APHIS

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS) new rules on domestic plant-related quarantine and compensation for the 1995 to 1996 crop season relating to Karnal bunt disease. GAO noted that: (1) the final rules would establish criteria for levels of risk for areas with regard to Karnal bunt, a fungal disease of wheat, and for the movement of regulated articles based on those risk areas and provide compensation for certain growers and handlers, owners of grain storage facilities and flour millers to mitigate losses because of Karnal bunt in the 1995-1996 crop season; (2) APHIS did not comply with applicable requirements in promulgating the rules; (3) APHIS contends that it had good cause for not delaying the rules' effective dates and that these rules were exempt from statutory requirements regarding their effective dates; and (4) APHIS did not make a good cause finding and used notice and comment procedures for each rule, which made the good cause exception to the 60-day delay provision unavailable for these rules.