Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service February 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 amended the Lacey Act to provide, among other things, that importers submit a declaration at the time of importation for certain plants and plant products. The declaration requirements of the Lacey Act became effective on December 15, 2008; however, enforcement of the declaration requirement will be phased in and will begin on April 1, 2009 (unless the implementation date must be delayed slightly for technical reasons as described below). The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of the Federal Government's revised plan to phase in enforcement of the declaration requirement and other implementation plans.