ever-changing 
tastes 
of Americans, 
the United 
States imports 
commodities from 
around the globe. 
Local stores now 
carry everything 
from Mexican 
artichokes to 
Italian zucchini. 
PPQ strives to 
ensure that these 
imported products 
are pest and 
disease free. 
To satisfy the 
Environmental Analyses 
Any time APHIS changes its regulations to 
allow previously prohibited items entry into 
the United States, an environmental assess- 
ment (EA) is required. An EA is a concise 
public document that provides sufficient evi- 
dence and analysis for determining whether 
to prepare an environmental impact state- 
ment (EIS) or a finding of no significant 
impact (FONSI). EAs are done whether PPQ 
is planning to build a new facility or allow 
the importation of a new plant that could 
transport dangerous foreign pests. If a pro- 
posed action is not likely to cause any signifi- 
cant impact, then a FONSI may be prepared. 
If the action could have a potentially signifi- 
cant impact, then PPQ must prepare an EIS 
before the proposed regulation can be 
finalized. 
An EIS is a detailed statement on the envi- 
ronmental impact of the proposed action, 
any adverse environmental effects that 
cannot be avoided should the proposal be 
implemented, alternatives to the proposed 
action, the relationship between local short- 
term uses of man’s environment and the 
maintenance and enhancement of long-term 
productivity, and any irreversible and 
irretrievable commitments of resources 
that would be involved in the proposed 
action, should it be implemented. 
Once completed, an EIS may result in 
changes to a proposed regulation. The envi- 
ronmental impact of such plant pests as the 
gypsy moth and fruit flies has been studied 
in EISs painstakingly put together by PPQ. 
In the case of fruit flies, an infestation in the 
United States could cause millions of dollars’ 
worth of damage to citrus. While imported 
citrus from regions like South America is 
popular in the United States, many safe- 
guards have been implemented to keep fruit 
flies out. 
6 Protecting Plant Health in a Global Environment 
Importing Agricultural Commodities 
Over the years, Americans have come to 
count on a diverse array of agricultural prod- 
ucts for their dinner table. To satisfy the 
ever-changing tastes of Americans, the 
United States imports commodities from 
around the globe. Local stores now carry 
everything from Mexican artichokes to 
Italian zucchini. PPQ strives to ensure that 
these imported products are pest and disease 
free. PPQ does this by (1) regulating the 
importation of agricultural products, 
(2) inspecting admissible products, and 
(3) making sure that treatments are adminis- 
tered to targeted products before they are 
released into the domestic market. 
Importers must obtain import permits for 
many, but not all, commodities before the 
goods can begin their trip to the United 
States. Importers must also obtain phytosan- 
itary certificates for certain commodities 
before they can be brought to the United 
States. These certificates verify that the 
quarantine officials of the exporting country 
have examined the agricultural commodities 
for pests and found them to be disease free. 
PPQ’s permit unit provides information to 
potential importers on permit requirements 
and processes applications for permits. 
Importers can now apply for fruit and vege- 
table permits and animal products permits 
completely online. Users can also print out 
the application and mail the completed form 
to PPQ’s permit unit. If an application does 
not fall within APHIS’ authority, the permit 
unit will try to find out where the applicant 
can get more information. The permit unit 
manages a high volume of requests and 
interprets the constantly changing import 
regulations for myriad plants and plant 
products. 
