 11/21/78.]


AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 00-20-070, filed 10/3/00, effective 11/3/00)

WAC 16-324-398   Field inspection disease tolerance.   (1) Compliance with a 0.0% tolerance is not intended, nor should it be construed, to mean that the lot inspected is free from the disease. It means that the disease was not detected during visual inspections of the seed lot.

     (2) First and second field inspection tolerances, expressed as percentages.


Nuclear G 1 G 2 G 3 G 4 G 5
Factor 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd
Varietal mixture 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.01 ((0.05)) 0.25 ((0.01)) 0.25 ((0.08)) 0.25 ((0.05)) 0.25 ((0.20)) 0.25 ((0.10)) 0.25
Mosaic 0.00 0.00 ((0.00)) 0.10 ((0.00)) 0.10 ((0.01)) 0.20 ((TR(*))) 0.20 0.50 ((0.25)) 0.50 ((0.50)) 1.00 ((0.25)) 1.00 2.00 1.00
Leafroll 0.00 0.00 ((0.00)) 0.05 ((0.00)) 0.05 ((0.01)) 0.10 ((TR(*))) 0.10 ((0.03)) 0.25 ((0.01)) 0.25 ((0.08)) 0.25 ((0.05)) 0.25 0.40 ((0.20)) 0.25
Total visible virus 0.00 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.50 0.50 ((2.00)) 0.75 ((1.00)) 0.75 ((2.00)) 1.25 ((1.00)) 1.25 ((2.00)) 2.40 ((2.00)) 1.25
Phytoplasmas 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 0.10 0.20 0.20 0.50 0.50 1.00 1.00
Black leg 0.00 0.00 0.10 0.10 0.50 0.50 1.00 1.00 2.00 2.00 4.00 2.00
Ring rot 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Nematode 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Spindle tuber viroid and other quarantined pests 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
((*TR=Trace))

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.14 RCW. 00-20-070, § 16-324-398, filed 10/3/00, effective 11/3/00. Statutory Authority: RCW 15.14.030. 97-11-028, § 16-324-398, filed 5/14/97, effective 6/14/97.]


AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 00-20-070, filed 10/3/00, effective 11/3/00)

WAC 16-324-401   Latent virus testing requirements.   (1) PVX testing is required for nuclear and generation 1 ((and generation 2)) class seed potatoes. PVX testing is optional for all other classes.

     (2) Growers must submit petiole samples for latent virus testing to a laboratory approved by the department. The applicant is responsible for laboratory testing fees.

     (3) The minimum number of plants per seed lot to be sampled for PVX testing is one hundred. For nuclear class, a minimum of ((ten)) one percent of the total number of plants per lot must be sampled. For generation 1, a minimum of two ((percent of the total number of plants per lot)) hundred leaves per acre must be sampled. For generation 2, a minimum of fifty leaves per acre must be sampled. Generation 3, 4 and 5 seed lots should be sampled at a rate of twenty leaves per acre. The department may require additional testing.

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.14 RCW. 00-20-070, § 16-324-401, filed 10/3/00, effective 11/3/00. Statutory Authority: RCW 15.14.030. 97-11-028, § 16-324-401, filed 5/14/97, effective 6/14/97.]


AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 00-20-070, filed 10/3/00, effective 11/3/00)

WAC 16-324-431   Digging, storage and premarketing.   (1) Each seed lot must be stored with its identity maintained. All tubers from a unit planting method must be numbered and stored as an identifiable unit for the next year's planting.

     (2) Each storage or room containing more than one seed lot must have a solid barrier between each lot.

     (a) The department will reject any seed lot in which ring rot or nematode ((by a solid barrier)) is found.

     (b) Noncertified potatoes must not be stored in the same facility as certified seed potatoes.

     (3) The applicant must notify in writing receivers of any seed lot found to be infected with ring rot. The applicant must provide the department with a copy of this notification when it is sent to the receiver.

     (4) All seed classes must be graded according to the United States Standards for Grades of Seed Potatoes.

     (5) Each container or sack must be identified with an official Washington seed potato tag listing the grower's name, address, seed lot number, net weight, variety and classification unless such information is printed on the sacks or containers.

     (6) The department issues tags to the grower. The grower is required to comply with all of the following:

     (a) Tag the sack or container as the potatoes are sorted;

     (b) Allow inspection of graded seed potatoes at any time;

     (c) Remove the tags from out-of-grade potatoes under the supervision of the department; and

     (d) Return all unused tags to the department.

     (7) The department may issue a compliance agreement authorizing the grower to tag seed potatoes.

     (8) Bulk shipments must be identified with the information required in subsection (5) of this section.

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.14 RCW. 00-20-070, § 16-324-431, filed 10/3/00, effective 11/3/00. Statutory Authority: RCW 15.14.030. 97-11-028, § 16-324-431, filed 5/14/97, effective 6/14/97.]


AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 00-20-070, filed 10/3/00, effective 11/3/00)

WAC 16-324-720   Laboratory testing -- Fees.   (1) ELISA testing to determine the presence of potato viruses:


# Viruses # Samples Price/leaf sample Price/tuber sample
1 1 to 10 $((1.00)) 1.02 $((1.10)) 1.13
11 to 25 $((0.90)) 0.92 $((1.00)) 1.02
over 25 $((0.80)) 0.82 $((0.90)) 0.92
2 1 to 10 $((1.50)) 1.54 $((1.60)) 1.64
11 to 25 $((1.30)) 1.33 $((1.40)) 1.43
over 25 $((1.10)) 1.13 $((1.20)) 1.23
3 1 to 10 $((2.00)) 2.05 $((2.10)) 2.15
11 to 25 $((1.70)) 1.74 $((1.80)) 1.85
over 25 $((1.40)) 1.43 $((1.50)) 1.54
4 1 to 10 $((2.50)) 2.56 $((2.60)) 2.67
11 to 25 $((2.10)) 2.15 $((2.20)) 2.26
over 25 $((1.70)) 1.74 $((1.80)) 1.85
5 1 to 10 $((3.00)) 3.08 $((3.10)) 3.18
11 to 25 $((2.50)) 2.56 $((2.60)) 2.67
over 25 $((2.00)) 2.05 $((2.10)) 2.15
6 1 to 10 $((3.50)) 3.59 $((3.60)) 3.70
11 to 25 $((2.90)) 2.98 $((3.00)) 3.08
over 25 $((2.30)) 2.36 $((2.40)) 2.46

     (2) Spindle tuber viroid testing is provided at the actual cost to the department.

[Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.14 RCW. 00-20-070, § 16-324-720, filed 10/3/00, effective 11/3/00. Statutory Authority: Chapters 34.05 and 15.14 RCW. 92-22-017 (Order 4014), § 16-324-720, filed 10/22/92, effective 11/22/92.]


AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order 4014, filed 10/22/92, effective 11/22/92)

WAC 16-324-730   ELISA testing for the presence of bacteria -- Fees.   The fee for ELISA testing for the presence of bacterial ringrot (Clavibacter michiganisis subsp. sepedonicum) and Erwinia c. subsp. atroseptica, per sample . . . . . . . . . . . . $((1.20)) 1.23

[Statutory Authority: Chapters 34.05 and 15.14 RCW. 92-22-017 (Order 4014), § 16-324-730, filed 10/22/92, effective 11/22/92.]


AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order 4014, filed 10/22/92, effective 11/22/92)

WAC 16-324-740   Entry level primary test--Fees.  

     (1) Crystal violet pectate test for Erwinia sp., per sample . . . . . . . . . . . .

$((2.50)) 2.56
     (2) Nutrient - Yeast extract broth for bacteria, per sample . . . . . . . . . . . .

$((2.50)) 2.56

[Statutory Authority: Chapters 34.05 and 15.14 RCW. 92-22-017 (Order 4014), § 16-324-740, filed 10/22/92, effective 11/22/92.]


AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order 4014, filed 10/22/92, effective 11/22/92)

WAC 16-324-750   Tests for bacterial ringrot -- Fees.  

     (1) Gram stain test for bacterial ringrot, per sample . . . . . . . . . . . .

$((3.75)) 3.85
     (2) Bioassay (host plant indexing) to confirm bacterial ringrot, per sample . . . . . . . . . . . .

$((5.00)) 5.13

[Statutory Authority: Chapters 34.05 and 15.14 RCW. 92-22-017 (Order 4014), § 16-324-750, filed 10/22/92, effective 11/22/92.]

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