PART 1. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER 3. BOLL WEEVIL ERADICATION PROGRAM
SUBCHAPTER K. MAINTENANCE PROGRAM
The Texas Department of Agriculture (Department) adopts amendments to Texas Administrative Code, Title 4, Part 1, Chapter 3, Subchapter K, §3.702, concerning West Texas Maintenance Area, and §3.705, concerning East Texas Maintenance Area, without changes to the proposed text, as published in the June 30, 2023, issue of the Texas Register (48 TexReg 3446). These rules will not be republished.
The amendment to §3.702 updates the status of the West Texas Maintenance Area from functionally eradicated to eradicated, as currently reflected in Title 4, Part 1, Chapter 20, §20.14, concerning Eradicated Areas.
The amendment to §3.705 revises the status of the East Texas Maintenance Area from functionally eradicated to eradicated. The amendment corresponds to adopted amendments to Title 4, Part 1, Chapter 20, §20.13, concerning Functionally Eradicated Areas and §20.14, concerning Eradicated Areas. Those amendments change the status of two of the four Boll Weevil Eradication Zones in the East Texas Maintenance Area from functionally eradicated to eradicated; therefore, the entire maintenance area has been declared eradicated.
The Department received no comments regarding the proposed amendments.
The amendments are adopted pursuant to Section 74.120 of the Texas Agriculture Code (Code), which allows the Department to adopt rules as necessary to carry out the purposes of Chapter 74, and Section 74.204 of the Code, which allows the Department to adopt rules to implement and a boll weevil maintenance program under Chapter 74, Subchapter F of the Code.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on September 6, 2023.
TRD-202303262
Susan Maldonado
General Counsel
Texas Department of Agriculture
Effective date: September 26, 2023
Proposal publication date: June 30, 2023
For further information, please call: (512) 463-6591
SUBCHAPTER L. PECAN WEEVIL QUARANTINE
The Texas Department of Agriculture Department (Department) adopts amendments to Texas Administrative Code, Title 4, Part 1, Chapter 19, Subchapter L, §19.121 concerning Quarantined Areas and §19.123 concerning Restrictions. This is without changes to the proposed text, as published in the June 30, 2023, issue of the Texas Register (48 TexReg 3447). These rules will not be republished.
The Department identified the need for the proposed amendments during its rule review conducted pursuant to Texas Government Code, §2001.039, the adoption for which can be found in the Review of Agency Rules section of the June 30, 2023, issue of the Texas Register (48 TexReg 3524).
The amendments to §19.121 add Lea and Otero Counties of New Mexico to the list of quarantined areas for pecan weevil to create consistency with New Mexico's interior pecan weevil quarantine rule (21.17.36.8, New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC)), which designates Lea and Otero Counties as quarantined areas in addition to Eddy and Chaves Counties.
The amendments also add Pecos County to the list of pecan weevil free areas in Texas not subject to quarantine. The addition of Pecos County has been requested by the Texas Pecan Board after a program administered by the Pecos County Extension agent showed that weevil trap counts in 2021 and 2022 yielded zero catch of pecan weevil.
The amendments to §19.123 change the methods to treat pecans for pecan weevil in order to align pecan treatment methods in Texas with those outlined in New Mexico's interior (21.17.36.11 NMAC) and exterior (21.17.28.11 NMAC) pecan weevil quarantined rules. Given the interstate commerce of the pecan industry in Texas and New Mexico, the Department has determined that these methods would be more effective at countering the spread of pecan weevils and benefit pecan producers.
The Department received no comments regarding the proposed amendments.
The amendments are adopted under Chapter 71 of the Texas Agriculture Code, which allows the Department to adopt rules necessary to administer that chapter.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on September 6, 2023.
TRD-202303264
Susan Maldonado
General Counsel
Texas Department of Agriculture
Effective date: September 26, 2023
Proposal publication date: June 30, 2023
For further information, please call: (512) 463-6591
SUBCHAPTER B. QUARANTINE REQUIREMENTS
The Texas Department of Agriculture (Department) adopts amendments to the Texas Administrative Code, Title 4, Part 1, Chapter 20, Subchapter B, §20.13, concerning Functionally Eradicated Areas and §20.14, concerning Eradicated Areas, without changes to the proposed text as published in the June 30, 2023, issue of the Texas Register (48 TexReg 3448). These rules will not be republished.
The amendments are the result of a request from the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation (Foundation) to change the status of the Upper Coastal Bend (UCB) and South Texas Winter Garden (STWG) Boll Weevil Eradication Zones from functionally eradicated areas to eradicated areas.
This request followed a recommendation from the Foundation's Technical Advisory Committee (Committee) to the Foundation's Board of Directors (Board). The Committee based its recommendation on its evaluation of data concerning the presence of boll weevils in the two zones to determine if they qualified for a change in quarantine status. The Committee's evaluation was based on the criteria for an "eradicated area" contained in §20.1.
The Committee's data consisted of weevil counts in traps placed in cotton fields in the two zones. Each year, traps are placed around cotton fields in each zone at certain densities recommended by the Committee. In 2022, no weevils were captured in the two zones. No weevils have been captured in the UCB and STWG since 2010 and 2020, respectively. Also, Foundation staff conducted observations in cotton fields in the two zones and found no evidence of weevil damage or reproduction. In addition, the Foundation did not receive any reporting on boll weevil punctures or activity from consultants or Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service personnel during these time periods.
The Committee presented its recommendation at the Board's meeting on November 9, 2022, which the Board accepted. On May 10, 2023, the National Cotton Council, which describes itself as the central organization for the United States' cotton industry, sent the Department a letter supporting the Foundation's recommendation.
The amendments to §20.13 remove the UCB and STWG Boll Weevil Eradication Zones from the list of functionally eradicated areas.
The amendments to §20.14 replace the Northern Blacklands (NBL) Boll Weevil and Southern Blacklands (SBL) Eradication Zones with the East Texas Maintenance Area. With the addition of the UCB and STWG to the list of eradicated areas, all four eradication zones within the East Texas Maintenance Area, including the UCB and STWG Boll Weevil Eradication Zones, have eradicated status. Adding the East Texas Maintenance Area as opposed to adding more of its constituent eradications zones would simplify the rule's language. The amendments also make editorial changes for clarity.
The Department received no comments regarding the proposed amendments.
The amendments are adopted under Section 74.006 of the Texas Agriculture Code (Code), which provides the Department with the authority to adopt rules as necessary for the effective enforcement and administration of the cotton pest control program and Section 74.004 of the Code, which provides the Department with the authority to establish regulated areas, dates, and appropriate methods of destruction of cotton stalks, other cotton parts, and products of host plants for cotton pests.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on September 6, 2023.
TRD-202303263
Susan Maldonado
General Counsel
Texas Department of Agriculture
Effective date: September 26, 2023
Proposal publication date: June 30, 2023
For further information, please call: (512) 463-6591