7 U.S.C. § 7711 - Regulation of movement of plant pests

• Cite as: 7 U.S.C. § 7711
• Currency: Current through P.L. 116-259 (12/23/2020)

(a) Prohibition of unauthorized movement of plant pests

Except as provided in subsection (c), no person shall import, enter, export, or move in interstate commerce any plant pest, unless the importation, entry, exportation, or movement is authorized under general or specific permit and is in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may issue to prevent the introduction of plant pests into the United States or the dissemination of plant pests within the United States.

(b) Requirements for processes

The Secretary shall ensure that the processes used in developing regulations under subsection (a) governing consideration of import requests are based on sound science and are transparent and accessible.

(c) Authorization of movement of plant pests by regulation

(1) Exception to permit requirement

The Secretary may issue regulations to allow the importation, entry, exportation, or movement in interstate commerce of specified plant pests without further restriction if the Secretary finds that a permit under subsection (a) is not necessary.

(2) Petition to add or remove plant pests from regulation

Any person may petition the Secretary to add a plant pest to, or remove a plant pest from, the regulations issued by the Secretary under paragraph (1).

(3) Response to petition by the Secretary

In the case of a petition submitted under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall act on the petition within a reasonable time and notify the petitioner of the final action the Secretary takes on the petition. The Secretary's determination on the petition shall be based on sound science.

(d) Prohibition of unauthorized mailing of plant pests

(1) In general

Any letter, parcel, box, or other package containing any plant pest, whether sealed as letter-rate postal matter or not, is nonmailable and shall not knowingly be conveyed in the mail or delivered from any post office or by any mail carrier, unless the letter, parcel, box, or other package is mailed in compliance with such regulations as the Secretary may issue to prevent the dissemination of plant pests into the United States or interstate.