2003 No. 193
PLANT HEALTH
The Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) Order (Northern Ireland) 2003
Made 25th March 2003
Coming into operation 16th April 2003

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by sections 2, 3(1), 3B(1) and 4(1) of the Plant Health Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, hereby makes the following Order:
Formerly the Department of Agriculture: seeS.I. 1999/283 (N.I. 1) Art. 3(4)
As amended by S.R. & O. (N.I.) 1972 No. 351 Art. 3 and Sch. 2; 1979 c. 2, s. 177(1) and Sch. 4 Pt. L1; and S.I. 1984/702 (N.I. 2) Art. 15(2) and S.I. 1975/1038 (N.I. 8) Art. 11(2)

1 Citation and commencement
This Order may be cited as The Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) Order (Northern Ireland) 2003 and shall come into operation on 16th April 2003.

2 Interpretation
In this Order –
“European Community” has the same meaning as in Article 3(1) of the principal Order;
“inspector” means any person authorised to be an inspector for the purposes of the principal Order;
“landed” has the same meaning as in Article 3(1) of the principal Order;
“origin” means, in respect of susceptible material, the place where the material is grown or produced, and “originate”, “originates” and “originating” shall be construed accordingly;
“Phytophthora ramorum” refers to the pest Phytophthora ramorum Werres, De Cock & Man in 't Veld sp. nov;
“phytosanitary certificate” means a certificate duly completed in the form set out in Schedule 11 to the principal Order and issued in compliance with Articles 13(4) to (7) and 14 thereof;
“place of production” has the same meaning as in Article 3(1) of the principal Order;
“plant” has the same meaning as in Article 3(1) of the principal Order, save that fruit in the botanical sense and seeds are excluded;
“plant passport” has the same meaning as in Article 3(1) of the principal Order;
“plant product” has the same meaning as in Article 3(1) of the principal Order;
“the principal Order” means The Plant Health Order (Northern Ireland) 1993;
“re-forwarding phytosanitary certificate” has the same meaning as in Article 3(1) of the principal Order;
“susceptible forest material” means Quercus spp. L. and Lithocarpus densiflorus (H & A); and
“susceptible material” means, in the case of material originating in the United States of America (“USA”), plants of the species and genera listed in the first column of Schedule 1, and in all other cases, plants of Rhododendron spp. L., other than Rhododendron simsii Planch., and Viburnum spp. L.
S.R. 1993 No. 256 as amended by S.R. 1994 No. 28, S.R. 1995 No. 164, No. 250 and No. 494, S.R. 1996 No. 204 and No. 249, S.R. 1997 No. 110 and No. 397, S.R. 1998 No. 16, No. 146 and No. 315, S.R. 1999 No. 24, S.R. 2000 No. 126, S.R. 2001 No. 188 and No. 437

3 Prohibition against the introduction and spread of Phytophthora ramorum into and within Northern Ireland
Subject to Article 12, a person shall not –
(a) introduce Phytophthora ramorum into Northern Ireland; or
(b) spread Phytophthora ramorum within Northern Ireland.

4 Landing susceptible material from the USA
1 Subject to Article 6, a person shall not land in Northern Ireland susceptible material originating in the USA unless:
(a) it is accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued in accordance with the requirements of Schedule 1, or a certified copy thereof in the case of material for which a re-forwarding phytosanitary certificate has also been issued; and
(b) upon examination by an inspector, it is found free from Phytophthora ramorum.
2 Susceptible material landed in breach of this Article shall be prohibited within the meaning of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979.
Note that sections 49 and 50 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (c. 2) provide respectively for forfeiture of goods improperly imported and penalties for improper importation of goods

5 Movement of susceptible material originating in third countries
Subject to Article 6, where susceptible material originating in the USA or in any other third country has been landed in Northern Ireland, a person shall not move that material –
(a) within Northern Ireland;
(b) to another part of the United Kingdom;
(c) to the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands; or
(d) to another Member State
unless (subject to Article 9(3) in the case of movement within Northern Ireland) it is accompanied by a plant passport.

6 Exemptions from the requirements of Articles 4 and 5
The prohibitions of Articles 4 and 5 shall not apply to susceptible material originating in the USA which was despatched to the European Community from the USA before 16th April 2003.

7 Movement of susceptible material originating in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the European Community
1 A person shall not move into Northern Ireland susceptible material originating elsewhere in the United Kingdom or another Member State, or in the Isle of Man or Channel Islands, unless it is accompanied by a plant passport and meets the requirements of Schedule 2.
2 A person acting in the course of a trade, business or other undertaking shall not move susceptible material produced in Northern Ireland from its place of production unless the material is accompanied by a plant passport and meets the requirements of Schedule 2.

8 Official registration
1 Subject to paragraph (3), a person who produces susceptible material may not move that material unless he is registered as a producer pursuant to Articles 17 and 18 of the principal Order or to paragraph (2).
2 A producer of susceptible material who is not registered as a producer under the principal Order:
(a) may apply for registration under Articles 17 and 18 of the principal Order as if the application were provided for by that Order;
(b) shall meet the requirements of those Articles as if his application had been made under the principal Order; and
(c) shall be treated by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in respect of such an application and any consequent registration, as if the application were provided for by the principal Order.
3 This Article shall not apply to persons who produce susceptible material or who move susceptible material which they have produced if they do so other than in the course of a trade, business or other undertaking.

9 Plant passports
1 The following Articles of the principal Order shall apply in respect of a plant passport required under Articles 5 or 7, as appropriate, that is to say –
(a) Article 12(4), as if –
(i) a phytosanitary certificate had been issued in respect of susceptible material which complied with this Order; and
(ii) reference to “Part A of Schedule 5” of the principal Order were to Article 5 of this Order;
(b) Article 15(1), as if the plant passport were issued in respect of susceptible material; and
(c) Article 15(2) to (8).
2 For the purposes of carrying out an examination of susceptible material upon its entry to Northern Ireland an inspector may, by notice in writing served on the consignee of any susceptible material which has been or is to be landed in Northern Ireland, specify premises and require the removal of that material to those premises in such manner and within such period as may be specified in the notice.
3 Movement of susceptible material in compliance with a notice served under paragraph (2) shall not constitute movement requiring a plant passport pursuant to Article 5(a).
4 Subject to paragraph (6), a person authorised under Article 15 of the principal Order to issue plant passports on behalf of a business is also authorised under this Order to issue plant passports required under this Order on behalf of that business.
5 A person not authorised pursuant to paragraph (4) may be authorised by the Department, subject to any conditions it sees fit, to issue plant passports required under this Order on behalf of any business, individual or other organisation, if:
(a) the person seeking authority is registered as a producer of susceptible material pursuant to Article 8; and
(b) a satisfactory inspection has been carried out by an inspector of the place of production of susceptible material in respect of which authority is sought, any part thereof or any other premises handling any susceptible material, for the purposes of ascertaining the plant health status of the susceptible material at that place or those premises in relation to Phytophthora ramorum and any plants or plant products there.
6 Authority conferred upon a person under paragraphs (4) or (5) to issue plant passports required under this Order may be withdrawn by an inspector where the inspector is satisfied that the provisions of this Order in respect of plant passports are not being met by that person.

10 Phytosanitary certificates
1 The following provisions of the principal Order shall apply to a phytosanitary certificate required under this Order:
(a) Article 13(1);
(b) Article 13(4) as if references to the principal Order were to this Order;
(c) Article 13(5) and (6);
(d) Article 13(7) as if susceptible material were a “consignment” within the meaning of that Article; and
(e) Article 14.
2 Where a consignment of susceptible material for which a phytosanitary certificate is required and has been issued pursuant to Article 4 has been consigned to, stored, repacked or split up in a third country other than that in which the certificate was issued, the original phytosanitary certificate or a certified copy thereof shall accompany the material together with a re-forwarding phytosanitary certificate issued by the official plant health service of that third country.

11 Phytosanitary certificates or plant passports issued outside Northern Ireland
Any phytosanitary certificate or plant health passport issued for the purposes of this Order by or with the authority of an official plant health service of a third country, Member State or another part of the United Kingdom, or the Channel Islands or Isle of Man, shall be deemed to have been issued in accordance with the relevant requirements of Schedules 1 and 2.

12 Licences for scientific or research purposes
The provisions of Article 30A of the principal Order (Licences for trial or scientific purposes and for work on varietal selections) shall apply in respect of the landing, movement and keeping of Phytophthora ramorum which would otherwise be prohibited under this Order as if the pest were a plant pest the landing, movement or keeping of which, but for a licence granted under the principal Order, would be prohibited, save that nothing in this paragraph shall affect the application of Article 30A(2)(d) of the principal Order in respect of a licence granted by virtue of this Article.

13 Powers of an inspector
1 An inspector may, for the purposes of checking compliance with this Order or with the terms of a licence issued under Article 12 –
(a) exercise the powers conferred by Article 25(a) and (b) of the principal Order as if checking compliance with the principal Order; and
(b) having entered premises by virtue of sub-paragraph (a), require production of documentation or records (in whatever form they may be held) relating to the production of or trade in any susceptible material and may examine and copy such documentation or records.
2 Where documentation or records required to be examined by an inspector pursuant to paragraph (1)(b) are kept by means of a computer, an inspector may –
(a) require access to any computer and any associated apparatus or material which is or has been in use in connection with the documentation or records; and
(b) require any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer, apparatus or material, to afford him such assistance as he may reasonably require.

14 Offences
1 A person shall be guilty of an offence if, without reasonable excuse, proof of which shall lie on him –
(a) he contravenes Articles 3, 5, 7, 8(1); or
(b) he intentionally obstructs an inspector in the exercise of his powers given by or under Article 13(1)(b) or (2).
2 A person shall be guilty of an offence if, for the purpose of procuring the authority to issue a plant passport under this Order, he:
(a) makes a statement which he knows to be false in a material particular;
(b) recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular; or
(c) intentionally fails to disclose any material information.
3 A person shall be guilty of an offence if he dishonestly issues a false plant passport under this Order.
4 A person shall be guilty of an offence if he dishonestly alters a plant passport affixed to susceptible material or re-uses a plant passport for susceptible material which is not the material for which the plant passport was issued.
5 A person guilty of an offence under this Article shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

15 Revocation and saving
1 Subject to paragraph (2), the Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) Order (Northern Ireland) 2002 (“the first Order”) is revoked.
S.R. 2002 No. 269
2 Article 3 of the first Order shall continue to apply in respect of susceptible material (as defined in Article 2 of the first Order) which was despatched from the USA before 16th April 2003 and which entered Northern Ireland on or after 16th April 2003.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on 25th March 2003.
David Small A Senior Officer of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
SCHEDULE 1
Susceptible material	Requirements to be met in respect of the issue of any phytosanitary certificate accompanying the susceptible material (“the certificate”)
Acer macrophyllum Pursh. Aesculus californica Nutt. Arbutus menziesii Pursch. Arctostaphylos spp. Adans Heteromeles arbutifolia (Lindley) M. Roemer Lithocarpus densiflorus (H & A) Lonicera hispidula (Lindl.) Dougl. ex Torr. & Gray Quercus spp. L. Rhamnus californica Esch. Rhododendron spp. L., other than Rhododendron simsii Planch. Umbellularia californica (Hook & Arn) Nutt. Vaccinium ovatum Pursh. Viburnum spp. L.	Either: (a) the certificate shall contain an additional declaration that the material originates in an area recognised by the official plant health service of the country from which the material originates (“the relevant plant health service”) as being free from non-European isolates of Phytophthora ramorum, in which case the name of the area from where the material originates shall be specified under “place of origin”; or (b) the certificate shall be issued only after official verification by the relevant plant health service that: (i) upon official inspections carried out during the last complete cycle of vegetation of the susceptible material the subject of the certificate, or upon laboratory testing of apparent symptoms of non-European isolates of Phytophthora ramorum, no signs of non-European isolates of Phytophthora ramorum have been found on susceptible material or susceptible forest material at the place of production; and (ii) representative samples of the plants have been taken before shipment, and have been tested and found free from non-European isolates of Phytophthora ramorum in these tests, in which case the certificate shall be endorsed by the relevant plant health service under the heading “additional declaration” with the statement “tested and found free from non-European isolates of Phytophthora ramorum”.
Article 4(1)(a)
SCHEDULE 2
Susceptible material	Requirements to be met in respect of susceptible material produced in Northern Ireland or moved into Northern Ireland from elsewhere in the United Kingdom, or from another Member State, or from the Channel Islands or Isle of Man
Rhododendron spp. L., other than Rhododendron simsii Planch. Viburnum spp. L.	Either: (a) they originate in areas in which European isolates of Phytophthora ramorum are known not to occur; (b) upon official inspection at the place of production, carried out at least once at an appropriate time when the susceptible material is in active growth, or upon laboratory testing of apparent symptoms of European isolates of Phytophthora ramorum, no signs of European isolates of Phytophthora ramorum have been found on the susceptible material during the last complete cycle of vegetation; or (c) where signs of European isolates of Phytophthora ramorum have been found on susceptible material at the place of production, appropriate procedures aimed at eradicating Phytophthora ramorum have been implemented which include at least the following measures: (i) the destruction of susceptible material found to be infected by Phytophthora ramorum (infected material) and any other susceptible material within a radius of two metres of the infected material; (ii) susceptible material within a radius of ten metres of infected material and all other susceptible material from the same lot as the infected material have been retained at the place of production and found free from Phytophthora ramorum, after additional inspections carried out at least twice in the three months following the finding of infection referred to in sub-paragraph (i); and (iii) all other susceptible material at the place of production has been inspected frequently following the finding of infection referred to in sub-paragraph (i) and found on such inspections to be free from Phytophthora ramorum.
Article 7

(This note is not part of the Order.)
This Order implements as respects Northern Ireland Commission Decision 2002/757/EC of 19th September 2002 (O.J. No. L252, 20.9.2002, p. 37) insofar as it relates to plants including forest trees but not in relation to wood and bark which are the subject of a separate Order. It also revokes the Plant Health (Phytophthora ramorum) Order (Northern Ireland) 2002 (the revoked Order) (Article 15).
The Order prohibits the introduction and spread of the plant pest Phytophthora ramorum, a fungus identified as causing Sudden Oak Death syndrome in certain species of oak in the USA and harm to other plant species, including Rhododendron and Viburnum (Article 3).
It controls the landing of plants of a number of susceptible species from the USA, requiring such material to be accompanied by phytosanitary certificates which may be issued only after specific checks have been carried out during production and before consignment; or alternatively, where the material originates in a part of the USA recognised by plant health authorities as free from the pest, confirming that fact (Article 4 and Schedule 1). Material despatched from the USA before 16th April 2003 is not subject to this Order (Article 6), but the controls in Article 3 of the revoked Order will continue to apply to the susceptible material (as defined in that Order) which was despatched from the USA before 16th April 2003 and which enters Northern Ireland after 16th April 2003 (Article 15).
Landing of Rhododendron and Viburnum from other countries outside the European Community (“the EC”) apart from the USA is also controlled in that such material must have a plant passport when it is moved within Northern Ireland or elsewhere in the EC (Article 5).
Plants of Rhododendron and Viburnum produced in Northern Ireland or originating anywhere else in the EC (which includes, for these purposes, the Channel Islands and Isle of Man), must be accompanied by a plant passport when they are moved, and are subject to further controls on their movement (Article 7 and Schedule 2).
The Order requires producers of Rhododendron and Viburnum in Northern Ireland wishing to move such material to be registered if they are not already registered under the principal Plant Health Order (the Plant Health Order (Northern Ireland) 1993, as amended) (Article 8). Provisions similar to those in the principal Plant Health Order apply to authorisations to registered traders to enable them to issue plant passports under the supervision of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, as the official plant health service in Northern Ireland (Article 9).
There are some exceptions to the movement restrictions in the case of persons not acting in the course of a trade, business or undertaking, and there is provision (Article 12) for licensed landing, movement and keeping of the prohibited pest for research purposes.
Plant Health Inspectors' enforcement powers are provided for in Article 13 and offences similar to those created in the principal Plant Health Order are created in respect of the production of plant passports pursuant to this Order. Offences are also created in respect of the introduction or spread of the pest and compliance with the key provisions of the Order (Article 14).