Sacramento, California The California Association of Nurseries and Garden
Centers (CANGC) and the Oregon Association of Nurseries (OAN) today filed a suit
in U.S. District Court in Columbia, South Carolina, seeking to overturn a new
regulation aimed squarely at blocking California and Oregon nursery growers from
shipping their plants to that state.
The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) maintains strict
regulations related to Phytophthora ramorum (sometimes referred to as Sudden Oak
Death) to protect forest health, landscapes, and nurseries across the country.
Nurseries in Oregon and California have an outstanding record of compliance with
these rules.
However last year, the South Carolina Assembly passed legislation that limits
California and Oregon growers from shipping to that state unless they comply
with additional inspection, documentation and advance notice requirements which
overstep the federal rules.
States are prohibited from taking such steps under the Supremacy Clause of the
U.S. Constitution and the U.S. Plant Protection Act, which gives the federal
government the exclusive power to protect plants sold in interstate commerce.
The suit, which names the State of South Carolina and the South Carolina
Department of Agriculture, challenges that state’s regulation as
unconstitutional. It is disappointing that the South Carolina Department of
Agriculture, which runs programs to promote its home-state products for sale in
other states as well as at home, chose to follow this path, said Robert Dolezal,
CANGCs executive vice president.
California and Oregon are leading states for production of nursery products,
shipping ornamental plants, trees, shrubs, bulbs, and other horticultural
products to the nation and the world. Nurseries in Oregon and California have
had their shipments blocked or plants destroyed as a result of the regulation.
“California nurseries are fully complying with the federal APHIS order,” Dolezal
continued. “Protecting our customers in other states and shipping clean plants
is in the best interest of everyone in our industry.”
OAN executive director John Aguirre agreed. Nurseries take very seriously the
threat of plant diseases, he said. Over 70% of Oregon’s nursery sales are
destined for buyers outside our state. Oregon growers cannot allow states to
violate federal law in an effort to close their markets to our growers.
There is specific precedent for the plaintiffs action. In 2004, the California
Association of Nursery and Garden Centers successfully sued the State of
Kentucky under similar circumstances. Despite that precedent, our polite
requests were ignored and we had no other option but to defend our nurseries
from being cut off from their customers in South Carolina, Dolezal said.
“We are disappointed that we were forced to take this action, but the impact on
our members businesses left us no choice, said Dolezal.
The two associations seek injunctive relief to invalidate the regulation
legislated by South Carolina. They expect a swift ruling from the U.S. District
Court in light of the clear-cut law and precedent.
The plaintiffs in the suit are represented by attorneys Jim Lehman and Daniel
DAlberto of Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough, LLP of Columbia, South
Carolina, and Neil Shapiro of the Law Offices of Neil Shapiro in Monterey,
California.
For more information about Phytophthora ramorum, go to http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/pram/index.shtml.
A pdf of this press release is available. See: Release.
The California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers was founded in 1911
as a statewide trade organization for nursery growers. It is headquartered in
Sacramento, California. California nurseries and floriculture producers are the
second largest agricultural commodity produced in the Golden State, after dairy,
making it the largest state for shipments of nursery products in the United
States. The Association is the primary advocate for the California nursery
community in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. For information email info@cangc.org
or call (916) 928-3900.
The Oregon Association of Nurseries, based in Wilsonville, represents more than
1,300 wholesale growers, retailers, landscapers and suppliers. Oregon’s
ornamental horticulture industry is among the state’s largest agricultural
commodities, with annual sales of $820 million. For information visit
www.oan.org or call 503-682-5089.
Photo Caption: On rhododendron, brown leaf spots often start at the tip of the
leaf and move toward the petiole along the midrib. (Note: hole punches in leaves
were made to remove leaf disks for analysis for Phytophthora ramorum the cause
of Sudden Oak Death.)
Photo Credit: NCSU Department of Plant Pathology
Source: California Association Of Nurseries And Garden Centers