Country: United States

Title:

Epiphyas postvittana (Light Brown Apple Moth): APHIS Removes the Federal Domestic Quarantine and Interstate Movement Restrictions

Contact:
Allen Proxmire, National Policy Manager, at (301) 851-2307.

Report:

Effective on December 17, 2021, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is removing the light brown apple moth (LBAM), Epiphyas postvittana, quarantine in California and Hawaii. APHIS is reclassifying LBAM as a non-quarantine pest, removing all areas under quarantine, and removing movement restrictions on LBAM host material.

When APHIS first confirmed detections of LBAM in the United States in 2007, the best science available indicated that this moth would be a pest of economic significance. APHIS and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) developed a program to eradicate it. Over time, however, it became clear that the moth’s impact was not as significant as expected. APHIS began to exempt many of the LBAM host plants originally identified, including apple, strawberry, cucumber, and citrus. Ultimately, APHIS exempted more than 100 agricultural and horticultural hosts. In addition, pest management practices implemented by producers for other routine pests have proven to be also effective against LBAM. Based on these facts, and years of surveys by APHIS and CDFA, APHIS has determined that LBAM is no longer a pest of regulatory significance.

APHIS confirmed the first detections of LBAM in the United States in adjacent areas of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California, in March 2007. In May 2007, APHIS issued Federal Order DA-2007-18, which established the requirements of the regulatory actions and quarantine boundaries. Since then, a series of Federal Orders and Letters to State and Territory Agricultural Regulatory Officials (SPRO Letters) have refined the program. Throughout this time, APHIS has partnered with CDFA and the affected counties to work closely with industry, the University of California, and other stakeholders to detect, delimit, and measure the impact of LBAM within California.

In addition, APHIS is revising import requirements for certain fruits imported from Australia and New Zealand by removing the requirement for a Phytosanitary Certificate containing an additional declaration that states the shipment was free of LBAM. Changes in the import requirements will be authorized upon publication of a final notice in the Federal Register. APHIS is changing the import requirements to comply with international standards under the International Plant Protection Convention. Its International Standards for Phytosanitary Management 20, “Guidelines for a phytosanitary import regulatory system”, prevents APHIS from regulating imports for a specific pest more than it regulates it domestically.

Under IPPC standards, Epiphyas postvittana is a pest that is present: not widely distributed and not under official control in the United States.

Posted Date: Dec. 10, 2021, 9:10 a.m.