The following terms, when used in this part, shall be construed, respectively, to mean:

Administrative instructions. Published documents relating to the enforcement of this part, and issued under authority thereof by the Administrator.

Administrator. The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), United States Department of Agriculture, or any employee of APHIS to whom authority has been delegated to act in the Administrator's stead.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.

Article. Any material or tangible object, including a living organism, that could harbor living plant pests or noxious weeds. The term includes associated articles such as soil and packaging.

Biocontainment facility. A physical structure or portion thereof, constructed and maintained in order to contain plant pests, biological control organisms, or associated articles.

Biological control organism. Any enemy, antagonist, or competitor used to control a plant pest or noxious weed.

Continental United States. The contiguous 48 States, Alaska, and the District of Columbia.

Continued curation permit. A permit issued prior to the expiration date for an import permit or interstate movement permit in order for a permittee to continue research or other actions listed on the import or interstate movement permit. Continued curation permits do not allow acquisition of additional organisms for research and other authorized activities and only address retention of existing organisms for authorized uses.

Department. The United States Department of Agriculture.

Deputy Administrator. The Deputy Administrator of the Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs or any employee of the Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs delegated to act in his or her stead.

Enter (entry). To move into, or the act of movement into, the commerce of the United States.

EPA. The Environmental Protection Agency of the United States.

Export (exportation). To move from, or the act of movement from, the United States to any place outside the United States.

Garbage. That material designated as “garbage” in §330.400(b).

Hand-carry. Importation of an organism that remains in one's personal possession and in close proximity to one's person.

Import (importation). To move into, or the act of movement into, the territorial limits of the United States.

Inspector. Any individual authorized by the Administrator of APHIS or the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to enforce the regulations in this part.

Interstate movement. Movement from one State into or through any other State; or movement within the District of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or any other territory or possession of the United States.

Living. Viable or potentially viable.

Means of conveyance. Any personal or public property used for or intended for use for the movement of any other property. This specifically includes, but is not limited to, automobiles, trucks, railway cars, aircraft, boats, freight containers, and other means of transportation.

Move (moved and movement). To carry, enter, import, mail, ship, or transport; to aid, abet, cause, or induce the carrying, entering, importing, mailing, shipping, or transporting; to offer to carry, enter, import, mail, ship, or transport; to receive to carry, enter, import, mail, ship, or transport; to release into the environment, or to allow any of those activities.

Noxious weed. Any plant or plant product that can directly or indirectly injure or cause damage to crops (including nursery stock or plant products), livestock, poultry, or other interests of agriculture, irrigation, navigation, the natural resources of the United States, the public health, or the environment.

Owner. The owner, or his or her agent, having possession of a plant pest, biological control organism, associated article, or any other means of conveyance, products, or article subject to the regulations in this part.

Permit. A written authorization, including by electronic methods, by the Administrator to move plant pests, biological control organisms, or associated articles under conditions prescribed by the Administrator.

Permittee. The person to whom APHIS has issued a permit in accordance with this part and who must comply with the provisions of the permit and the regulations in this part.

Person. Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, joint venture, or other legal entity.

Plant. Any plant (including any plant part) for or capable of propagation including trees, tissue cultures, plantlet cultures, pollen, shrubs, vines, cuttings, grafts, scions, buds, bulbs, roots, and seeds.

Plant pest. Any living stage of any of the following that can directly or indirectly injure, cause damage to, or cause disease in any plant or plant product: A protozoan, nonhuman animal, parasitic plant, bacterium, fungus, virus or viroid, infectious agent or other pathogen, or any article similar to or allied with any of the foregoing.

Plant product. Any flower, fruit, vegetable, root, bulb, seed, or other plant part that is not included in the definition of plant; or any manufactured or processed plant or plant part.

Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs. The Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs of the Animal and Plant Inspection Health Service.

Pure culture. A single species of invertebrate originating only from an identified/described population and free of disease and parasites, cryptic species, soil and other biological material except host material and substrate as APHIS deems appropriate. Examples of identified/described population are those originating from a specific laboratory colony or field collection from a specified geographic area, such as an entire country or States or provinces of a country.

Regulated garbage. That material designated as regulated garbage in §330.400(c) and (d).

Responsible individual. One or more individuals who a permittee designates to appropriately oversee and control the staff, facilities, and/or site(s) at the location(s) specified on the permit as the ultimate destination of the plant pest, biological control organism, or associated article, to ensure compliance with the permit conditions during all phases of the activities being performed with the regulated articles authorized under a permit issued in accordance with this part for the movement or curation of a plant pest, biological control organism, or associated article. For the duration of the permit, the individual(s) must serve as a primary contact for communication with APHIS. The permittee may designate him or herself as the responsible individual. The responsible individual(s) must be at least 18 years of age and to be able meet with and provide information to an APHIS representative within a reasonable time frame. In accordance with section 7734 of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), the act, omission, or failure of any responsible individual will also be deemed the act, omission, or failure of a permittee.

Secure shipment. Shipment of a regulated plant pest, biological control organism, or associated article in a container or a means of conveyance of sufficient strength and integrity to prevent leakage of contents and to withstand shocks, pressure changes, and other conditions incident to ordinary handling in transportation.

Shelf-stable. The condition achieved in a product, by application of heat, alone or in combination with other ingredients and/or other treatments, of being rendered free of microorganisms capable of growing in the product at nonrefrigerated conditions (over 50 °F or 10 °C).

Soil. The unconsolidated material from the earth's surface that consists of rock and mineral particles and that supports or is capable of supporting biotic communities.

State. Any of the States of the United States, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and all other territories or possessions of the United States.

Sterilization (sterile, sterilized). A chemical or physical process that results in the death of all living organisms on or within the article subject to the process. Examples include, but are not limited to, autoclaving and incineration.

Taxon (taxa). Any recognized grouping or rank within the biological nomenclature of organisms, such as class, order, family, genus, species, subspecies, pathovar, biotype, race, forma specialis, or cultivar.

Transit. Movement from and to a foreign destination through the United States.

United States. All of the States and territories.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). U.S. Customs and Border Protection within the Department of Homeland Security.

[84 FR 29958, June 25, 2019]