US Code

Public Law 119-73 (01/23/2026)

7 U.S.C. § 7715

Declaration of extraordinary emergency and resulting authorities

(a)

Authority to declare

If the Secretary determines that an extraordinary emergency exists because of the presence of a plant pest or noxious weed that is new to or not known to be widely prevalent in or distributed within and throughout the United States and that the presence of the plant pest or noxious weed threatens plants or plant products of the United States, the Secretary may—
(1)
hold, seize, quarantine, treat, apply other remedial measures to, destroy, or otherwise dispose of, any plant, biological control organism, plant product, article, or means of conveyance that the Secretary has reason to believe is infested with the plant pest or noxious weed;
(2)
quarantine, treat, or apply other remedial measures to any premises, including any plants, biological control organisms, plant products, articles, or means of conveyance on the premises, that the Secretary has reason to believe is infested with the plant pest or noxious weed;
(3)
quarantine any State or portion of a State in which the Secretary finds the plant pest or noxious weed or any plant, biological control organism, plant product, article, or means of conveyance that the Secretary has reason to believe is infested with the plant pest or noxious weed; and
(4)
prohibit or restrict the movement within a State of any plant, biological control organism, plant product, article, or means of conveyance when the Secretary determines that the prohibition or restriction is necessary to prevent the dissemination of the plant pest or noxious weed or to eradicate the plant pest or noxious weed.
(b)

Required finding of emergency

The Secretary may take action under this section only upon finding, after review and consultation with the Governor or other appropriate official of the State affected, that the measures being taken by the State are inadequate to eradicate the plant pest or noxious weed.

(c)

Notification procedures

(1)

In general

Except as provided in paragraph (2), before any action is taken in any State under this section, the Secretary shall notify the Governor or other appropriate official of the State affected, issue a public announcement, and file for publication in the Federal Register a statement of—
(A)
the Secretary’s findings;
(B)
the action the Secretary intends to take;
(C)
the reasons for the intended action; and
(D)
where practicable, an estimate of the anticipated duration of the extraordinary emergency.
(2)

Time sensitive actions

If it is not possible to file for publication in the Federal Register prior to taking action, the filing shall be made within a reasonable time, not to exceed 10 business days, after commencement of the action.

(d)

Application of least drastic action

No plant, biological control organism, plant product, plant pest, noxious weed, article, or means of conveyance shall be destroyed, exported, or returned to the shipping point of origin, or ordered to be destroyed, exported, or returned to the shipping point of origin under this section unless, in the opinion of the Secretary, there is no less drastic action that is feasible and that would be adequate to prevent the dissemination of any plant pest or noxious weed new to or not known to be widely prevalent or distributed within and throughout the United States.

(e)

Payment of compensation

The Secretary may pay compensation to any person for economic losses incurred by the person as a result of action taken by the Secretary under this section. The determination by the Secretary of the amount of any compensation to be paid under this subsection shall be final and shall not be subject to judicial review or a review by any officer or employee of the Federal Government other than the Secretary or the designee of the Secretary.

Pub. L. 106–224, title IV, § 415114 Stat. 445Pub. L. 107–171, title VII, § 7504(a)116 Stat. 465Pub. L. 110–234, title X, § 10203(a)122 Stat. 1342Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a)122 Stat. 1664(, , ; , , ; , , ; , title X, § 10203(a), , , 2104.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

Pub. L. 110–234Pub. L. 110–246Pub. L. 110–234section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246 and made identical amendments to this section. The amendments by were repealed by .

Amendments

Pub. L. 110–246, § 10203(a)2008—Subsec. (e). , struck out “of longer than 60 days” after “or a review”.

Pub. L. 107–1712002—Subsec. (e). inserted before period at end “or a review of longer than 60 days by any officer or employee of the Federal Government other than the Secretary or the designee of the Secretary”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2008 Amendment

Pub. L. 110–234Pub. L. 110–246Pub. L. 110–234section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246section 8701 of this titleAmendment of this section and repeal of by effective , the date of enactment of , see , set out as an Effective Date note under .

Transfer of Functions

section 542 of Title 6For transfer of functions of the Secretary of Agriculture relating to agricultural import and entry inspection activities under this chapter to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and for treatment of related references, see sections 231, 551(d), 552(d), and 557 of Title 6, Domestic Security, and the Department of Homeland Security Reorganization Plan of , as modified, set out as a note under .