Notice of Interim Rule Designating Maui and Hawaii Islands as Coffee Leaf Rust Infested Areas 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 CLR in multiple locations on Maui, including Haiku and Ulupalakua, and detections on the west side of Hawaii Island, and after a finding by the Advisory Committee on Plants and Animals on November 13, 2020 that the movement of coffee plants and other CLR carriers constitutes an emergency, it was determined that island-wide quarantines for Maui and Hawaii Islands are necessary to prevent the further spread of CLR to other islands not known to have this destructive pest.

The designation of Maui and Hawaii Islands as CLR-infested areas means that the movement of coffee and related CLR-carrier material from Maui and Hawaii Islands are subject to the quarantine restrictions specified in interim rule 20-1. Among other things, the movement or transportation of coffee plants and parts, including green (unroasted) coffee beans, used coffee bags, and used coffee harvesting, processing or transporting equipment, from a CLR-infested area to an area that is uninfested, is prohibited except by permit issued by the HDOA. A permit may be issued by the PQB chief (chief) for the transportation of a commodity or item listed in the preceding sentence with conditions established by the chief appropriate for each of the following circumstances, and subject to safeguards and/or treatments established by the chief, including double-bagging in thick, transparent, non-permeable plastic bags that are sealed and labeled: (1) coffee beans for roasting, or other non-propagative plant parts, that are shipped to an approved facility located in an uninfested area that is located at least two miles away from a commercial coffee growing area, or are subjected to a treatment approved by the PQB chief; (2) plants from HDOA certified nurseries, green coffee beans for roasting, or other non-propagative plant parts, that are transshipped through an uninfested area of the State with a final destination outside of the State; (3) previously used equipment for harvesting, processing or transporting coffee plants or plant parts that has been subjected to treatments and/or mitigation measures approved by the chief; (4) coffee plants and plant parts for scientific or diagnostic purposes at a PQB approved facility, provided the contents and packing materials used for shipping are subjected to a treatment approved by the PQB chief after the contents are unloaded; (5) coffee plants, beans for roasting, other non-propagative plant parts, used coffee bags, and previously-used coffee harvesting, processing, or transporting equipment, that are shipped between infested areas; and 6) for limited quantities of coffee plants for propagation from an infested area to a non-infested area, subject to a one-year quarantine in a state-run facility, provided that the Board of Agriculture may reduce the quarantine period. In addition, the chief is authorized to approve treatments, safeguards, and mitigative measures as they are scientifically validated and may revise permit conditions accordingly, as necessary to prevent movement of the CLR to uninfested areas and to preserve the quarantine.

Export (out-of-state) shipments of coffee plants and plant parts, green coffee beans, used coffee bags, or other CLR carriers are not subject to quarantine restrictions, provided that they are exported directly from a CLR infested area and are not transshipped through a CLR uninfested area in the State. This interim rule does not affect the movement of roasted coffee.

Under the designation of Maui and Hawaii Islands as CLR infested areas, the movement of green (unroasted) coffee, coffee plants and plant parts, used coffee bags, and used coffee harvesting, processing or transporting equipment from CLR infested areas, i.e., from Maui or Hawaii Island to Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, or Kauai will require a permit. HDOA’s Plant Intrastate Rules, Chapter 4-72, Hawaii Administrative Rules, provides that the chief may authorize the transportation of an untreated infested commodity to an island or area where the pest is known to be established. As it is still important to limit the spread of CLR on an island designated as CLR infested, permits for shipments between CLR infested areas will require appropriate safeguards, such as bagging requirements.