EMERGENCY RULES
Date of Adoption: April 6, 2004.
Purpose: This rule-making order adds WAC 16-470-750, 16-470-755, 16-470-760, 16-470-765, 16-470-770, and 16-470-775 to chapter 16-470 WAC by establishing a quarantine for Phytophthora ramorum, a fungal-like pathogen which causes a plant disease often called sudden oak death. Movement into Washington state from California of plants of host species and soil and potting mix associated with host species is prohibited, unless conditions specified in rule have been met. Advance notification of shipments and a phytosanitary certificate from the official state or federal certifying agency must accompany each shipment of regulated articles. Additional restrictions for cultures and live material of the pathogen are enacted.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapters 17.24 and 15.13 RCW.
Under RCW 34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds that immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare, and that observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment upon adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest.
Reasons for this Finding: The intrusion into this state of the nonnative, invasive plant pest species Phytophthora ramorum on or in association with horticultural plants is of grave and immediate concern. To date, extensive survey and testing has not identified this pathogen in Washington, except in confined nursery environments. Phytophthora ramorum infestations have recently been identified at a major California nursery, from which significant amounts of stock were and continue to be shipped into Washington state. The primary shipping season for nursery stock is now, and risk of entry of this pathogen is urgent. This rule is being adopted to protect the economic well-being of the agricultural, forest, horticultural, and floricultural industries, and the environmental quality and natural resources of the state.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 6, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making:
New 0,
Amended 0,
Repealed 0;
Pilot Rule Making:
New 0,
Amended 0,
Repealed 0;
or Other Alternative Rule Making:
New 0,
Amended 0,
Repealed 0.
Effective Date of Rule:
Immediately.
April 6, 2004
Valoria H. Loveland
Director
OTS-7085.1
PHYTOPHTHORA RAMORUM QUARANTINE
NEW SECTION
WAC 16-470-750
Establishing quarantine for Phytophthora
ramorum.
Phytophthora ramorum is a nonnative, invasive
fungal-like pathogen that causes sudden oak death disease in
some oak species and severe canker, blight or twig dieback in
numerous other plant genera. The pathogen is capable of
spreading through multiple pathways, including infected host
species in nursery stock. Known infestations have occurred
in Washington in a few sites, all of which have been
contained. Known infestations have recently been found in
nursery stock shipped into Washington and many other states
from at least one major producer in California. If allowed to
become widely established in Washington, Phytophthora ramorum
could have a devastating economic impact on the agriculture
and forestry industries of the state and could endanger the
environmental quality, native plant populations, and natural
resources of the state. The director of agriculture, pursuant
to chapters 17.24 and 15.13 RCW, has determined that the
regulation and exclusion of host species, associated soil and
potting mix, and cultures of Phytophthora ramorum itself, is
necessary to protect the agricultural crops, economic health
and environmental quality of the state.
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(1) All plants of the following species:
| Abies grandis | Pieris floribunda x japonica | Rubus spectabilis |
| Acer macrophyllum | Pieris formosa | Sequoia sempervirens |
| Aesculus californica | Pieris formosa x japonica | Syringa vulgaris |
| Aesculus hippocastanum | Pieris formosa var. forrestii | Taxus baccata |
| Arbutus menziesii | Pieris formosa var. forrestii x Pieris japonica | Toxicodendron diversiloba |
| Arbutus unedo | Pieris x japonica | Trientalis latifolia |
| Arctostaphylos manzanita | Pittosporum undulatum | Umbellularia californica |
| Camellia japonica | Pseudotsuga menziesii | Vaccinium ovatum |
| Camellia reticulate | Quercus agrifolia | Vaccinium vitis-idaea |
| Camellia sasanqua | Quercus chrysolepis | Viburnum x bodnantense |
| Camellia x williamsii | Quercus falcate | Viburnum x burkwoodii |
| Castanea sativa | Quercus ilex | Viburnum x carlcephalum x V. utile |
| Corylus cornuta | Quercus kelloggii | Viburnum x pragense |
| Fagus sylvatica | Quercus parvula v. shrevei | Viburnum davidii |
| Hamamelis virginiana | Quercus rubra | Viburnum farreri (= V. fragrans) |
| Heteromeles arbutifolia | Quercus sativa | Viburnum lantana |
| Kalmia latifolia | Rhamnus californica | Viburnum opulus |
| Leucothoe fontanesiana | Rhamnus purshiana | Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum |
| Lithocarpus densiflorus | Rhododendron spp. | Viburnum tinus |
| Lonicera hispidula | Rosa gymnocarpa |
(a) Are associated with shipments of regulated articles designated in subsection (1) of this section, including incidental mud and soil on pots, means of conveyance, pallets, and other shipping materials; or
(b) Have been within five feet of a Phytophthora ramorum infected plant or from an infected site.
(3) All cultures and live material of Phytophthora ramorum.
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(2) All shipments of regulated articles specified in WAC 16-470-760(3) are prohibited unless accompanied by a special permit issued by the department pursuant to WAC 16-470-775.
(3) Persons shipping any regulated article specified in WAC 16-470-760 into this state from the area under quarantine shall notify the department's plant services program in advance of the shipment. Notification shall consist of transmitting a copy of the certificate designated in subsection (1) of this section to: Nursery Inspection Program Supervisor, Plant Protection Division, Washington State Department of Agriculture, 1111 Washington St. SE, P.O. Box 42560, Olympia, WA 98504-2560; fax 360-902-2094; e-mail: nursery@agr.wa.gov.
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