01 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND RURAL RESOURCES

    001 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, DIVISION OF PLANT INDUSTRY

SUMMARY: This chapter establishes a quarantine against the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid to prevent its introduction into the State, in order to protect Maine's forest, timber and wildlife resources from this destructive pest.

Section I: Statutory Authority.

The statutory authority for these regulations is 7 M. R. S. A., Chapter 409, Sections 2301-2303.

Section II: Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Quarantine.

A quarantine is established against the following pest and possible carriers.

A. Pest. Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae Ann and).

B. Area Under Quarantine. In the northeastern United States, the counties included in the USDA Forest Service's publication entitled "List of Counties and States with Known Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Infestations" dated December, 2000.

In the western United States, the State of Alaska, the State of California, the State of Oregon and the State of Washington.

C. Regulated articles. Hemlock seedlings and nursery stock, logs, lumber with bark, chips with bark, and uncomposted shipments of bark.

D. Restrictions. All regulated articles having originated or previously been held in an area under quarantine are prohibited entry into the State of Maine except as specifically allowed and conditioned below.

1. Hemlock seedlings and nursery stock originating from or having previously been held in an area under quarantine are prohibited entry into Maine.

2. Hemlock seedlings and nursery stock from non-quarantined areas shipped into Maine must be accompanied by a State Phytosanitary Certificate, or a Certificate of Origin, indicating the number and type of regulated articles, and attesting to the fact that the regulated articles:

a. originated from a non-quarantined area;

b. have not been held in an area under quarantine; and

c. have not been exposed to regulated articles from quarantined areas.

A copy of the State Phytosanitary Certificate or Certificate of Origin must be signed by a plant regulatory official in the originating state and upon issuance must be faxed to the Division of Plant Industry, at (207) 287-7548 or such other fax number as the Division may from time to time publish. A copy must also be mailed to the Division of Plant Industry, 28 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333, within 3 days of issuance.

3.Hemlock seedlings and nursery stock which have been transported through an area under quarantine are prohibited entry into Maine except in accordance with the following conditions:

a. the vehicle transporting the regulated articles must be enclosed by a covering adequate to prevent the introduction of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (such as canvas, plastic, or closely woven cloth), or must be in an enclosed trailer body;

b. the regulated articles were not off-loaded in the area under quarantine; and

c. no regulated articles were added to the shipment in the quarantined area.

4.Hemlock logs, lumber with bark, chips with bark, and un-composted shipments of bark from quarantined and non-quarantined areas may be imported into Maine provided that said material is shipped only to sites within Maine that are pre-approved by the Maine Forest Service, Department of Conservation. Such shipments must be made under a written agreement between the shipper and the Maine Forest Service.

E. Violations.

1. Any written agreement to ship hemlock logs, lumber with bark, chips with bark, and un-composted bark from quarantined and non-quarantined areas to pre-approved sites in Maine may be canceled by the Maine Forest Service if the person who entered into it fails to comply with the provisions of this rule. If the person has been given notice of cancellation orally, written confirmation of the decision and the reasons for it will be provided within 10 working days. Written agreements may be reinstated by the Maine Forest Service if it finds that the reason(s) for cancellation has (have) been rectified.

2.Any person found to violate any provision of this quarantine is guilty of a Class E crime.