EAB Treatment Update - ISPM-15 OK for Pallets
By Chaille Brindley
Date Posted: 1/1/2007
More information has recently became available about the treatment options allowed under the new federal quarantine for ash lumber and products. The U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has enacted a quarantine for the entire states of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio as well as much of Michigan. The quarantine is aimed at stopping the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), which has started to spread primarily due to human activity.
The quarantine bans all interstate movement of ash lumber and wood products that originates within the quarantine area. Regulated articles include ash nursery stock, green lumber, and any other ash material such as logs, pallets, dunnage, stumps, roots, branches, and wood chips.
APHIS is allowing properly treated material to be shipped from the quarantine area. The government will issue certificates and limited permits on a case by case basis for companies that participate in official USDA compliance programs.
Since the EAB only impacts bark and the outer cambial layer, even trees from infested areas may still have a lot of valuable wood that may be utilized once properly treated. The first step is to contact the local EAB authorities in your state for more information. See the phone numbers at the end of this article.
If you are not in an EAB state but do business with quarantine areas, you should contact the federal EAB office to discuss your practices and make sure that you have proper authorization and documentation.
"In most cases, an entity has to be part of a compliance agreement or program, such as ISPM-15, or some EAB specific compliance program,” said Elizabeth Pentico of APHIS. The government wants to ensure that treatment is being done. This requires some kind of oversight, which is why entities are encouraged to contact their local EAB authorities or APHIS.
Proper treatment methods and requirements include the following:
Pallets: Companies within the quarantine area can remove the bark and the outer half-inch of ash lumber or treat pallets with either methyl bromide fumigation or heat treatment according to the ISPM-15 standard. “We are honoring the ISPM-15 treatment,” said Pentico.
Even if a pallet only contains a limited amount of ash, it is still covered by the quarantine. Dunnage falls under the same requirement as pallets.
Pallet Cutstock: The suggested treatment method for pallet cutstock is removal of all bark and the underlining half-inch of wood. Heat treatment or methyl bromide fumigation according to ISPM-15 is acceptable too.
General Lumber: Removing the bark and outer layer, kiln drying, heat treatment and fumigation are all methods allowed for lumber. A kiln drying treatment schedule is available for lumber as long as the lumber does not exceed three inches in diameter. Contact APHIS to get more details on the treatment requirements for dry kilns. Lumber can also be heat treated or fumigated according to the ISPM-15 standard.
Firewood: Due to the difficulty in distinguishing between species of hardwood firewood, all hardwood firewood, including ash, oak, maple and hickory are regulated. There are no restrictions on the movement of coniferous species of firewood. Removing the bark and outer layer as described above is one treatment option. Firewood may also be fumigated with methyl bromide or heat treated to 71.1 degrees Celsius for 75 minutes. Contact APHIS to get detailed information on the fumigation treatment schedule required for logs at various conditions.
Mulch: Mulch processed with a one inch screen is generally sufficient to mitigate any EAB threat, but contact APHIS to get final approval on mulch processing.
Logs: Ash logs can either be fumigated with methyl bromide or heat treated to 71.1 degrees Celsius for 75 minutes. Contact APHIS to get detailed information on the fumigation treatment schedule required for logs at various conditions.
Research is ongoing about the susceptibility of the EAB to current treatment methods. Experts are looking for more efficient ways to detect and eradicate the EAB threat. As previously reported there are some concerns about the effectiveness of some current treatment methods, but APHIS believes these current measures are sufficient enough to slow down the spread of the pest until scientists can come up with more answers. Allowable treatment methods and requirements may change over time. This could be especially true if the EAB spreads to other states.
Due to the difficulty in determining the origin of any pallet, lumber or wood material, the government is requiring compliance for any regulated product that is shipped from a quarantine area. Pallets and other wood material containing ash, where origin is not easily identifiable, will be covered by the quarantine even if the product does not originate in one of the regulated states. For example, a pallet that is made of ash from Kentucky and is shipped to a customer in Ohio is covered by the quarantine. Once the customer places a load on the pallet and attempts to ship it out of state, the company is violating the quarantine unless the product has been properly treated or is compliant with EAB regulations as determined by USDA.
Ultimately, the pallet user may be the one responsible depending on the circumstances. Craig Kellogg, APHIS’ program coordinator for EAB, said, “The person shipping the quarantined product out of state is responsible for compliance with federal restrictions on interstate movement.” If the pallet company and its lumber supplier are in the same state and a pallet user is the entity that ships a pallet out state, then the user is the one responsible for complying with the quarantine.
Some states have restrictions too on movements within states from county to county. Companies in affected states should check with their local agriculture department to find out any local restrictions.
Although the government may consider the packaging user to be the one responsible for compliance, pallet companies need to provide answers to customers and take the initiative to provide compliant products. If a customer gets harassed or fined by APHIS for non compliance, the pallet supplier could lose the customer. The wood pallet industry should make it as easy as possible for customers to use their products. Any problem associated with wood pallets will only give alternatives an advantage in the marketplace.
Smart pallet companies must begin to educate themselves and their customers so that nobody is caught off guard. The quarantine went into effect December 1, 2006. Initially, APHIS is being somewhat understanding while industry and local governments get up to speed on the requirements. However, both APHIS and local agencies can assess fines at any time. Under the Plant Protection Act of 2000, violations of a domestic quarantine may result in a monetary fine up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment.
The emergence of the EAB threat has raised the issue of treating lumber and pallets for domestic transport. Other pests have already made treatment a necessary precaution for international shipping.
Kellogg said, “Even though the EAB is the catalyst, we need to be thinking beyond the EAB.”
Pallets and wood packaging tend to ship all over the country. There is no way to know where a pallet may end up. Thus, domestic treatment of all pallets may become a hot topic in the future. That would have a number of impacts on the market. At this point, APHIS is focusing on the main culprits in spreading the EAB, especially firewood and ash nursery stock. But the program does impact other products as well.
Kellogg compared APHIS enforcement to the speed limit. Just like the local police do not catch every speeder, some quarantine violators may go undetected. But there is a risk involved with non-compliant activity. AHPIS hopes its enforcement efforts will help keep people honest and educate the public while penalizing any egregious violators.
People should be especially aware of any activity that could spread EAB during its primary flight season from May to September. That is when the pest is most likely to vacate a tree and look for another one to infest. See the contact information below for more information on how you can become compliant with the new EAB requirements.
Web Sites/Phone Numbers
For more information, visit the following sites or contact local authorities.
APHIS www.aphis.usda.gov
Interagency Web Site www.emeraldashborer.info
APHIS/National EAB Program 866-322-4512 (toll free)
Michigan 810-844-2705
Ohio 614-387-1095
Indiana 765-446-0267
Illinois 847-299-6939
Maryland 410-224-3452
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