EmR1525 Rule Text

Background

The United States Department of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (“APHIS”) positively identified EAB in Marquette County in the town of Montello on July 29, 2015. This emergency rule creates a DATCP quarantine for Marquette County. A Federal quarantine will be enacted approximately six to eight weeks after a formal submission by the state plant regulatory official. EAB is carried and spread by untreated ash wood products. A six week delay until enactment of the federal quarantine leaves too much time for businesses or individuals to move potentially EAB infested material out of the county to areas of Wisconsin or other states that are not infested with EAB.

EAB is an injurious exotic pest that now endangers Wisconsin’s 770 million ash trees and ash resources. This insect has the potential to destroy entire stands of ash, and any incursion of EAB can result in substantial losses both to forest ecosystems and to urban trees, as well as the state’s vital tourism and timber industries. The EAB has killed over fifty million trees in the Midwest and has cost several hundred million dollars in losses to the woodlot, nursery, landscape industries, and municipalities. APHIS predicts the national urban impact alone from this pest may exceed $370 billion.

DATCP has plant inspection and pest control authority under s. 94.01, Stats., to adopt rules establishing quarantines or other restrictions on the importation into, or movement of, plants or other materials within this state, if these measures are necessary to prevent or control the spread of injurious plant pests. A quarantine order may prohibit the movement of any pest, or any plant, pest host, or pest-harboring material which may transmit or harbor a pest.

Emergency Rule Content

Under this emergency rule, movement of all hardwood (non-coniferous) firewood of any type, plus movement of any ash wood out of Marquette County, is prohibited with certain exceptions. The emergency rule will do the following:

• Create a quarantine for EAB for Marquette County that prohibits the movement of all hardwood species of firewood, nursery stock, green lumber, and other material living, dead, cut or fallen, including logs, stumps, roots, branches, and composted and uncomposted chips of the genus Fraxinus (Ash wood), out of the contiguous quarantined area in southern Wisconsin.

• Provide an exemption for items that have been inspected and certified by a pest control official and are accompanied by a written certificate issued by the pest control official (some products, such as nursery stock, cannot be given an exemption).

• Provide an exemption for businesses that enter into a state or federal compliance agreement. The compliance agreement describes in detail what a company can and cannot do with regulated articles.

Summary of Factual Data and Analytical Methodologies

Data for this analysis was obtained from DATCP nursery license records, local business directories, and field surveys of the wood products industry (e.g., timber, lumber, firewood) in the area. This analysis was based on the regulatory language of ATCP 21.17 and 7 CFR 301.53, on the observations of DATCP nursery inspectors, and on conversations with stakeholders in the nursery and other timber-related industries.

Analysis and Supporting Documents used to Determine Effect on Small Business

DATCP searched its nursery license database to obtain current records for licensed nursery growers operating in Marquette County. Based on previous and ongoing work with Wisconsin’s Gypsy Moth and firewood certification programs, DATCP staff also identified known saw mills, wood products, and firewood industry concerns. Finally, online Yellow Pages business listings were also searched to find related tree nursery, timber, firewood, and tree service companies.

Business Impact

This emergency rule may have an impact on persons or companies that deal in any hardwood firewood or ash materials in Marquette County. The affected businesses are all small businesses. This emergency rule restricts the sale or distribution of ash trees, ash wood products, and any hardwood firewood from Marquette County to locations outside of the contiguously quarantined counties of southwestern Wisconsin and neighboring states.

The business impact of this emergency rule depends on the number of 1) nurseries that sell or distribute ash nursery stock outside this county, 2) firewood producers/dealers that sell or distribute outside the county, 3) sawmills that move untreated ash stock (green lumber) outside the county, and 4) untreated wood waste (e.g., ash brush, chips or mulch) that is moved outside the county.

Marquette County has a total of seven licensed nursery growers that could possibly be growing ash nursery stock. Those growers will not be able to move or sell ash nursery stock outside of the contiguous quarantine area, though discussions with the Wisconsin Nursery Association indicate that few, if any, nurseries continue to sell ash trees. There is also one known firewood producer or dealer in Marquette County. Firewood dealers would need to be certified under s. ATCP 21.20 to sell or move firewood outside of the contiguous quarantine area. To obtain certification a firewood dealer pays a $50 annual certification fee to DATCP and treats the firewood in a manner that ensures it is free of EAB. There are five lumber mills in Marquette County and an estimated seventeen other tree service/wood processing facilities that may also deal with ash. To transport ash wood products outside of the contiguous quarantine area they will have to enter into a compliance agreement with DATCP or APHIS that authorizes movement of ash products outside of the quarantine only when there is assurance that the movement will not spread EAB to other locations. Certification and compliance agreements will require some additional recordkeeping on the part of those businesses.

Environmental Impact

This emergency rule will not have a significant impact on the environment.

Federal and Surrounding State Programs

Federal Programs

Under the Federal Plant Protection Act, APHIS has responsibility for excluding, eradicating, and controlling serious plant pests, including EAB. APHIS has instituted statewide quarantines on the movement of all ash wood for Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia; in addition to portions of Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and the entire District of Columbia.

APHIS has enacted quarantines for Adams, Brown, Buffalo, Calumet, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Door, Douglas, Fond du Lac, Grant, Green, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Lafayette, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Monroe, Oneida, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Sheboygan, Trempealeau, Vernon, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, and Winnebago counties in Wisconsin. The quarantines include restrictions on the movement of any hardwood (non-coniferous) firewood.

Surrounding State Programs

Surrounding states where EAB has been identified (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Michigan) have state and federal quarantines that prohibit the movement of regulated articles out of quarantined areas. A regulated article can only move out of quarantined areas after it is certified by USDA or state officials.

DATCP Contact

Questions and comments related to this rule may be directed to:

Brian Kuhn or Shahla Werner

Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

P.O. Box 8911

Madison, WI 53708-8911

Telephone: [phone] or [phone]

E-Mail: [e-mail] or [e-mail]

Rule comments will be accepted up to two weeks after the last public hearing is held on this rule. Hearing dates will be scheduled after this emergency rule is approved by the Governor and published in the Wisconsin State Journal.

FINDING OF EMERGENCY

(1) On July 29, 2015, the United States Department of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (“APHIS”) positively identified Emerald Ash Borer (“EAB”) in Marquette County in the town of Montello. EAB is an exotic, invasive pest that poses a dire risk to the ash forest. When APHIS declares quarantine, DATCP has regulatory authority for import controls and quarantine for EAB under s. ATCP 21.17. It is anticipated that APHIS will declare a quarantine for Marquette County but that it will take six to eight weeks for APHIS to act. A six week delay until enactment of the federal quarantines leaves too much time for businesses or individuals to move potentially EAB infested material out of these counties to areas of Wisconsin or other states that are not infested with EAB.

(2) DATCP is adopting this rule as a temporary emergency rule, pending completion of federal quarantine regulations. DATCP does not anticipate completing a permanent rule.

EMERGENCY RULE

SECTION 1. ATCP 21.17 (1) (b) is amended to read:

ATCP 21.17 (1) (b) Move any regulated item under sub. (2) out of an emerald ash borer regulated area that is identified in 7 CFR 301.53-3 and located in this state or out of an emerald ash borer regulated area identified in (c) or (d).

SECTION 2. ATCP 21.17 (1) (d) is created to read:

ATCP 21.17 (1) (d) Marquette County is designated an emerald ash borer regulated area.

SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE: This emergency rule takes effect upon publication, and remains in effect for 150 days. The department may seek to extend this emergency rule as provided in s. 227.24, Stats.

Dated this 20th day of November, 2015.