PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY
Subject of Possible Rule Making: WAC 16-301-220 Apply for a phytosanitary field inspection.
Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: Chapters 15.49 and 34.05 RCW.
Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: This proposal is necessary to modify the due dates for phytosanitary field inspection applications for spring planted annual seed crops in eastern Washington. The current rule has the due dates ranging from April 15 through July 1. There has been a shift in planting dates with some early planted crops that see some fields established in late February and some late crops not planted until after the July 1 deadline. This causes many fields to not be inspected at the optimum time when disease symptoms are evident. It is no longer practical to tie the due dates to the calendar. It is more feasible to have the due date correlated to the planting date. This will spread the inspection season out, better utilizing program staff. This will also get the applications in sooner, and thus will allow the fields to be inspected at the optimum growth stage.
Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: None.
Process for Developing New Rule: The Washington state department of agriculture staff will develop the specific rule proposal. All companies that apply for phytosanitary field inspections will be contacted concerning this proposal and will be invited to comment. Interested parties can participate in the public hearing/public comment process, the dates of which will be announced when the department files the rule proposal with the code reviser.
Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Fawad Shah, Washington State Department of Agriculture, Seed Program, 21 North 1st Avenue, Suite 203, Yakima, WA 98902, (509) 225-2636, e-mail Fshah@agr.wa.gov.
December 1, 2006
Dennis Hannapel
Assistant Director