Order of Quarantine; Plum Pox Virus [34 Pa.B. 4608] Recitals
1. Plum Pox Virus (PPV), a serious non-native plant pest that injures and damages stone fruits such as peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots by drastically reducing the fruit yields from these stone fruit trees and by disfiguring the fruit to the point it is unmarketable, has been detected in certain areas of this Commonwealth.
2. The Plant Pest Act (act) (3 P. S. §§ 258.1--258.27) empowers the Department of Agriculture (Department) to take various measures to detect, contain and eradicate plant pests in this Commonwealth.
3. The Department has exercised its authority under the act and issued several Orders of Quarantine affecting portions of Adams, Cumberland, Franklin and York Counties in an effort to contain, identify and eradicate PPV.
4. The Department determined it necessary to temporarily prohibit the planting of stone fruit trees and related trees and shrubs in these quarantined areas, and imposed this prohibition through an Order of Quarantine issued on December 13, 2000, and published at 30 Pa.B. 6608 (December 23, 2000).
5. The temporary prohibition has contributed to a rapid decline in numbers of trees found infected with PPV, although it is likely that some small number of infected trees remain.
6. The prohibition has severely affected the ability of stone fruit producers within the quarantined areas to properly maintain existing blocks of trees that lie within those areas or to maintain standard rotational planting of stone fruit blocks within those areas.
Order
Under authority of section 21 of the act (3 P. S. § 258.21), and with the foregoing recitals incorporated herein, the Department issues the following order:
The Department modifies the prohibition on planting of stone fruit trees (apricot, nectarine, peach and plum) in the areas under PPV-related quarantine to allow the Department to offer controlled options for limited planting of trees within quarantined areas. Planting shall be done under permit, with permits issued by the Department and subject to specific written guidelines to be provided by the Department. These limited planting options shall only be considered for fruit-bearing trees in commercial settings, since the goal of the permitted planting is to allow greater financial stability to commercial growers, without unduly compromising the Department's PPV eradication program. The areas currently under PPV-related quarantine, and with respect to which this order is applicable, are as follows:
County/Area Date of Order/Pennsylvania Bulletin Reference Adams/Latimore Township October 21, 1999/29 Pa.B. 5735
(November 6, 1999)Adams/Huntington Township October 21, 1999/29 Pa.B. 5735 Cumberland/South Middleton Township June 15, 2000/30 Pa.B. 3269
(July 1, 2000)Adams/Part of Tyrone Township July 27, 2000/30 Pa.B. 4357
(August 19, 2000)Adams/Part of Menallen Township July 27, 2000/30 Pa.B. 4357 Cumberland/Dickinson Township July 27, 2000/30 Pa.B. 4357 Adams/Borough of York Springs October 31, 2000/30 Pa.B. 5852
(November 11, 2000)Cumberland/Borough of Mount Holly Springs October 31, 2000/30 Pa.B. 5852 York/Washington Township June 22, 2001/31 Pa.B. 3560
(July 7, 2001)York/Franklin Township June 22, 2001/31 Pa.B. 3560 Cumberland/Southampton Township June 26, 2001/31 Pa.B. 3559
(July 7, 2001)Franklin/Quincy Township August 27, 2001/31 Pa.B. 5117
(September 8, 2001)Franklin/Borough of Mont Alto August 27, 2001/31 Pa.B. 5117 York/Conewago Township August 1, 2002/32 Pa.B. 4045
(August 17, 2002)York/Monaghan Township August 1, 2002/32 Pa.B. 4045 Adams/Part of Butler Township September 26, 2003/33 Pa.B. 5087
(October 11, 2003)Adams/Part of Menallen Township September 26, 2003/33 Pa.B. 5087 This order is effective as of July 30, 2004, and shall remain in effect until terminated by subsequent order.
DENNIS C WOLFF,
Secretary[Pa.B. Doc. No. 04-1550. Filed for public inspection August 20, 2004, 9:00 a.m.]
