Notice of Interim Rule Designating the Island of Oahu as a
Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Infested Area and Subject to Quarantine

The HDOA is authorized to establish interim rules when the importation or movement of any flora or fauna, in the absence of effective rules, creates a situation dangerous to public health and safety or to the ecological health of flora or fauna present in the State which is so immediate in nature as to constitute an emergency. Due to recent findings of CRB in multiple locations on Oahu, and after a finding by the Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals on December 10, 2021 that the movement of CRB host material constitutes an emergency, it was determined that an island-wide quarantine for the island of Oahu is necessary to prevent the further spread of CRB within the island of Oahu and to other islands not known to have this destructive pest.

The designation of the island of Oahu as a CRB-infested area means that the movement of CRB host material within and from the island of Oahu is subject to the quarantine restrictions specified in interim rule 22-1. Among other things, the movement or transportation of coconut rhinoceros beetle host material, including but not limited to entire trees, green waste, compost, mulch, trimmings, fruit and vegetative scraps and decaying stumps of palmaceous plants and trees, within the island of Oahu or from a CRB-infested area to an area that is uninfested, is prohibited except as approved by the HDOA. Authorization for the transportation of a commodity or item listed in the preceding sentence with conditions established by the HDOA appropriate for each of the following circumstances, and subject to safeguards and/or treatments established by the HDOA are as follows: 1) Movement of any host material for the CRB, including palm plants and trees, compost, and green waste under State compliance agreement; 2) All host material being moved within the quarantine area must be completely enclosed or covered with a secure lid to prevent the spread of CRB during transport to the approved green waste disposal site. Subcontractors must transport chipped green waste to an approved offsite disposal/processing center in approved containers. These containers must be completely enclosed or covered with a lid during the transport to the offsite disposal/processing center; 3) Processing of any host material for the coconut rhinoceros beetle in approved facilities is allowed under a State compliance agreement; 4) Inter-island movement of any CRB host material is allowed only under State compliance agreements; 5) Sale and trade of any CRB host material is allowed under State compliance agreements; and 6) Nursery stock material considered CRB host material is allowed to leave the quarantine areas only under State compliance agreements.

In addition, the HDOA is authorized to approve treatments, safeguards, and mitigative measures as they are scientifically validated and may revise requirements accordingly, as necessary to prevent movement of CRB to uninfested areas and to preserve the quarantine.

Export (out-of-state) shipments of CRB host materials is not subject to quarantine restrictions, provided that they are exported directly from a CRB infested area and are not transshipped through a CRB uninfested area in the State.