The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service today announced that it is seeking public comments through an “advance notice of proposed rulemaking” on its existing imported nursery stock regulations.

Nursery stock is also known as  “plants for planting.”  According to the International Plant Protection Convention, plants for planting are “living plants and parts thereof, including seeds and germplasm, intended to remain planted, to be planted or to be replanted to ensure their subsequent growth, reproduction or propagation.”

Under current regulations, all plants for planting are allowed to enter the United States if the shipment is accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate and has been inspected and found to be free of plant pests, unless the importation is specifically prohibited or further restricted by the regulations.

APHIS uses an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to maximize feedback on ideas that are under consideration regarding possible regulatory changes that may ultimately be published in a proposed rule.  Interested persons would than be given an opportunity to comment on a proposed rule.  Before any changes become effective, APHIS would still have to publish a final rule.

Possible changes to the regulation include establishing a category in the regulations for plants for planting that would be excluded from importation pending risk evaluation and approval; developing ongoing programs to reduce the risk of entry and establishment of quarantine pests introduced through imported plants; combining existing regulations governing the importation of plants for planting into one section and reevaluating the risks posed by plants for planting currently prohibited.

This notice is scheduled for publication in the Dec. 10 Federal Register.  APHIS documents published in the Federal Register and related information, including the names of organizations and individuals who have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

Consideration will be given to comments received on or before March 10, 2005.  Comments can be submitted by postal mail, commercial delivery or e-mail.  Send an original and three copies of postal mail or commercial delivery comments to  Docket No. 03-069-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238 or e-mail comments to regulations@aphis.usda.gov.  E-mail comments must be contained in the body the message; do not send attached files.  Please include your name and address in the body of the message and type“Docket No. 03-069-1" on the subject line.  To submit comments online, go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for locating this docket and submitting comments.

Comments can be reviewed in USDA’s South Building, Room 1141, 14th St. and Independence Ave., SW, Washington, D.C., between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.  To facilitate entry into the comment reading room, please call (202) 690-2817.