Collapse to view only § 322.24 - Packaging of transit shipments.

§ 322.22 - General requirements.

(a) You may transit restricted organisms from any region through the United States to another region only in accordance with this part. For a list of restricted organisms, see § 322.13(a).

(b) You may ship restricted organisms only aboard aircraft to the United States for transit to another country.

(c) You may transload a shipment of restricted organisms only once during the shipment's entire transit through the United States and only at an airport in the continental United States. You may not transload restricted organisms in Hawaii. In Hawaii, the restricted organisms must remain on, and depart for another destination aboard, the same aircraft on which the shipment arrived at the Hawaiian airport.

§ 322.23 - Documentation.

Each shipment of restricted organisms transiting the United States must be accompanied by a document issued by the appropriate regulatory authority of the national government of the region of origin stating that the shipment has been inspected and determined to meet the packaging requirements in § 322.24.

§ 322.24 - Packaging of transit shipments.

(a) Restricted organisms transiting the United States must be packaged in securely closed and completely enclosed containers that prevent the escape of organisms and the leakage of any contained materials. The container must be sufficiently strong and durable to prevent it from rupturing or breaking during shipment.

(b) In addition to the requirements in paragraph (a) of this section, each pallet of cages containing honeybees transiting the United States must be covered by an escape-proof net that is secured to the pallet so that no honeybees can escape from underneath the net.

(c) The outside of the package must be clearly marked with the contents of the transit shipment, i.e., either “Live Bees,” “Bee Germ Plasm,” or “Live Bee Brood,” and the name of the exporting region.

§ 322.25 - Notice of arrival.

At least 2 business days prior to the expected date of arrival of restricted organisms at a port in the continental United States for in-transit movement, you or your shipper must contact the port to give the following information:

(a) The name of each U.S. airport where the shipment will arrive;

(b) The name of the U.S. airport where the shipment will be transloaded (if applicable);

(c) The date of the shipment's arrival at each U.S. airport;

(d) The date of the shipment's departure from each U.S. airport;

(e) The names, phone numbers, and addresses of both the shipper and receiver;

(f) The number of units in the shipment (i.e., number of queens or number of cages of package bees); and

(g) The name of the airline carrying the shipment.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0579-0207)

§ 322.26 - Inspection and handling.

(a) All shipments of restricted organisms transiting the United States are subject to inspection at the port in the United States for compliance with this part. If, upon inspection, a transit shipment of restricted articles is found not to meet the requirements of this part, we will destroy the shipment at your expense.

(b) Transloading—(1) Adult bees. You may transload adult bees from one aircraft to another aircraft at the port of arrival in the United States only under the supervision of an inspector. If the adult bees cannot be transloaded immediately to the subsequent flight, you must store them within a completely enclosed building. Adult bees may not be transloaded from an aircraft to ground transportation for subsequent movement through the United States.

(2) Bee germ plasm. You may transload bee germ plasm from one aircraft to another at the port of arrival in the United States only under the supervision of an inspector.

§ 322.27 - Eligible ports for transit shipments.

You may transit restricted organisms only through a port of entry staffed by an APHIS inspector. 7

7 To find out if a specific port is staffed by an APHIS inspector, or for a list of ports staffed by APHIS inspectors, contact Permit Unit, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; toll-free (877) 770-5990; fax (301) 734-8700.