Commission Decision of 29 April 2005 providing for a derogation from certain provisions of Council Directive 2000/29/EC as regards oak (Quercus L.) logs with bark attached, originating in the United States of America (notified under document number C(2005) 1298) (2005/359/EC)

ANNEX ICONDITIONS ON FUMIGATION AND RELATED IDENTIFICATION REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 2.1

1.The logs shall have been piled on an impervious surface under a gas-proof cover in such a way and to such a height as to ensure effective gas dispersal through the logs.

2.Without prejudice to any additional export requirements set by the official plant protection organisation of the United States of America (i.e. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service — APHIS) the pile shall have undergone fumigation with pure methyl bromide which is carried out at a minimum rate of 240 g/m3 of total volume under cover for 72 hours and at a temperature of the logs of at least + 5 °C. After 24 hours of treatment, an addition of gas shall have been made to regain the aforementioned concentration; the temperature of the logs shall have been maintained at + 5 °C, at least, throughout the procedure. It may be decided, based on scientific evidence and in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 18(2) of Directive 2000/29/EC, that other methods shall or may be used.

3.The fumigation procedures as described in 1 and 2 shall have been carried out by officially licensed fumigation operatives, using proper fumigation facilities and qualified staff to requisite standards.

The operatives shall have been informed of the details of the procedures required for log fumigation.

The lists of licensed fumigation operatives and their changes shall have been notified to the Commission. The Commission may declare that individual licensed fumigation operatives can no longer be accepted for the purpose of this Decision. The sites at which the licensed operatives shall carry out the fumigation procedures shall be located at the ports of shipment to the Community, but selected inland sites may also be approved by the official plant protection organisation concerned.

4.A fumigation batch identification mark (digits and/or letters) shall have been placed in a non-removable manner on the base end of each log of the pile undergoing fumigation. The fumigation batch identification mark shall have been reserved to the shipper. It shall not have been used for logs of other batches. Records of the identification marks shall be kept by the licensed fumigation operatives.

5.The individual fumigation procedure including the marking referred to in 4 shall have been systematically supervised at the fumigation sites, directly by officials of the official plant protection organisation concerned or by cooperating State/province officials in such a way as to guarantee compliance with the requirements laid down in 1, 2, 3 and 4.

6.The official phytosanitary certificate required pursuant to Article 13(1)(ii) of Directive 2000/29/EC shall have been issued by the official plant protection organisation concerned after finalisation of the fumigation, and have been based on the actions mentioned in 5 and the examination carried out in accordance with Article 6 of the said Directive relating to the conditions laid down in Article 6(1)(a) of that Directive and in this Annex.

7.This certificate shall indicate the botanical name of the genus or the species, the number of logs in the consignment and the fumigation batch identification marks referred to in 4, without prejudice to the information required under the section related to disinfestation and/or disinfection treatment.

In all cases, the certificate shall bear the following ‘Additional Declaration’:

‘It is hereby certified that the logs shipped under this certificate have been fumigated by ……………… (licensed fumigation operative) ……………… at ……………… (fumigation site) ……………… in accordance with the provisions laid down in Annex I to Commission Decision 2005/359/EC.’

8.In the case of logs to be dispatched via Canadian ports of shipment, all or part of the measures set out in points 1 to 7 and to be carried out by the official plant protection organisation concerned, may be carried out by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

ANNEX IIPORTS OF UNLOADING

1.

Amsterdam

2.

Antwerp

3.

Arhus

4.

Bilbao

5.

Bremen

6.

Bremerhaven

7.

Copenhagen

8.

Hamburg

9.

Klaipeda

10.

Larnaca

11.

Lauterborg

12.

Leghorn

13.

Le Havre

14.

Lemesos

15.

Lisbon

16.

Marseilles

17.

Marsaxlokk

18.

Muuga

19.

Naples

20.

Nordenham

21.

Oporto

22.

Piraeus

23.

Ravenna

24.

Rostock

25.

Rotterdam

26.

Salerno

27.

Sines

28.

Stralsund

29.

Valencia

30.

Valletta

31.

Venice

32.

Vigo

33.

Wismar

34.

Zeebrugge

ANNEX IIIFUMIGATION COLOUR REACTION TEST

The fumigation colour reaction test referred to in Article 4(2)(c) shall be performed as follows:

  • Samples of the entire sapwood thickness shall be taken with an increment borer from areas with intact bark at least one metre from the log ends and soaked in a freshly prepared (less than one day old) 1 % solution of 2,3,5-triphenyl-2H-tetrazolium chloride (TTC) made with distilled water. Samples which show no red coloration after three days soaking are considered as having been adequately fumigated.

ANNEX IVWHITE OAK LOG IDENTIFICATION

1.Officials of the official plant protection organisation concerned shall have identified each log as belonging to the white oak group either by visual means, as far as possible, or by carrying out white oak log identification colour tests as specified in 2. This identification colour test shall be performed on at least 10 % of the logs per consignment.

2.The white oak log identification colour test shall be carried out by means of spraying or painting 10 % sodium nitrite solution to an area of clean superficially dried heartwood at least five centimetres in diameter. Evaluation of the test shall be done within 20 to 60 minutes of application. At temperatures below 2,5 °C, 20 % ethylene glycol can be added to the solution as an antifreeze agent. Samples of logs in which the natural colour initially turns reddish brown becoming black to grey blue in later stages are considered as belonging to the white oak group.

3.Each log shall be marked ‘WO’, under the supervision of the official plant protection organisation concerned or cooperating State/province officials.

4.The official phytosanitary certificate required pursuant to Article 13(1)(ii) of Directive 2000/29/EC shall be issued by the official plant protection organisation concerned, and be based on the actions mentioned in 1, 2 and 3. The certificate shall indicate the botanical name of the genus or the species and the number of logs in the consignment. It shall bear the following ‘Additional Declaration’:

It is hereby certified that the logs shipped under this certificate belong solely to species of the white oak group.