(a) Restrictions. No person shall import, move interstate, transit, or release into the environment plant pests, biological control organisms, or associated articles, unless the importation, interstate movement, transit, or release into the environment of the plant pests, biological control organisms, or associated articles is:

(1) Authorized under an import, interstate movement, or continued curation permit issued in accordance with §330.201; or

(2) Authorized in accordance with other APHIS regulations in this chapter; or

(3) Explicitly granted an exception from permitting requirements in this subpart; or

(4) Authorized under a general permit issued by the Administrator.

(b) Plant pests regulated by this subpart. For the purposes of this subpart, APHIS will consider an organism to be a plant pest if the organism directly or indirectly injures, causes damage to, or causes disease in a plant or plant product, or if the organism is an unknown risk to plants or plant products, but is similar to an organism known to directly or indirectly injure, cause damage to, or cause disease in a plant or plant product.

(c) Biological control organisms regulated by this subpart. For the purposes of this subpart, biological control organisms include:

(1) Invertebrate predators and parasites (parasitoids) used to control invertebrate plant pests;

(2) Invertebrate competitors used to control invertebrate plant pests;

(3) Invertebrate herbivores used to control noxious weeds;

(4) Microbial pathogens used to control invertebrate plant pests;

(5) Microbial pathogens used to control noxious weeds;

(6) Microbial parasites used to control plant pathogens; and

(7) Any other types of biological control organisms, as determined by APHIS.

(d) Biological control organisms not regulated by this subpart. Paragraph (c) of this section notwithstanding, biological control organism-containing products that are currently under an EPA experimental use permit, a Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) section 18 emergency exemption, or that are currently registered with EPA as a microbial pesticide product, are not regulated under this subpart. Additionally, biological control organisms that are pesticides that are not registered with EPA, but are being transferred, sold, or distributed in accordance with EPA's regulations in 40 CFR 152.30, are not regulated under this subpart for their interstate movement or importation. However, an importer desiring to import a shipment of biological control organisms subject to FIFRA must submit to the EPA Administrator a Notice of Arrival of Pesticides and Devices as required by CBP regulations at 19 CFR 12.112. The Administrator will provide notification to the importer indicating the disposition to be made of shipment upon its entry into the customs territory of the United States.