Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
Background
Efforts to pass a referendum in Eastern Craighead County and
Mississippi County have included extensive research from the University of
Arkansas Boll Weevil Eradication Technical Advisory Committee, initiative by
leadership in this area, and the offer of an unprecedented grant from adjoining
states. Unfortunately, a 2/3 majority approval of a referendum cannot be
achieved in Eastern Craighead County and Mississippi County within time periods
critical to the Arkansas Boll Weevil Eradication Program. All cotton producing
areas surrounding this area are conducting active boll weevil eradication
programs. Because of reinfestation patterns of the boll weevil, the lack of an
active eradication program in this area causes all adjoining cotton producing
areas to be reinfested by the boll weevil. This reinfestation has cost the
Arkansas Boll Weevil Eradication Program approximately $2 million in 2002. The
costs to treat reinfestation from this area are projected to be higher in the
coming years. These additional costs for an indefinite period will cause an
extreme financial hardship for producers in the remainder of the state. Such a
financial hardship will jeopardize the Arkansas Boll Weevil Eradication
Foundation's ability to maintain eradication success already achieved and
complete the Arkansas eradication program.
Section
I
Purpose. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §§
2-16-601, et seq. and Ark.
Code Ann. §§
2-16-605,
et. seq., the purpose of these rules is to develop and establish procedures for
the eradication of Boll Weevil within Eastern Craighead County and Mississippi
County to establish assessments to offset program costs and to provide
procedures for the collection of such assessments, and to provide penalties for
violations of these rules.
Section
II
Declaration of Boll Weevil as a Plant Pest.
Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-602(a),
the Boll Weevil (Anthonomus grandis Boheman) is declared to be a plant pest and
a nuisance, as is any plant or other regulated article infested therewith or
that has been exposed to infestation and is likely to lead to additional
infestation. The Arkansas State Plant Board, pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-207,
declares the Boll Weevil (Anthonomus grandis Boheman) to be a public
nuisance.
Section III
Definitions. For the purpose of these rules, the following definitions
shall apply:
1. "APHIS" means United States
Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service.
2. "Arkansas Cotton
Grower's Organization, Incorporated, d/b/a Arkansas Boll Weevil Eradication
Foundation" means the nonprofit organization comprised of Arkansas Cotton
Growers to provide guidance and assist in policy decisions during the
eradication program, and certified by the Plant Board pursuant to Ark. Code
Ann. §
2-16-612.
3. "Assessment" means the amount charged to
each Cotton Grower or landowner to finance, in whole or part, a program to
eradicate the Boll Weevil in the regulated area.
4. "Boll Weevil" means Anthonomus grandis
Boheman in any stage of development.
5. "Boll Weevil Eradication Program" means
the program initiated under Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-601 et seq.
6. "Grower's Compliance Certificate" means a
document issued or authorized by the Plant Board indicating that a Cotton
Grower has complied with the requirements of these rules and the Cotton
Grower's cotton may be ginned in Arkansas.
7. "Compliance Agreement" means a written
agreement required between the Plant Board and any person engaged in growing
cotton, dealing in, or moving regulated articles wherein the latter agrees to
comply with specified provisions to prevent dissemination of the Boll
Weevil.
8. "Cotton" means any
cotton plant or cotton plant product upon which the Boll Weevil is dependent
for completion of any portion of its life cycle.
9. "Cotton Grower" means any person, who is
engaged in and has an economic risk in the business of producing, or causing to
be produced, for market, cotton.
10. "Eradication Zone" means a geographical
area designated by the Plant Board in which the Boll Weevil Eradication
Programs will be undertaken and managed pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-610.
11. "Exposed" means any area or location
subjected to Boll Weevil infestation.
12. "Gin Trash" means all waste material
produced during the cleaning and ginning of seed cotton. It does not include
the lint, cottonseed, or gin waste.
13. "Gin Waste" means all forms of
unmanufactured cotton fiber (including gin motes) produced at cotton gins,
other than baled cotton lint.
14.
"Infested" means actually infested with a Boll Weevil or so exposed to
infestation that it would be reasonable to believe that an infestation
exists.
15. "Inspector" means any
employee of the Plant Board or any other person authorized by the Plant Board
to enforce the provision of these rules.
16. "Non-Commercial Cotton" means cotton
intended for any purposes other than sale or scientific purposes under Section
XII of these rules.
17. "Permit"
means a document issued or authorized by the Plant Board to provide for the
movement of regulated articles to restricted designation for limited handling,
utilization, or processing.
18.
"Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, company, society, or
association, or other business entity.
19. "Plant Board" means the Arkansas State
Plant Board, which is the agricultural plant regulatory agency of the State of
Arkansas.
20. "Quarantine Area"
means any portion of the State of Arkansas designated as such pursuant to Ark.
Code Ann. §
2-16-609.
21. "Regulated Area" means any portion of an
eradication zone designated for any purpose necessary to the execution of the
Boll Weevil Eradication Program.
22. "Regulated Article" means any article of
any character carrying or capable of carrying the Boll Weevil, including, but
not limited to, cotton plants, seed cotton, cottonseed, other hosts, gin trash,
gin equipment, mechanical cotton pickers, and other equipment associated with
cotton production, harvesting, or processing.
23. "Seed Cotton" means cotton as it comes
from the field prior to ginning.
24. "Shipment or Shipments" means the items
to be transferred or moved, or the act or process of transferring or moving
items from one point to another.
25. "USDA" means the United States Department
of Agriculture.
26. "Used Cotton
Equipment" means any equipment used previously to harvest, strip, transport or
process cotton.
27. "Waiver" means
a written authorization which exempts a Person or any organization from
compliance with one or more requirements of these rules.
Section IV
Eradication Zones.
The eradication zone for these regulations are defined as follows:
All of Mississippi County and all of Craighead County
east of the St. Francis River.
Section
V
Submission of Reporting Forms, Assessments, Penalties for
Late Payment, Cotton Destruction, and Exemptions.
1. All Cotton Growers in the eradication zone
shall be required to participate in an eradication program as set forth
herein.
2. Cotton Acreage
Reporting. Each Cotton Grower shall submit annual cotton acreage reporting
forms, which shall be supplied by the Plant Board, listing the acreage and
location of all cotton being grown by the Cotton Grower in the eradication
zone.
3. Intended Planting. Cotton
Growers shall report their intended cotton acreage to the Plant Board, or its
designated agent, no later than May 31 of each year in which field operations
are in effect in the eradication zone ("Intended Planting Acreage"). Any Cotton
Grower who fails to file the Intended Planting Acreage report in the manner
prescribed by the Plant Board by May 31 shall be subject to a penalty of up to
Three Dollars ($3.00) for the intended acreage reported prior to certification,
otherwise for each planted acre of cotton as of certification of cotton acreage
described in paragraph 4 of this Section V.
4. Certified Acreage. Cotton Growers shall
report their actual cotton acreage to the Plant Board, or its designated agent,
no later than July 15 of each year in which field operations are in effect in
the eradication zone ("Certified Acreage"). Any Cotton Grower who fails to file
the certified cotton acreage in the manner prescribed by the Plant Board report
by July 15 shall be subject to a penalty of up to Three Dollars ($3.00) for
each planted acre of cotton as of July 15.
5. Reporting Penalty. Any Cotton Grower whose
Certified Acreage exceeds his Intended Planting Acreage by fifty percent (50%)
or fifty (50) acres, whichever is greater, shall, for each certified acre in
excess of the grower's Intended Planting Acreage, shall be subject to a penalty
of up to Three Dollars ($3.00) per acre, in addition to the appropriate annual
Assessment and any other penalties due.
6. Reporting Credit. In the event a Cotton
Grower's Intended Planting Acreage exceeds the Certified Acreage, the Cotton
Grower's final Assessment payment for the year will be reduced to the extent
necessary to cause the Cotton Grower to be assessed in such year only for
Certified Acreage. Any refunds due to the Cotton Grower as a result of this
paragraph 6 must be requested by the Cotton Grower in writing on the form
prescribed by the Plant Board. Such request must be addressed to the Plant
Board and received by the Plant Board no later than July 31 of the year in
which the refund is payable. Otherwise, the refund will be reflected as a
credit on the Cotton Grower's Assessment for the following year.
7. Assessments for the 2003 crop year shall
be Eight Dollars ($8.00) per acre based on the cotton grower's certified
acreage. One half (V2) of the assessment shall be paid by the Cotton Grower and
one half (V2) shall be paid by the Landowner. Exception: Cash rent Cotton
Growers shall pay the entire assessment. Subsequent assessments shall be
determined year by year based on projected costs and available outside
funds.
8. Collection of
Assessments. Assessments shall be payable in installments, as provided below:
(a) For the crop year of 2003, the annual
assessment shall be paid by July 15, 2003, or within 15 days of the Farm
Services Agency final certification date. Assessments for subsequent years
shall be paid as follows:
(b) The
initial payment shall be paid at the time the Cotton Grower reports the
Intended Planting Acreage. The initial payment shall be an amount equal to the
Cotton Grower's Intended Planted Acreage multiplied by fifty percent (50%) of
the applicable Assessment. Cotton Growers shall make such payments payable to
the "Arkansas State Plant Board" and deliver the payment to the Plant Board, or
its designated agent, upon reporting their Intended Planting Acreage, but no
later than May 31 of each year in which such Assessments are payable. Cotton
Growers who fail to pay the initial payment by May 31 shall be subject to a
penalty of up to Three Dollars ($3.00) per acre for unpaid acreage, based on
planted cotton acreage.
(c) The
balance of the annual Assessment shall be paid at the time the Cotton Grower
certifies the cotton acreage. Cotton Growers shall make such payments payable
to the "Arkansas State Plant Board" and deliver the payment to the Plant Board,
or its designated agent, upon certifying their actual planted cotton acreage,
but no later than July 15 of each year in which such Assessments are payable.
Cotton Growers who fail to pay the final payment by July 15 shall be subject to
a penalty of up to Three Dollars ($3.00) per acre for unpaid acreage, based on
their planted cotton acreage.
(d)
In the event an Assessment will be paid by more than one person, e.g. land
owner and tenant, all said Cotton Growers, or their respective
attorneys-in-fact, shall execute the applicable reports prescribed by these
rules. Notwithstanding the number of Cotton Growers sharing in any Assessment,
the Grower's Compliance Certificate described below shall not be issued until
the entire Assessment, and any applicable penalties, are paid as
required.
(e) In the event a Cotton
Grower fails to pay Assessments and/or penalties as required under these rules,
pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-617(c)
and (d)(2), the Plant Board may file a lien
with the appropriate county office and the Arkansas Secretary of State on the
cotton subject to such assessments and on the Cotton Grower's subsequent cotton
crops until all such amounts are paid in full.
9. Grower's Compliance Certificate. Pursuant
to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-617(d),
no gins in the State of Arkansas shall gin any cotton grown in an eradication
zone in which field operations of the Boll Weevil Eradication Program are in
effect, or from any other state, unless and until that Cotton Grower files with
the gin a Grower's Compliance Certificate issued by the Plant Board certifying
that said Cotton Grower has paid all fees, Assessments, penalties, and costs
imposed and required pursuant to §
2-16-601 et seq., as
amended, or proof of exemption therefrom as provided in paragraph 12 below. It
is the responsibility of each Cotton Grower to procure a Grower's Compliance
Certificate for the crop year for each FSA farm number on which cotton is
planted, or proof that an exemption for compliance has been granted from the
Plant Board. The Cotton Grower must file the Grower's Compliance Certificate
with their gin each crop year.
10.
Ginner's Penalty. Any gin that gins cotton for any Cotton Grower who has not
filed a current valid Grower's Compliance Certificate or proof of exemption
issued by the Plant Board shall be subject to a penalty in the amount of $50.00
per bale for each bale ginned for such noncomplying Cotton Grower. This
provision does not prohibit the movement of seed cotton within the State of
Arkansas for protection from loss or efficient storage prior to
ginning.
11. Penalties. The Plant
Board shall assess Cotton Growers penalties for failure to comply with the
reporting and/or payment requirements of these Regulations. Penalties are
payable in full to the Arkansas State Plant Board within thirty (30) days of
the date of the penalty assessment. Any such penalties assessed must be paid
before the Plant Board may issue a Grower's Compliance Certificate under
Section V, Paragraph 10 of these Regulations.
12. Appeal of Penalties. Unless specifically
provided for elsewhere in these rules, any person (Cotton Grower, gin or
otherwise) assessed a penalty under these rules may appeal the penalty
assessment to the Plant Board within thirty (30) days of the date of the
penalty assessment. Such appeal must include all information upon which the
appealing party bases its appeal.
13. Limit on Penalties. Section V provides
for various penalties in connection with reporting acreage and paying
assessments, each of which is a separate violation and cause for penalty.
Notwithstanding the type of penalties imposed under Section V, the total amount
of penalties assessed against a particular Cotton Grower shall not exceed
$10.00 per acre of cotton for the crop year and acreage in issue.
Section VI
Cotton Stalk
Destruction Incentive. If during the Boll Weevil Eradication Program
seasonal growing conditions promote early maturation and harvesting of cotton
in Arkansas, the Plant Board may, upon recommendation from the Arkansas Cotton
Grower's Organization, Inc., establish a per acre incentive credit for early
stalk destruction. Such incentive credit shall be applied to the Cotton
Grower's Assessment for the following year. In the event a Cotton Grower's
Certified Acreage in the following year is not sufficient to fully consume the
incentive credit in such following year, the Cotton Grower may apply to the
Plant Board for a refund of the unused incentive credit, using forms prescribed
by the Plant Board. The rate per acre of any such incentive credit, whether
uniform for the entire State, or variable, shall be established and made
available to all participating Cotton Growers no later than September 1 of the
current growing year. No incentive credit established under this paragraph
shall be credited or paid to the Cotton Grower by the Plant Board until the
date of the Cotton Grower's stalk destruction has been confirmed to the Plant
Board by eradication program personnel.
Section
VII
Planting Cotton in the Eradication Zone.
1. Prohibited Planting. Pursuant to Ark. Code
Ann. §
2-16-610(b)(1),
the Plant Board may prohibit the planting of cotton in designated areas where
Boll Weevil eradication treatments cannot be effectively or legally applied due
to factors concerning the public welfare if determined by the Plant Board that
planting cotton jeopardizes the success of the program ("Prohibited Planting
Area"). The Plant Board shall identify all Prohibited Planting Areas no later
than March 1 of each year. Notice of the Prohibited Planting Area shall be
published in a local newspaper of general circulation covering the Prohibited
Planting Area at least once a week for four (4) consecutive weeks in the month
of March. In the event a Prohibited Planting Area is not designated by March 1
of the year in issue, the Plant Board's purchase or destruction of cotton shall
be in accordance with Section IX below.
2. Notice of Destruction. Pursuant to Ark.
Code Ann. §
2-16-611(b),
the Plant Board may by written order require the destruction of cotton planted
in a Prohibited Planting Area after publication of the first notice required in
paragraph 1 above. Said order shall be delivered to the Cotton Grower via
certified United States mail. The order shall identify the cotton to be
destroyed by Township, Range, and Section, or portion thereof. The order shall
specify the date by which the Cotton Grower must destroy the crop at the Cotton
Grower's expense, which date shall be at least ten (10) calendar days after the
date of the order. The order shall further state that in the event the Cotton
Grower does not destroy the cotton by the specified date, the Plant Board will
destroy the cotton and assess the cost of destruction against the Cotton
Grower. The Assessment under this section shall be payable within thirty (30)
calendar days after destruction and shall be treated as any Assessment for
purpose of enforcing these rules. Provided, however, the Cotton Grower may
appeal an order under this paragraph to the Director of the Plant Board. The
appeal must be received by the Plant Board within ten (10) calendar days of the
date of the order. The Director of the Plant Board shall issue an order on the
appeal within ten (10) calendar days of the Plant Board's receipt of the
appeal.
3. Non-Commercial Cotton.
Non-commercial cotton shall not be planted in an eradication zone in which
field operations of the Boll Weevil Eradication Program are in effect without a
waiver issued in writing by the Plant Board. Application for a waiver shall be
submitted in writing and the Plant Board's decision to grant or deny the waiver
may be based on the following:
(a) Location
of Growing area;
(b) Pest
conditions in the growing area;
(c)
Size of the growing area;
(d)
Accessibility of the growing area; and
(e) Any stipulations set forth in a
compliance agreement between the applicant and the Plant Board that are
necessary to the Boll Weevil Eradication Program.
Section VIII
Treatment of
Boll Weevil in the Eradication Zones. The eradication of the Boll Weevil
in an eradication zone shall be executed by the Plant Board according to
established Boll Weevil Eradication protocols. The Plant Board may enter into
Cooperative Agreements in order to carry out the Eradication Program.
Section IX
Quarantine.
Establishing Quarantine. In carrying out the purpose of these rules, the Plant
Board may designate a quarantine area in accordance Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-609.
Section X
Issuance of Certificates and
Compliance Agreements, Cancellations, Attachments and Cotton Gin
Certificates. Certificates may be issued for the movement of regulated
articles from, into or through a regulated area, as determined to be necessary
by the Plant Board.
Section XI
Scientific Purposes. All cotton planted within the state of
Arkansas notwithstanding the size of the acreage or plant is subject to the
coverage of these rules, provided, however, the Plant Board may designate
experimental areas for experiments designed to contribute to the development of
scientific knowledge deemed of importance to the production of cotton. Cotton
Growers in designated experimental areas and affected thereby, may be exempted
from specified requirements of these rules, provided, however, that such Cotton
Growers abide by a Compliance Agreement applicable to the experimental
areas.
Section XII
Entry of
Authorized Personnel Upon Properties. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-607(b),
Plant Board or authorized personnel are authorized to inspect any fields or
premises and any property located therein or thereon for the purpose of
determining whether such property is infested with the Boll Weevil. Such
inspections must be conducted between sunrise and sunset. Such inspections
include, but are not limited to, taking of specimens, examining and obtaining
records, and applying or supervising treatments to the soil, plants or any
regulated articles. This may include removal and destruction of plants, plant
parts, or other regulated articles.
Section
XIII
Restricting Access to Eradication Zone and Regulated
Area. Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
2-16-605,
the Plant Board may issue rules that restrict entry by unauthorized persons or
any other activities affecting, or affected by, the Boll Weevil Eradication
Program on any premises in an eradication zone or in any regulated
area.
Section XIV If any other
regulations of the ASPB conflict with these regulations; these regulations will
control
