7 U.S.C. § 7712

Regulation of movement of plants, plant products, biological control organisms, noxious weeds, articles, and means of conveyance

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(a) In general

The Secretary may prohibit or restrict the importation, entry, exportation, or movement in interstate commerce of any plant, plant product, biological control organism, noxious weed, article, or means of conveyance, if the Secretary determines that the prohibition or restriction is necessary to prevent the introduction into the United States or the dissemination of a plant pest or noxious weed within the United States.

(b) Policy

The Secretary shall ensure that processes used in developing regulations under this section governing consideration of import requests are based on sound science and are transparent and accessible.

(c) RegulationsThe Secretary may issue regulations to implement subsection (a), including regulations requiring that any plant, plant product, biological control organism, noxious weed, article, or means of conveyance imported, entered, to be exported, or moved in interstate commerce—(1) be accompanied by a permit issued by the Secretary prior to the importation, entry, exportation, or movement in interstate commerce;(2) be accompanied by a certificate of inspection issued (in a manner and form required by the Secretary) by appropriate officials of the country or State from which the plant, plant product, biological control organism, noxious weed, article, or means of conveyance is to be moved;(3) be subject to remedial measures the Secretary determines to be necessary to prevent the spread of plant pests or noxious weeds; and(4) with respect to plants or biological control organisms, be grown or handled under post-entry quarantine conditions by or under the supervision of the Secretary for the purposes of determining whether the plant or biological control organism may be infested with plant pests or may be a plant pest or noxious weed.(d) NoticeNot later than 1 year after June 20, 2000, the Secretary shall publish for public comment a notice describing the procedures and standards that govern the consideration of import requests. The notice shall—(1) specify how public input will be sought in advance of and during the process of promulgating regulations necessitating a risk assessment in order to ensure a fully transparent and publicly accessible process; and(2) include consideration of the following:(A) Public announcement of import requests that will necessitate a risk assessment.(B) A process for assigning major/nonroutine or minor/routine status to such requests based on current state of supporting scientific information.(C) A process for assigning priority to requests.(D) Guidelines for seeking relevant scientific and economic information in advance of initiating informal rulemaking.(E) Guidelines for ensuring availability and transparency of assumptions and uncertainties in the risk assessment process including applicable risk mitigation measures relied upon individually or as components of a system of mitigative measures proposed consistent with the purposes of this chapter.(e) Study and report on systems approach(1) Study

The Secretary shall conduct a study of the role for and application of systems approaches designed to guard against the introduction of plant pathogens into the United States associated with proposals to import plants or plant products into the United States.

(2) Participation by scientists

In conducting the study the Secretary shall ensure participation by scientists from State departments of agriculture, colleges and universities, the private sector, and the Agricultural Research Service.

(3) Report

Not later than 2 years after June 20, 2000, the Secretary shall submit a report on the results of the study conducted under this section to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives.

(f) Noxious weeds(1) Regulations

In the case of noxious weeds, the Secretary may publish, by regulation, a list of noxious weeds that are prohibited or restricted from entering the United States or that are subject to restrictions on interstate movement within the United States.

(2) Petition to add or remove plants from regulation

Any person may petition the Secretary to add a plant species to, or remove a plant species from, the regulations issued by the Secretary under this subsection.

(3) Duties of 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.

(g) Biological control organisms(1) Regulations

In the case of biological control organisms, the Secretary may publish, by regulation, a list of organisms whose movement in interstate commerce is not prohibited or restricted. Any listing may take into account distinctions between organisms such as indigenous, nonindigenous, newly introduced, or commercially raised.

(2) Petition to add or remove biological control organisms from the regulations

Any person may petition the Secretary to add a biological control organism to, or remove a biological control organism from, the regulations issued by the Secretary under this subsection.

(3) Duties of the Secretary

(Pub. L. 106–224, title IV, § 412, June 20, 2000, 114 Stat. 441.)Editorial NotesReferences in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (d)(2)(E), was in the original “this title”, meaning title IV of Pub. L. 106–224, June 20, 2000, 114 Stat. 438, known as the Plant Protection Act, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of title IV to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 7701 of this title and Tables.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesTransfer of Functions

For transfer of functions of the Secretary of Agriculture relating to agricultural import and entry inspection activities under this chapter to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 231, 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of November 25, 2002, as modified, set out as a note under section 542 of Title 6.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 10 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2004–2024 · leading case: Cactus Corner, LLC v. U.S. Dept. of Agric., 346 F. Supp. 2d 1075 (E.D. Cal. 2004).

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Cactus Corner, LLC v. U.S. Dept. of Agric., 346 F. Supp. 2d 1075 (E.D. Cal. 2004). · cites it 13× “1282-83; see 7 U.S.C. § 7712 (a). Under Section 7712(a) of the PPA, the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to prohibit or restrict the importation or entry of any plant product “if the Secretary determines that the prohibition or restriction is necessary to prevent the…”

Int'l Ctr. for Tech. Assessment v. Johanns, 473 F. Supp. 2d 9 (D.D.C. 2007). · cites it 4× “AR 161-85; see also 7 U.S.C. §§ 7712 (f)(1), (f)(2) (granting authority to create a noxious weed list and providing that “[a]ny person may petition the Secretary to add a plant species” to the list).”

Ctr. for Food Saf. v. Thomas Vilsack, 718 F.3d 829 (9th Cir. 2013). · cites it 3× “” See 7 U.S.C. § 7712 . The PPA was enacted in 2000 and combined APHIS’s prior regulation of plant pests and noxious weeds into a single statute.”

Nat. Resources Def. Council, Inc. v. United States Dep't of Agric., 613 F.3d 76 (2d Cir. 2010). “§ 4332 , and section 412 of the PPA, 7 U.S.C. § 7712 , and seeking judicial relief in accordance with section 10(e) of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.”

US Citrus Sci. Council v. U.S. Dep't of Agric., 312 F. Supp. 3d 884 (E.D. Cal. 2018). “§ 553 , by concealing a report detailing APHIS's 2015 trip to Argentina ("2015 Trip Report") until after the close of public comment. Defendants counter that the report was not critical to APHIS's decision, and that the material contained in it was otherwise known and subject to…”

Robert Ito Farm, Inc. v. Cnty. of Maui, 111 F. Supp. 3d 1088 (D. Haw. 2015). “7 U.S.C. § 7712 (a). The Plant Protection Act expressly preempts certain state laws: *1102 (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), no State or political subdivision of a State may regulate the movement in interstate commerce of any article, means of conveyance,…”

Ctr. for Food Saf. v. Vilsack, 844 F. Supp. 2d 1006 (N.D. Cal. 2012). “2 supra, the Court declines to second-guess APHIS’s determination that RRA does not pose a plant pest risk.”

Cactus Corner, LLC v. U.S. Dep't of Agric., 450 F.3d 428 (9th Cir. 2006). · cites it 3× “of a plant pest,” 7 U.S.C. § 7712 (a), and that the department’s failure to do so violated the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”).”

Nat'l Fam. Farm Coalition v. Vilsack (N.D. Cal. 2024). “, 7 U.S.C. § 7712 (a) (“The Secretary may prohibit or restrict the .”

Hawai'i Orchid Growers Ass'n v. Johanns, 249 F. App'x 204 (D.C. Cir. 2007). “See 7 U.S.C. § 7712 (a), (c) (assigning regulatory duties over plant importation to the Department of Agriculture).”

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