(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) of this section,
nursery products and/or floral items that are infested or infected with a
plant pest, or sold from unregistered locations are subject to a stop-sale
order.
(b) Nursery products and/or floral items shall not be placed
under a stop-sale order when a plant pest is detected on the plants, plant
products, or plant production areas if:
(1) the certificate holder is operating under an integrated
pest management plan approved by the department, and
(2) sale of the nursery products and/or floral items infested,
infected, or within an infested or infected plant production area, is not
scheduled to take place within 48 hours.
(c) Beneficial organisms are a control method of integrated
pest management and do not constitute a basis for the issuance of a stop-sale
order.
(d) The certificate holder or employee of the certificate holder
may appeal a stop-sale order by submitting a written appeal to the department
or to the inspector at the time the stop-sale order is issued. The written
appeal must be submitted by means that provides proof of the date and time
of delivery, except that proof of date and time of delivery is not required
for hand-delivery to the department's inspector at the time of inspection.
All appeals submitted by electronic mail must be sent to appeal.order@agr.state.tx.us.
(e) An appeal of a stop-sale order must be received by the
department within 48 hours after the stop-sale order is issued. If the appeal
is not received within the specified time period, the stop-sale order may
be removed by re-inspection.
(f) The department shall review the appeal and issue a decision
to rescind or continue the stop-sale order by the close of business on the
third working day after the day the request is received.
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