(a) The Secretary of Agriculture, having previously quarantined Hawaii and Puerto Rico to prevent the spread to other parts of the United States, by means of sand, soil, or earth about the roots of plants, of immature stages of certain dangerous insects, including Phyllophaga spp. (White grubs), Phytalus sp., and Adoretus sp., and of several species of termites or white ants, new to and not heretofore widely prevalent or distributed within and throughout the United States, now determines that it is necessary also to quarantine the Virgin Islands of the United States to prevent the spread of such dangerous insects from said Virgin Islands.

(b) Under the authority of sections 411, 412, 414, and 434 of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7711, 7712, 7714, and 7754), Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States are quarantined to prevent the spread of the aforementioned dangerous insects.

(c) Sand (other than clean ocean sand), soil, or earth around the roots of plants must not be shipped, offered for shipment to a common carrier, received for transportation or transported by a common carrier, or carried, transported, moved, or allowed to be moved by any person from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands of the United States into or through any other State, Territory, or District of the United States: Provided, That the prohibitions in this paragraph (c) do not apply to the movement of soil from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands other than that soil around the roots of plants; movement of soil that is not around the roots of plants is regulated under part 330 of this chapter: Provided further, That the prohibitions of this section shall not apply to the movement of such products in either direction between Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands of the United States: Provided further, That such prohibitions shall not prohibit the movement of such products by the United States Department of Agriculture for scientific or experimental purposes, nor prohibit the movement of sand, soil, or earth around the roots of plants which are carried, for ornamental purposes, on vessels into mainland ports of the United States and which are not intended to be landed thereat, when evidence is presented satisfactory to the inspector of the Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs of the Department of Agriculture that such sand, soil, or earth has been so processed or is of such nature that no pest risk is involved, or that the plants with sand, soil, or earth around them are maintained on board under such safeguards as will preclude pest escape: And provided further, That such prohibitions shall not prohibit the movement of plant cuttings or plants that have been—

(1) Freed from sand, soil, and earth;

(2) Subsequently potted and established in sphagnum moss or other packing material approved under §319.37-11 of this chapter that had been stored under shelter and had not been previously used for growing or packing plants;

(3) Grown thereafter in a manner satisfactory to an inspector of the Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs to prevent infestation through contact with sand, soil, or earth; and

(4) Certified by an inspector of the Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs as meeting the requirements of paragraphs (c)(1) through (3) of this section.

(d) As used in this section, the term State, Territory, or District of the United States means “Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, or the continental United States.”

[24 FR 10777, Dec. 29, 1959, as amended at 66 FR 21054, Apr. 27, 2001; 83 FR 11855, Mar. 19, 2018; 84 FR 29957, June 25, 2019]