Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
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, 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 listing the acreage and location of all cotton being grown by the Cotton
Grower in the eradication zone.
3.
Certified Acreage. Cotton Growers shall report their actual cotton acreage to
the Plant Board, or its designated agent, no later than July 15, or such date
as dictated by FSA as the date for filing Certified Acreage Reports, 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, or such
date as dictated by FSA as the date for filing Certified Acreage Reports, shall
be subject to a penalty of up to Three Dollars ($3.00) for each planted acre of
cotton as of July 15, or such date as dictated by FSA as the date for filing
Certified Acreage Reports.
4.
Assessments for the 2005 crop year shall be Fourteen Dollars ($14.00) per acre
based on the cotton grower's certified acreage. Assessments shall be paid
according to the crop share percentages as recorded at the FSA office.
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.
5. Collection of Assessments. Assessments
shall be payable as provided below:
a) For the
crop year of 2005, the annual assessment shall be paid within 30 days of
receipt of the assessment invoice.
b) 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 (including fees associated with the lien filing)
are paid in full. Any grower who fails to pay assessments and penalties will be
placed on a delinquent growers list and no future Growers Compliance
Certificates will be issued to this grower until all charges from past
assessments have been paid.
6. 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 there from as provided in paragraph 9 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.
7.
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.
8. 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 6 of these Regulations.
9. 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.
10. 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 provided such destruction precludes any reqrowth which would
require eradication treatments. 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 with 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.
